The annual Early Learning Institute offers Nevada educators continuing education credits through professional learning opportunities focused on early childhood topics.

Presentation Description: Nevada Early Childhood Language Access Plan

Discuss Language Equity, Language Bias, and Preview Nevada's statewide Early Childhood Language Access Plan and new resources available through the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five and NDE / OELD. View results of the three EC Language Access Pilot groups.

Attachments:

Download the slide deck

View the Presentation Data (Menti)

Menti Data (EXEL)

YouTube Playlist: Interview with Angela & Luis

Language Access Resources & Tools: https://bit.ly/NevadaECLanguageAccess

COMING SOON: Early Childhood Language Access Home Page

Meet the Presenter:

Rachel Stepina holds an M.A. in Spanish Literature and an M.Ed. in Bilingual Early Childhood Education. She is currently the Grant Manager for Nevada’s Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5), at the Nevada Department of Education, Office of Early Learning and Development and has worked in the Birth through 3^rd Grade (B-3) space in Nevada for more than 8 years. Rachel recently completed a leadership fellowship with the National Association for State Leaders in Early Education (NASLEE), where she represented Nevada as one of 8 states accepted into the year-long program. She completed the National P-3 Leadership Certificate Program hosted by the National P-3 Center in 2023. Rachel taught in higher education Spanish courses for a decade and consistently pursues volunteer and professional opportunities centered in transforming early childhood systems for birth to third grade learning and development, with a focus on language equity and language access.

In her current role, Rachel wrote, manages and implements the three-year federal $30,000,000.00 PDG B-5 award by collaborating with statewide partners to make program, funding and policy decisions regarding how to best expand and/or create aligned early childhood programs and services that equitably improve outcomes for Nevada’s young children and their families, the early childhood workforce, and the early childhood comprehensive system.

Contact Rachel at rachel.stepina@doe.nv.gov