Community Involvement

该组织于2017年4月收到了501(c)(3)决定书.

Mission: To assist families, educators, 以及社区加强儿童成功的基础.

Vision: 所有的孩子都有未来成功所需的坚实基础.

TrainingGrounds, Inc. assists parents, 照顾者和专业人士为孩子提供丰富的学习经验, positive adult-child interactions and social emotional skills that will contribute to success in school and beyond. 我们采用以下三种方法:

1. “We PLAY Center”: The We PLAY Center is a free community based space where caregivers and children thrive through education, enrichment, community and support.
   The space is filled with age appropriate toys and activities where parents and caregivers follow the child-directed play of children 3 and under. We PLAY中心为照顾者和他们的孩子提供了另一种选择，他们没有机会进入高质量的早期儿童学习中心/体验. During play sessions, 家长教育工作者为家长树立适当的成人-儿童互动模式，并为儿童提供学习机会，刺激大脑发育，培养社会情感, language, 认知和入学准备技能. In the center, adults use narrative and parallel talk to stimulate language development. 拼图、分类玩具和音乐都是用来培养计算能力的. 随着时间的推移，We PLAY中心有机地发展成为一个社区和一个自然的支持系统，中心的参与者可以获得可靠的资源和安全的空间来寻求育儿方面的帮助, 养育和/或教育他们的孩子. 通过We PLAY中心，照顾者和孩子们都发展了能力和信心，这将有助于孩子在学校和以后的成功.
2. 家长学习机会: 补充在We PLAY中心进行的学习, 训练场的讲习班和研讨会是专门为父母和照顾者提供策略和技巧，以提高他们的养育技能，并发展积极的成人与儿童的互动
3. 专业发展工作坊: TrainingGrounds与幼儿专业人士密切合作，向所有影响我们早期学习生活的个人发出一致的信息. 通过专业发展研讨会，我们帮助幼儿教育工作者理解他们被要求实施的许多标准背后的“科学”和“原因”. As well as provide them with strategies and techniques to create quality learning experiences for children.

Impact:

• We PLAY Center *
  • Opened April 25, 2017
  • 179个家庭参加了这个项目
  • 60%的参与者会多次回访
  • 与护理人员和儿童进行1000次接触

*The We PlAY Center is currently open 3 days a week for 2 hours each day and continues to deliver programming
and attract new families.

1. 目前We PLAY中心的人口统计:
   • 参观We PLAY中心的结果:
     • 91.7% of families reported having a better understanding of ages and stages of development, feeling supported in their role as caregiver and engaging in different types of interactions with their children at home (singing songs together, telling stories, reading)
     • 83.3% of families reported being able to identify the benefits of play in child development.
     • 95.8%的家庭表示，他们的孩子表现出了与年龄相适应的社交技能的提高，他们对如何与孩子一起提高语言发展技能有了更好的理解
     • 91.6% of families either strongly agreed or agreed feeling like that they have a stronger bond with their children
     • 100% of families reported creating more opportunities for them and their children to play together and would recommend the Center to family and friends
   • Anecdotal
     • “这种吸引人的环境有利于父母和孩子的学习.
       负责这个项目的专业人员与孩子们进行互动，并指导家长发挥他们的作用……这个项目在家长和孩子之间有很强的社区意识.”
     • “工作人员非常热情，知识渊博! 我儿子的社交和语言能力在不断提高!”
     • “I love the interaction with the kids at the we play center…It’s a very nice space for kids to play and learn. 我很高兴把我儿子介绍给这种环境. I wish the hrs were longer, but other than that it’s an excellent form of learning for my baby and it’s really preparing him for head start.”
   • 教育工作者的专业发展
     • 500多名幼儿专业人员参加了研讨会
     • 2000多名儿童出生-5名受到影响
     • 95%的人表示会使用所学的信息
   • 家长学习机会
     • 在美国教育部和《十大电子游戏平台》杂志主办的新奥尔良南方大学“家长力量论坛”上发表演讲.
     • Fall 2017: Contract with Family In Need of Services to offer 4 workshops per month for 10 months
     • 2017年秋季:与家庭法院签订合同，每月提供2次共同育儿讲习班
     • Spring 2018 HealthyBlue Louisiana sponsored a 5 workshop series of Active Parenting the First Five Years

   Support:
   TrainingGrounds参加了三个有竞争力的创业项目. Propeller, 4.学校和Camelback Ventures每周都提供一对一的指导, 获得高层网络和投资者, pro bono technical support, and free office space. 我们从4那里得到了1万美元和4万美元的资金支持.分别是0所学校和Camelback Ventures. In Fall 2017, Traininggrounds won the Pitch NOLA Education Competition for their We PLAY Center and received $5500. We have received grant funding for the 2018 year from the GPOA Foundation as well as the Institute for Mental Hygiene. 科珀斯克里斯蒂社区资源中心继续支持我们的倡议，为我们的“玩耍中心”和“家长学习机会研讨会”捐赠空间. Also, the families that utilize our free We PLAY Center show their support by donating money and refreshments.

   合作机构:
   Corpus Christi Community Center provides free space for our We PLAY Center and parent learning opportunity courses. In Fall 2017 we co-hosted with Propeller Incubator a Race and Equity in Early Childhood convening to bring awareness of the challenges facing New Orleans. 我们为金斯利大厦举办了专业发展研讨会, Total Community Action, 霍夫曼早教中心, 需要服务的家庭, 原色学习中心, 以及专业组织.

   Our Team
   梅兰妮·理查森，城市生活垃圾，城市生活垃圾
   Melanie Richardson is a native New Orleanian who has been working in the fields of mental health and adult education for over 20 years. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. 回到新奥尔良后, Melanie曾担任青少年精神病住院治疗机构主任和社区精神健康康复机构项目主任, 分别获得联合委员会和COA认证.
   作为两个机构的启动运营总监, Melanie aided in turning ideas into fruition and was instrumental in providing much-needed services to the community. 她多年来和学生们一起工作的经验, 不同环境下的家长和社区成员为她提供了宝贵的洞察力和对服务类型的理解，这些服务将使社区和选民蓬勃发展. 梅勒妮已婚，有一个十几岁的儿子.

   Christine Neely, M.Ed
   Christine Neely在教育领域工作了20多年，一直致力于提高标准，为家庭和学生提供资源. Christine has spent over 15 years serving as lead teacher in grades PK-3rd while working closely with administration to mentor new teachers, 开发课程并转向共同核心. Christine has
   在全国会议上发表演讲，并举办有关扫盲发展的讲习班, hands on education, 七种基本技能中的大脑结构和思维. 她是P的活跃成员.E.O国际促进全世界妇女的教育机会. 她已经结婚21年了，有两个十几岁的儿子.

   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.

   Our board provides a proficient mix of skills in both the education and business community.