Delaware Stars provides essential supplies and educational assistance

Imagine teaching 3-year-olds to practice social distancing. Not an easy task, but one of many requirements that early care and education programs must implement to stay open during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Early childhood professionals are today’s frontline responders, taking children’s temperatures, rigorously disinfecting classrooms and implementing social distancing to help Delawareans return to their workplace.

Fortunately, early childhood professionals aren’t alone. Delaware Stars, a state-funded program within the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) at the University of Delaware, charged with helping early care and education programs improve quality, has provided much-needed resources, such as thermometers, cloth face coverings and hand sanitizers to more than 600 programs statewide through contactless delivery.

“The goal of DIEEC is to improve the quality of early care and education programs throughout the state of Delaware,” said Rena Hallam, director of DIEEC and professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. “The work in Delaware Stars is a great example of how we have adapted to meet the changing needs of early childhood programs during this difficult time.”

The Institute is housed in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences in the College of Education and Human Development.

Read the full article in UDaily