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Services

Early Childhood Education

Our Early Childhood Division provides a wide range of services for both program directors and program staff.

Our services include but are not limited to the following:

Ponte & Chau specializes in evaluation of educational and teaching training programs via a multi-faceted, mixed-method model. For program evaluation, our approach is guided by Jacobs' (1988) comprehensive Five-Tiered evaluation plan for formatively and summatively examine the effectiveness, efficacy, and efficiency of programs serving children, families, and service providers. Evaluation projects begin with an initial meeting to assess the level and extent of the evaluation work needed. Then, a customized evaluation plan is created to suit the particular needs of the organization and to satisfy any reporting requirements set forth by funding agencies or licensure accreditors. Our customized, five-tiered plans focus on assessing needs and demands; accountability; quality and clarity; measurable outcomes; and realizing program impact.

Licensed educational centers often find difficulties managing the strenuous task of collecting, documenting, and evaluating program practices for accreditation while maintaining a high-quality, child-focused educational program. Ponte & Chau provides various levels of support to early childhood education centers to facilitate their accreditation process. We specialize in documenting classroom activities, revising center philosophy statements and strategic plans, creating classroom and center portfolios, collecting survey data and generating necessary reports, and constructing an efficient accreditation plan. We ensure that our plan for your accreditation process is sensitive to teacher schedule and center needs while meeting accreditation milestones. Ponte & Chau is confident that our support can ensure a smooth accreditation process. In particular, our expert team is trained and experienced in NAEYC accreditation.

Ponte & Chau Consulting believes that high quality curriculum is central to a successful program. For this reason, we offer teacher training programs to support emergent and multicultural curriculum. Curriculum in early education settings should be developed through an interactive process among the child, teacher, and the environment. In every classroom there should be a balance between teacher-planned activities and those activities that emerge from the child. Our primary goal is to ensure that curriculum and activities are interactive, engaging, and most importantly fun!

Managing behaviors in the classroom is a primary concern in all communities. Yet, teachers in different communities may have very different notions of what constitutes effective management. As cultural exchange increases and the classroom becomes more diversified, early educators have an opportunity and a responsibility to better understand the orientation of teachers in other communities and the expectations of the children they serve. Ponte & Chau Consulting can help your program navigate this complex topic with practical advice and thoughtful reflection.

The Italian philosophy of early education, Reggio Emilia, identifies the classroom environment as the "third" teacher. The first being the parents and the second being the classroom teacher. When children play, they create an narrative influenced by the physical geography, peer and adult social interactions, and the materials available around them. Educational spaces design characteristics can offer certain affordances that result in intentional and unintentional behaviors on the part of those who use the space. For this reason, Ponte & Chau Consulting provide support to programs to facilitate the educational design of both indoor and outdoor learning spaces.

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