A Showcase of Outstanding User Success Stories
How are ASQ users across the country making the most of today’s most trusted screener—and solving their biggest challenges in innovative ways? Find out in this free ASQ Innovators webinar series, an in-depth look at the successes and solutions of outstanding ASQ users.
Each featured user will deliver an engaging 25-minute presentation, followed by a Q&A session where other ASQ users can ask questions and gain fresh insight on overcoming their own challenges. A great opportunity to get tips, strategies, and inspiration from seasoned ASQ experts!
Webinars
Pivoting to Virtual ASQ Screenings During the COVID-19 Health Crisis
Originally aired Tuesday, March 23, 2021 @ 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Patricia “Patty” Eitemiller, Infant Development Specialist, City of Alexandria Early Childhood Division, Alexandria, Virginia, and Aaron “Buddy” Rhodes, Educational Site Manager, Campagna Center, Alexandria, Virginia
Last spring, the COVID-19 health crisis forced many early childhood programs to provide services virtually, including developmental and social-emotional screening. Join this webinar to find out how the City of Alexandria’s Early Childhood Division supported several of its early childhood programs to shift to virtual screenings in their public and private preschools and Head Start program. You’ll learn which strategies and resources they used to overcome the challenges of completing ASQ ®-3 and ASQ ®:SE-2 through virtual meetings with parents. And you’ll hear how they discovered the benefits of virtual screenings, such as strengthened relationships between providers and parents and increased engagement of parents in their children’s development.
Audience: early childhood educators, home visitors, center directors, program administrators, training and technical assistance staff
An Innovative Training Plan for Ensuring Effective Community-Wide ASQ Screening
Originally aired Thursday, April 22, 2021 @ 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Shannon Ellison, Manager of Health and Development, Collaboration for Early Childhood, Oak Park, Illinois
Meaningful, effective, and consistent training can be a challenging part of large screening initiatives, especially those involving multiple community partners. In this webinar, you’ll hear solutions from Shannon Ellison, Manager of Health and Development for the Collaboration for Early Childhood, a collective impact agency in Oak Park, Illinois.
Shannon designed an innovative training and coaching plan that’s helped more than 20 community partners effectively incorporate developmental screening into their work. Using the ASQ® family of screening tools, Shannon’s project consolidates the efforts of early childhood center-based programs, home-based early childhood programs, pediatric practices, home visiting programs, and public libraries to promote the annual screening of all children ages birth to five throughout the community. In the webinar, Shannon will share the secrets of her success, offering details about her eight-part training plan that covers ASQ®-3 and ASQ®:SE-2, effective communication with families, understanding referrals and eligibility, and using ASQ Online. You’ll learn tips for delivering effective trainings and discover which key factors to consider as you plan your own trainings.
Audience: coaches, trainers, training and technical assistance staff, early childhood center directors, program administrators, district administrators
Optimizing Child Find Efforts in a Community with ASQ Online
Originally aired Thursday, May 13 at 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Dawn Alexander, Preschool Coordinator, Colonial Early Education Program, New Castle, Delaware
School districts across the country are required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to systematically identify children with disabilities and provide the services they need. In this webinar, you’ll hear how one school district in Delaware uses ASQ® Online to meet the Child Find mandate and increase access to screening for all the children in their district.
Preschool Coordinator Dawn Alexander will share how the Colonial School District switched from using a professionally administered screening tool to having parents complete ASQ®-3 and ASQ®:SE-2 through Family Access. You’ll learn how they spread awareness about developmental screening, ensured timely completion of questionnaires, and connected families with services. The webinar will also highlight a unique partnership between the school district and local child care programs—a collaboration that supports screening rates throughout the community.
Audience: school administrators, child care and preschool center directors, early childhood educators
Here We Grow! Delaware’s Developmental Screening Initiative
Originally aired Wednesday, November 3, 2021 @2:00 pm ET
Presented by Jenny Grady, Technical Assistant, Office of Early Learning, Delaware Department of Education; Jamie Walko, Technical Assistant, Office of Early Learning, Delaware Department of Education; and Diane Frentzel, Program Manager, Delaware Readiness Teams
In July 2021, Delaware became the first state in the country to require screening in licensed child care. With the groundbreaking Developmental Screening Bill, Delaware required all licensed child care programs to complete developmental screening for children in their care, from ages 0-5.
Hear the story behind Delaware’s decade-long developmental screening initiative in this engaging Here We Grow! webinar, presented by leaders of the initiative. You’ll learn how the state currently uses ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 through the ASQ Online system, and you’ll get an inside look at their plans to guide scale-up activities in the coming years. You’ll also discover how Delaware has kept the needs of children and families at the center of their screening efforts.
Participants will learn:
- How stakeholder and parent input were collected and used to drive legislative changes
- How the Delaware Department of Education is preparing for full implementation of screening in licensed child care, effective in 2023
- How data and information from ASQ screening results is used to drive family outreach activities
Audience: local and state school administrators, community leaders, school administrators, child care and preschool center directors, technical and training assistance staff
Engaging and Empowering Families: Lessons Learned from Metro United Way’s Ages & Stages Developmental Screening Hub
Originally aired Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Kimberly Broecker, Manager, Developmental Screening, Metro United Way
Metro United Way’s successful Ages & Stages Developmental Screening Hub provides free, ongoing screening with ASQ®-3 and ASQ®:SE-2 for children from 2 months to 5½ years of age. Available to families across Metro United Way’s Seven County Region (3 counties in Indiana and 4 counties in Kentucky), this initiative has expanded access to screening and empowered families and caregivers with the knowledge they need to help their children reach their full potential.
Join us for an informative ASQ Innovators webinar with Developmental Screening Manager Kimberly Broecker, who will share both successes and lessons learned from this 12-year-old initiative. You’ll hear how Metro United Way has:
- worked to build neighborhood engagement in the highest-poverty area in their region
- expanded capacity for the use of ASQ in their community
- collaborated with partners such as Head Start, Part C, and local libraries
- conducted a landscape survey examining use of ASQ in local child care centers
- developed outreach efforts to pediatric partners
- implemented the System for Tracking Access and Referrals (STAR) database
You’ll also come away with new ideas and knowledge to help you strengthen screening efforts in your own community.
Audience: Early childhood program administrators, public health administrators, community leaders, home visitors, social workers
Meet the Presenters
Kimberly Broecker, Manager, Developmental Screening, Metro United Way
Presenting Engaging and Empowering Families: Lessons Learned from Metro United Way’s Ages & Stages Developmental Screening Hub
Kimberly Broecker was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, but left the area in 1997. She and her husband hopped up and down the east coast for 10 years with his job and returned home in 2007 with two children in tow! She joined Metro United Way as the Developmental Screening Manager in 2009 and has worked to support the community with the Ages & Stages Developmental Screening Hub ever since.
Jenny Grady, Technical Assistant, Office of Early Learning, Delaware Department of Education
Presenting Here We Grow! Delaware’s Developmental Screening Initiative
Jenny Grady has held a variety of roles in education since 2011. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Deaf Studies from Towson University and a Master’s Degree in Special Education with a concentration in Deaf and Hard of Hearing education from the University of Arizona. Previously, she worked in deaf and hard of hearing early intervention as a classroom teacher and family educator, then served as the Education and Disability Coordinator for the First Start Delaware Early Head Start Child Care Partnership. Most recently, she has been working as a Technical Assistant contracting with the Delaware Department of Education Office of Early Learning, leading the Developmental Screening initiative. Mrs. Grady currently oversees Delaware’s ASQ Online Enterprise Account and serves as the facilitator for the implementation of Delaware’s Developmental Screening Initiative providing free screening to all Delaware children.
Jamie Walko, Technical Assistant, Office of Early Learning, Delaware Department of Education
Presenting Here We Grow! Delaware’s Developmental Screening Initiative
Jamie Walko has been involved in special education in Delaware for 44 years, with 24 of those years specifically dedicated to early childhood. She has worked in the Colonial and Christina school districts in the Child Find office and currently consults for the Office of Early Learning as a Technical Assistant. Jamie has been involved in the ASQ initiative in Delaware since it began in 2013, providing ASQ training and T.A. to all child cares in the state. She worked to transition all programs onto the online portal, and was a key player when creating the current statewide ASQ Online system. Most recently she has been an active member of the Learn the Signs Act Early State Team and Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Grant, and she served as the chair for the Help Me Grow Advisory Committee. She is currently on the Delaware State Developmental Screening Implementation Team as a subject matter expert. Jamie holds a B.S. in Elementary/Special Education from West Chester State University and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Wilmington University.
Diane Frentzel,Program Manager, Delaware Readiness Teams
Presenting Here We Grow! Delaware’s Developmental Screening Initiative
Diane is the Program Manager of the Delaware Readiness Teams, an organization that convenes families, early learning providers, school representatives, and community members to ensure that children ages birth to 8 are ready for school and life. In her role, Diane provides leadership and management to the Delaware Readiness Teams statewide. Prior to joining the Delaware Readiness Teams, Diane worked as a child care director at Bright Horizons. Diane has coordinated the Making a Difference Conference: A Conference for Early Childhood Professionals since 2016. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Development and Education from the University of Delaware.
Patricia “Patty” Eitemiller, Infant Development Specialist, City of Alexandria Early Childhood Division, Alexandria, Virginia
Presenting Pivoting to Virtual ASQ Screenings During the COVID-19 Health Crisis
Patricia “Patty” Eitemiller spent over 15 years as an Infant Development Specialist in the City of Alexandria’s Early Intervention program where she administered the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 as part of the initial intake/screening process with children referred for services. Over two years ago, she assumed a new role providing monitoring oversight to the local Head Start program and professional development and training to the various early childhood programs within the City of Alexandria. A trainer for the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 since early 2019, Patty has trained and supported early childhood professionals across several programs in Alexandria to provide the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2 virtually amidst this COVID-19 health crisis.
Aaron “Buddy” Rhodes, Educational Site Manager, Campagna Center, Alexandria, Virginia
Presenting Pivoting to Virtual ASQ Screenings During the COVID-19 Health Crisis
Raised in the Northern Virginia area, Aaron “Buddy” Rhodes has been working in early childhood education since 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University in Early Childhood Education. Buddy has held many different roles in ECE and currently is the Educational Site Manager for The Campagna Center, who runs the Head Start program for the City of Alexandria in Virginia. Through this role, he hopes to inspire all teachers that he works with to continue to research best practices within the ECE field and also to be a role model to other males who are considering a profession in ECE.
Shannon Ellison, Manager of Health and Development, Collaboration for Early Childhood, Oak Park, Illinois
Presenting An Innovative Training Plan for Ensuring Effective Community-Wide ASQ Screening
Shannon has served as the Developmental Screening Coordinator (and as the Manager of Health and Development) for the Collaboration for Early Childhood since January 2014. She holds a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from National-Louis University. She brings more than 25 years of experience working with children and families in various positions of child care, Early Head Start, Head Start and pre-K, and statewide early intervention programs, as well as those experiencing homelessness. All of these roles speak to Shannon’s passion for serving families to meet the needs of their littlest members to develop into their full selves.
Dawn Alexander, Preschool Coordinator, Colonial Early Education Program, New Castle, Delaware
Presenting Optimizing Child Find Efforts in a Community with ASQ Online
Dawn Alexander is the Preschool Coordinator for Colonial School District in New Castle, DE. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Delaware and a Master’s Degree in Education from Boston University. Ms. Alexander was a public school teacher of young children with and without disabilities for over 20 years, and she has served in her current role for over five years. Ms. Alexander has written, received, and managed numerous grants, she was Colonial School District’s 2010 Teacher of the Year, she received the Governor’s Excellence in Early Childhood Education Award in 2016, and she received the Excellence in Education Alumni Award from the University of Delaware in 2018. Ms. Alexander is the Lead for the Colonial Readiness Team (CRT), a member of the Delaware Technical and Community College Early Childhood Education Advisory Board, a member of Delaware’s Special Education Strategic Planning Advisory Council (SESPAC), and a member of the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity’s Social Determinants of Health Work Group.
