Implementing developmentally appropriate practices in all early childhood classrooms.

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United Way’s innovative professional development grant supports the work of Las Familias/Whole Teacher, Whole Child, SAZAEYC Community of Practice. Funding for this opportunity is brought to you by First Things First, www.azftf.gov.

First Things First, approved by Arizona voters, works to ensure that our youngest children have access to quality early childhood experiences so they will start school healthy and ready to succeed. Across the state, FTF regional partnership councils – in collaboration with local leaders – identify the educational and health needs of children from birth through age 5 in their communities and fund strategies to address those needs.

Communities of practices are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as the interact regularly.  — E. Wenger

Our members work back and forth along a continuum—

• Imposing expert knowledge
• Using useful knowledge
• Asking for more evidenced-based knowledge
• Collaborating with others and sharing existing knowledge.
• And learning from one another’s experiences and stories.

We believe communities of practice have been proven to be a powerful force for professional learning and growth in a variety of work environments. Positive change is more likely to happen and be sustained in moments when people doing the same work engage together over time with what is described as “waves of related ideas” (Curtis, Lebo, Cividanes, & Carter, 2013).

Coordinators: Kelly Larkin, Sarah Woodworth and Julia Butler

Contact Information

Email: sarahwoodworth1@gmail.com 

Phone: 520-869-8736 (Kelly)