社区参与

The organization received its 501(c)(3) determination letter in April of 2017.

使命: 协助家庭, 教育工作者, 和 communities in strengthening the foundation on which children can succeed.

愿景: All children have the solid foundation needed for future success.

TrainingGrounds公司. 帮助父母, 护理人员 和 professionals with providing children with rich learning experiences, 积极的成人-儿童互动和社会情感技能将有助于在学校和以后的成功. We use the following three approaches:

1. “我们玩中心”: We PLAY中心是一个免费的社区空间，照顾者和孩子们通过教育茁壮成长, 浓缩, 社区及支援.
   这个空间充满了适合年龄的玩具和活动，父母和照顾者可以按照3岁及以下儿童的指示玩耍. The We PLAY Center serves as an alternative setting for the 护理人员 和 their children who do not have access to quality early childhood learning centers/experiences. 在游戏期间, parent 教育工作者 model appropriate adult-child interactions for 父母 和 facilitate learning opportunities for children that stimulate brain development 和 foster social emotional, 语言, cognitive 和 school readiness skills. 在中心，成年人使用叙事和平行对话来刺激语言发展. Puzzles, sorting toys 和 music are used to develop numeracy skills. Over time the We PLAY Center organically develops into a community 和 a natural support system where Center participants have access to trusted sources 和 a safe space to ask for assistance with parenting, nurturing 和/or educating their children. Through the We PLAY Center 护理人员 和 children both develop competence 和 confidence that will contribute to the child’s success in school 和 beyond.
2. Parent Learning Opportunities: To complement the learning that takes place in the We PLAY Center, TrainingGrounds’ workshops 和 seminars are specifically designed to provide 父母 和 护理人员 with strategies 和 techniques to improve their parenting skills 和 to develop positive adult-child interactions
3. Professional Development Workshops: TrainingGrounds works closely with early childhood professionals to send a consistent message to all individuals impacting the lives of our earliest learnings. Through professional development workshops we assist early childhood 教育工作者 with underst和ing the “science” 和 “why” behind many of the st和ards they are being asked to implement. 同时为他们提供策略和技巧，为孩子们创造高质量的学习体验.

影响:

• 我们玩中心*
  • 2017年4月25日开幕
  • 179 Families have participated in the program
  • 60% of participants returns for multiple visits
  • 1000 contacts with 护理人员 和 children

* We PlAY Center目前每周开放3天，每天开放2小时，并继续提供节目
吸引新的家庭.

1. Current We PLAY Center demographics:
   • As a result of visiting the We PLAY Center:
     • 91.7%的家庭报告说，他们对孩子的年龄和发育阶段有了更好的了解, 作为照顾者感到被支持，在家与孩子进行不同类型的互动(一起唱歌), 讲故事, 阅读)
     • 83.3%的家庭报告说，他们能够发现游戏对儿童发展的好处.
     • 95.8 % of families report their children have exhibited an increase in age appropriate social skills 和 they have a better underst和ing of how to increase 语言 development skills with their children
     • 91.6%的家庭要么强烈同意，要么同意他们与孩子的关系更紧密
     • 100%的家庭报告说，为他们和孩子一起玩耍创造了更多的机会，并将中心推荐给家人和朋友
   • 坊间
     • “The engaging environment is conducive for learning for both parent 和 child.
       The professionals who head this project prompt 和 interact with the children 和 guide 父母 in their role…This program has a very strong sense of community amongst the 父母 和 children.”
     • “The staff is tremendously welcoming 和 knowledgeable! My son’s social 和 verbal skills continue to improve!”
     • “我喜欢和孩子们在we play中心的互动……这是孩子们玩耍和学习的好地方. I’m so happy I introduced my son to this type of environment. 我希望时间能长一点, 但除此之外，这对我的宝宝来说是一种很好的学习方式，它真的为他的起跑做好了准备.”
   • Professional Development for Educators
     • 500+ Early Childhood Professionals attended workshops
     • 2000+ Children Birth-5 impacted
     • 95% stated information learned will be used
   • Parent Learning Opportunities
     • Presenter at the Power Parent Forum at Southern University of New Orleans sponsored by The United States Department 的教育 和 Modern Parents Magazine.
     • 2017年秋季:与需要服务的家庭签订合同，每月提供4个讲习班，为期10个月
     • Fall 2017: Contract with Family Court to offer 2 Co-Parenting workshops per month
     • 2018年春季，路易斯安那州HealthyBlue赞助了前五年积极育儿系列研讨会

   支持:
   TrainingGrounds participated in three competitive venture startup programs. 螺旋桨,4.0 Schools 和 Camelback Ventures each provided one-on-one weekly mentorship, access to high-level networks 和 investors, 无偿技术支持, 还有免费的办公空间. We received financial support in the amount of $10,000 和 $40,000 from 4.0 Schools 和 Camelback Ventures respectively. 2017年秋季, 训练场地为他们的We PLAY中心赢得了Pitch 诺拉教育比赛，并获得了5500美元的奖金. 我们已经获得了GPOA基金会和心理卫生研究所2018年的资助. The Corpus Christi Community Resource Center continues to demonstrate support for our initiative by donating the use of space for our We Play Center as well as our Parent Learning Opportunity workshops. 也, 使用我们免费We PLAY中心的家庭通过捐赠金钱和茶点来表达他们的支持.

   Collaborative Organizations:
   科珀斯克里斯蒂社区中心为我们的We PLAY中心和家长学习机会课程提供免费空间. 2017年秋季 we co-hosted with Propeller Incubator a Race 和 Equity in Early Childhood convening to bring awareness of the challenges facing New Orleans. We have conducted professional development workshops for Kingsley House, 社区行动, Hoffman Early Learning Center, Families in Need of Services, Primary Colors Learning Centers, 和 professional organizations.

   我们的团队
   Melanie Richardson, MSW, LMSW
   Melanie Richardson是土生土长的新奥尔良人，在心理健康和成人教育领域工作了20多年. 她在圣母大学获得本科学位，在宾夕法尼亚大学获得社会工作硕士学位. Since returning to New Orleans, Melanie has served in the role of director of a psychiatric residential treatment facility for adolescents 和 program director for a community based mental health rehabilitation facility, securing Joint Commission 和 COA Accreditations respectively.
   As the start-up operations director for both agencies, 梅兰妮帮助把想法变成成果，并在为社区提供急需的服务方面发挥了重要作用. Her years of working with students, 父母 和 community members in a variety of settings has afforded her valuable insight 和 underst和ing into the types of services that will allow communities 和 constituents to flourish. Melanie is married 和 has one teenage son.

   克里斯汀·尼利，m.s.Ed
   Christine Neely has been in the field 的教育 for over 20 years 和 has always worked to improve st和ards 和 provide resources to families 和 students. Christine已经花了超过15年的时间担任小学pk -3年级的班主任，同时与行政部门密切合作，指导新教师, develop curriculum 和 make the switch to Common Core. 克里斯汀已经
   presented at national conferences 和 conducted workshops about literacy development, 教育实践, Brain Architecture 和 Mind in The Making Seven Essential Skills. She is an active member of P.E.O International which promotes educational opportunities for women worldwide. She has been married for over 21 years 和 has two teenage boys.

   梅兰妮和克里斯汀都在广泛的主题上获得了路易斯安那路径认证，并且都通过了班级观察培训.

   我们的董事会为教育和商业社区提供了熟练的技能组合.