Raising the Bar is a community initiative to promote and support early childhood educators in their continuous commitment to excellence in early learning and child care programs.
The program provides a framework for best practice to guide early learning, child care operators, and EarlyON child and family centres in delivering high quality services for children and families.
In addition to the best practice framework, Raising the Bar helps to ensure practices are current and responsive to family and community needs by engaging educators in ongoing reflective practice, leadership, and continuous professional learning.
Merrily: Taking our Early Years Conversations Upstream and Downstream
Together with Stephen Hurley, voicEd Radio, and Michelle Schurter, Millennial Strategist, we are hoping to change the way we talk about Early Years education. By taking an upstream-downstream approach, Merrily puts early years educators in conversation with thought leaders in the field (upstream) and encourages those outside the early years to think about how the learning in these earliest stages of life is critical for all citizens today and tomorrow (downstream).
Join Stephen and Michelle as they paddle merrily upstream and down with delightful guests diving deep into early years conversations!
Resources
The Early Years Rhizones Publication
A celebratory community space for continuous learning, reflection, and connection.
Nomination Form: Early Childhood Leaders of Dufferin County's EYCC Community
Nominate an early childhood professional who is a thought leader, a change maker, or someone who inspires and lifts others up!
Early Learning Careers
Job opportunities for early childhood educators.
This is a career page for people interested in obtaining an Early Learning related position. The County of Dufferin, Children’s Services passes along information on job opportunities and job seekers but is in no way responsible for the quality of positions or applicants. Responsibility for hiring or employment is solely the responsibility of the child care operator, agency, or applicant.
The following positions are available in our community:
Reimagining Quality Project
How might we re-story quality & care in Early Childhood and Education? In this video, the community of Dufferin County Early Childhood Educators, together with the Seneca lab School Early Childhood Educators explore and initiate an investigatory project to Re-story Quality in the Early Years, beyond the traditional top-down story. Let’s create space for hope and possibility that supports us & reminds us of the why of what we do.
What Fills Your Heart Today?
We begin this project and journey with our hearts. We invite you to explore our question “what fills your heart today” and pass along to others; colleagues, educators, families, children to join us in an invitation to re-story quality and care in early childhood education. So much clouds what is important to us as Early Childhood Educators, and this is our effort to return to our values as educators.
It’s time to restore, renew and revive! Our collective voices matter, we as educators matter, our work matters…
How might we magnify, illuminate and amplify the beauty of our work by sharing what fills each of our hearts?
How Can You Participate?
Express and engage in the question “what fills your heart today!” See examples below. Each person may find that a different medium speaks to them. Therefore, each person may choose to use anything that speaks to their desire to share! A photograph, poem, story, comment, or perhaps even a collage! Please share anything that helps you to express what gives flight to the joy in your heart.
Our desire with this invitation is to grow from a few voices to a larger collection of full hearts! Share with us as much or as often as you feel called to. There is no wrong answer to this question, and no right way to share.
Connect with us on social media: @DufferinRTB and @SenecaLabSchool
Share with us What filled your heart today using the hashtags for this project: #DufferinWhatFillsYourHeartToday #SenecaWhatFillsYourHeartToday #DufferinReimaginingQuality #ecematters
You may also submit directly to infoeycc@dufferincounty.ca (Note: please ensure you receive consent, when needed, before posting images or voices of children on their behalf)
The more you offer, the more we can begin to explore what is truly meaningful in our work and lives with children and families.
The Dufferin Childcare Community
Explore Dufferin Childcare Centres
EarlyON Dufferin
Grand Valley, Orangeville, Shelburne
Hyland Centre Child Care
200 Fourth Ave., Shelburne, ON 519-925-5690
Jolly Ranchers Daycare
91 Main Street North, Grand Valley, ON 519-928-9898
Garderie Petit Baobab
60 Century Drive, Orangeville ON 519-307-1345
Sandbox Tech Child Care
70 Montgomery Blvd, Orangeville, ON 519-938-5566
The Sunflower School
Various locations in Orangeville, ON.
Third Street Child Care Centre
69 3rd St, Orangeville, ON 519- 941-7335
YMCA
Various Locations, Orangeville & Shelburne ON
Contact Raising the Bar
30 Centre Street
Orangeville, ON L9W 2X1 519-941-6991 infoeycc@dufferincounty.ca
8:30 am – 4:30 pm