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Episode 16 - Jennie Couture Scholarship Feb 13, 2024

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If you have been around DECAL for any time over our past 20 years now, you have heard the name Jennie Couture. Jennie was our Director of Practice and Support Services who retired in 2022 after a 40 year career dedicated to special education, inclusion, and behavioral support. To honor Jennie and her love for inclusion, the Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning began the Jennie Couture Legacy Scholarship Fund, a program that serves early childhood educators with professional development opportunities in areas so close to Jennie’s heart: inclusion and social-emotional development. Joining us to talk about the Jennie Couture Legacy Scholarship is Laura Wagner, Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning; our first recipient of the award, Tierra Faulcon with Faulcon Prep Academy in Smyrna, and of course the lady, the legend herself, Jennie Couture.

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Episode 15 - Inclusive Early Learning Week 2024 Feb 06, 2024

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DECAL’s Inclusive Early Learning Week will be celebrated the week of February 12-16, 2024. The mission of IELW is to promote inclusive practices within early learning environments across Georgia. This year we are also celebrating the Inclusion and Behavior Support Program’s 10-year anniversary at DECAL. Joining us to share more about inclusion and IELW, are Peggy Sutton, Inclusion and Behavior Support Regional Supervisor, Tabitha Howard, Center Director at YMCA Paulding Early Learning Center, Tina Holt, Georgia’s Pre-K Inclusion Lead Teacher at YMCA Paulding Early Learning Center, and Michele Biggers, whose 14 year old daughter Payton has written a book about inclusion called Autism Gives Me Superpowers.

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Episode 14 - DECAL Family Peer Ambassadors Jan 28, 2024

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Since Fall of 2019, DECAL has had a group of volunteers working in their communities to share information with families about the resources available in our state. Our DECAL Family Peer Ambassadors are fathers, mothers, grandparents, foster parents, and other kinship caregivers of young children. They serve as leaders in their community, providing families of young children with information about child development and strategies they can use to support their children’s school readiness. Joining us today are Bridget Ratajczak, DECAL’s Child and Family Development Supervisor and CDC’s Act Early Ambassador to the state of Georgia; Jenny Semendy, DECAL’s Child and Family Development Training Specialist, and some of our Family Peer Ambassadors: Taquana Stubbs from Douglasville; Christina Sanchez from Atlanta, and Teyona Early from Warner Robins.

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Episode 13 - Meet the Interns Jan 23, 2024

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Since 2016, DECAL has offered paid internships to students currently enrolled in a Georgia college, university, or law school with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. We took a break during the pandemic years of 2020 through 2022, but last year the interns returned. Joining us this week to talk about their experiences so far are two of our communications and government relations interns: Mackenzie Weston is a senior at Kennesaw State University, and Trey Freeman is a senior at Clayton State University. Working with the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning is Brianna Thomas, a graduate student from Kennesaw State University. Also joining us is Mark Dock, Senior Manager of Human Resources here at DECAL.

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Episode 12 - Preview of the 2024 Georgia General Assembly Jan 12, 2024

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The 2024 Session of the Georgia General Assembly opened recently with everything you might expect from the Wild Hog Supper to Governor Kemp’s State of the State Address. But what can we expect for DECAL and early childhood care and education in Georgia this session? Joining us to talk about the Georgia General Assembly, Governor Kemp’s State of the State address, and other topics is Polly McKinney, Advocacy Director for Voices for Georgia’s Children and a partner at Lexicon Strategies, and Rian Ringsrud, Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration for DECAL.

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Episode 11 - Chat with Reg Griffin Jan 09, 2024

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On this week's episode, Commissioner Jacobs flips the script on Host Reg Griffin and asks him the questions. It's a chance to learn more about our Chief Communications Officer and the DECAL Communications Team.

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Episode 10 - Top Ten Episodes for 2023 Dec 26, 2023

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Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind…unless you’re talking about this episode of DECAL Download where we count down the top episodes of 2023 in this look back on our top stories of the year. As in past years, episodes about COVID money continue to be among the most popular….but also new initiatives like Community Transformation Grants and the Thriving Child Care Business Academy. Since we started this podcast in September 2018, we have had close to 77-thousand downloads. So just like Ryan Seacrest or Casey Casem, we are counting down the Top Ten episodes of DECAL Download from 2023.

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Episode 9 - EXPAND Grants Dec 19, 2023

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Earlier this year, DECAL awarded new EXPAND Grants to seven child care providers and six nonprofit and government organizations. Supported by research and analysis showing that the availability of high-quality child care and early education plays a key role in Georgia’s workforce development and economic growth, DECAL created the EXPAND Grants with the growing need for childcare outside traditional hours in mind. Here to talk about the new EXPAND grants is Jill Taylor, Director of Community Partnerships and 2Gen Outreach; Shayna Funke, Director of Research Partnerships and Business Supports; and Dr. Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner for Quality Innovations and Partnerships.

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Episode 8 - Meet Dennis Brice / Memos and Landlines Dec 12, 2023

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In May, 2019, Dennis Brice joined DECAL as our Chief Information Officer, coming to us from McKesson where he served as Vice President of Human Capitol Management and Corporate Applications. About nine months later, COVID became our new reality and, like the rest of the world, DECAL had to shift to more online offerings to keep the agency moving forward. On this episode we check in with Dennis on new DECAL projects, the challenges of AI, and why Commissioner Jacobs sometimes thinks we should go back to "memos and landlines."

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Episode 7 - Holiday Episode Dec 04, 2023

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It's our annual Holiday Episode as we unwrap stories, explore traditions, and embrace the magic that makes this time of year truly extraordinary. As usual, we are joined by members of the DECAL team to discuss great gift ideas for children birth to five, some healthy recipe ideas, and holiday traditions from the DECAL team. Joining us on this episode is Pre-K Program Specialist Alice Lasseter, Nutrition and Physical Activity Supervisor Diana Myers, and a special guest from the North Pole! Georgia's Pre-K Program Specialist Megan OBara and CAPS Consultant Latisha Lewis provide holiday music.

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