Florida HiPPY Training & TecHnical assisTance cenTerCollege of Behavioral & Community SciencesUniversity of South Florida13301 Bruce B Downs Blvd, MHC 2113ATampa, Florida 33612Phone (813) 974-2177Fax (813) 974-6115

http://floridahippy.fmhi.usf.edu

sTaTe co-direcTorsTracy Payne, PhD • payne12@usf.eduDabaram Rampersad • rampersad@usf.edu

HiPPY Usa1221 Bishop StreetLittle Rock, AR 72202Tel: (501) 537-7726 Fax: (501) 537-7716

http://www.hippyusa.org

FLORIDA

Times

FloridaHIPPYStateOffice

FloridaHIPPY

Fall 2019

Starting Kindergarten Ready to LearnCo-Director’s Report — Tracy Payne

I remember when my eldest son, our firstborn, started kindergarten. He had never attended preschool or childcare and now he would be away from me and his younger brothers for a full 8 hours! We were all excited and afraid and restless. We went as a family to take him to his first day. Despite the talks we had with him and having visited the teacher and classroom the week before, still he asked us to please stay. So we did. My husband took the younger boys to a nearby friend’s house, picked up some coffee, and came back where the two of us sat outside the classroom.

Yeah, I know. A bit much?

He stuck his head out at least three times during the time my husband was gone and about two more times after he saw that his Dad was back. By lunchtime he gave us the thumbs up that we could go home; he was good.

He adjusted quickly and, by the end of the second week, was a pretty popular chap. When the time came for each of his brothers to go off to Kindergarten, they never asked us to stay; they had witnessed their brother’s adjustment and subsequent joy to leave for school. Many of you reading this probably have a similar story. Well, except for the part about sitting outside the classroom perhaps.

Twenty years later, I know that my children’s many achievements are directly related to the confidence they developed as the small successes accumulated, beginning with those on their first day of school. The one thing more exciting than your child starting Kindergarten is your child starting Kindergarten ready to learn.

Being “school ready” is an interesting and nebulous expression. It means something different depending on who you ask. Parents think it means being able to name things, like letters and numbers. Teachers think it means being able to pay attention for longer than 10 seconds and being able to use your words, not your fists (or teeth). Research shows it means having self-regulation and executive functioning skills, which actually underlie all of the aforementioned skills.

Well, the HIPPY program has been partnering with parents for thirty years to prepare children to name letters and numbers, to practice their social-emotional and attentional skills, which all serve to aid in the development of those critical self-regulation and executive functioning skills.

There’s something else that HIPPY does that isn’t often highlighted. HIPPY prepares parents for school. HIPPY parents know how to support their children’s learning, practice regular routines, designate a place and time for educational activities, use the library and attend community events. And after years of partnering with their home visitors, our HIPPY families make the best partners with teachers and schools.

2019 HIPPY GraduationsWe are so very proud of all of our

programs big and small. Florida currently has 16 programs serving 18 counties, which means there are 51 counties that still need a program for their children and families. Our coordinators and home visitors are dedicated to the families they serve weekly. The HIPPY curriculum provides 30 weeks of developmentally appropriate materials, curriculum, and books that strengthen children’s cognitive, social/emotional, and physical development. While HIPPY has traditionally served children ages 3-5, this new school year HIPPY will also be recruiting families with 2-year-old children to participate in the new HIPPY 4 Little Learners.

The Hillsborough HIPPY Parent Involvement Project (HHPIP), directed by Brenda Brinson, is a program of the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences’ Center for Inclusive Communities. HHPIP had 350 children enrolled at the time of their 2019-2020 ceremonies on September 7, 2019. Eighty-one children participated in that graduation, of whom 68 (84%) had completed all three years of the HIPPY curriculum. HHPIP has approximately 250 children returning this year and already have 67 families waiting to start the HIPPY program for their first time. Congratulations HHPIP!

The Pinellas County HIPPY/R’Club Child Care Inc., directed by Shonyell Johnson, had 297 children enrolled at the time of their 2019-2020 graduation on August 3, 2019. Thirty-nine children graduated, of whom 23 (almost 60%) had completed all three years of the HIPPY curriculum. Graduate spots were filled immediately by 52 children who have or will roll

over into the year 3 curriculum. As of September 11, 2019, the Pinellas

County HIPPY program has 64 children on the waitlist.

HHPIP Staff Preformed at Graduation

HIPPY Pinellas HIPPY Pinellas

HIPPY Fort Lauderdale

HIPPY N. Miami

HHPIP

Family Central has three HIPPY programs in South Florida: Ft. Lauderdale, North Miami, and West Palm Beach. Collectively they serve 451 children and graduated 84 children from their programs. Sixty-six percent of those who graduated had participated in all three years of the HIPPY curriculum.

Miranda Gopaul is the coordinator of the Broward County/Ft. Lauderdale HIPPY program, which provides services to 147 children. This site celebrated its annual graduation in June where 37 children graduated from the program. Out of the 37 children, 22 (almost 60%) had completed 3 years of the curriculum. At the time of the graduation, they had 18 children on the waitlist to receive services.

Diana Palacios-Fernandez is the coordinator for the North Miami HIPPY. This site was serving 204 children when 38 children graduated at their ceremony. Of those who graduated 23 children (61%) completed their 3rd year with HIPPY. The North-Miami program had a waitlist of 27 and were full by the end of July, 2019.

Martha Gomez is the coordinator for the West Palm Beach HIPPY program, which serves 100 children, nine of whom graduated from HIPPY this year. Of the nine children, seven (78%) completed all three years of the HIPPY curriculum.

This is a special shout out to Representative Wengay “Newt” Newton of District 70 who has always given a shout out to HIPPY! He took time from his busy schedule to visit with Ms. Brinson and the HHPIP Home Visitors at their graduation ceremony. We also want to take a moment to recognize the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, as the funders of the Tampa program site. The former and current contract managers were there to support the children on this day as well.

Congratulations to our graduates, and thank you

to all our supporters!

HHPIP with Wengay Newton

HIPPY Palm Beach

HIPPY Palm Beach HIPPY West Palm

HIPPY Ocala

Supported by funds from The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County and Florida’s Office of Early Learning in collaboration with the University of South Florida.

Events, activities, programs, and facilities of the University of South Florida are available to all without regard to race, color, marital status, sex, religion, national

origin, disability, age, Vietnam or disabled veteran status as provided by law and in accordance with the University’s respect for personal dignity.

How Can I Help? Make a Donation Today!Checks payable to: USF Foundation (Memo Line: Acct # 530004 HIPPY Services Fund)

Please send all donations to: Florida HIPPY Foundation Account, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MHC 2113A, Tampa, FL 33612The USF Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization.

HiPPY Mission sTaTeMenT

HIPPY partners with parents to prepare their children for success in school.

family, they participated in three years of HIPPY reading challenges and group meetings. She loves each HIPPY book and appreciated having a book to read with her daughter every day. HIPPY helped her daughter learn how to read, improved her reading comprehension skills and awakened a love for reading in Estelle.

She is currently attending USF for professional and technical communications. However, she made it clear when she started that HIPPY would not stop.

During her most recent parent-teacher conference, teachers expressed how great her daughter was doing, how she was above level and has excelled the entire school year. She gives all thanks to HIPPY and I give all thanks to her! She made her kids learning impactful, fun, and created lasting memories. I am so glad to have been able to witness some of it.

— Shanica Meadows, Lead Home Visitor

HIPPY Success!Chelsea Williams is awarded HHPIP’s Purple Excellence Award

I am so inspired by one of my HIPPY parents, Ms. Chelsea Williams and how she lives a life of purposeful adventures! Three years ago, her daughters’ school fair led her to HIPPY, and HIPPY led her to me. Putting us together was more than HIPPY magic. It built within us a desire to continue traveling on this HIGHWAY TO PURPOSE!

Driving to her weekly home visits made me smile because I knew that she would take me on a HIPPY adventure! HIPPY was a priority for her. She would share how much fun her and her daughter, Estelle had together. I could see the happiness and love that she applied to teaching each activity. Her priority was to make sure her daughter entered kindergarten ready to learn. I was honored to be a part of their journey together.

In addition to her HIPPY life, she served active duty in the air force for almost 21 years! Chelsea makes the most of every encounter, every day. She is not only a wife, and a mother of three beautiful girls, but I think she is superwoman in disguise. She would identify activities that could include the whole family to have family time, while doing HIPPY. As a

The Purple Excellence Award was established in 2018 by the Hillsborough HIPPY Parent Involvement Project (HHPIP) to honor the life and legacy of the late Dr. Mary Lindsey-Lewis. This award is symbolic of Dr. Lindsey’s favorite color and her belief that excellence is an attitude, belief, and action. Each year, one graduating HHPIP parent is recognized as an outstanding parent who exemplifies Dr. Lindsey’s love of education, children, family and community.