For Early Childhood Professionals
Smart Start of New Hanover County offers technical assistance, coaching, training, and access to resources that support early childhood educators and professionals in our community. Our goal is to help our early childhood community provide positive, stimulating, and quality early learning experiences for young children.
Download Services Sheet for Educators 2022-2023
Behavior and Inclusion Support
Social and emotional development are vital for young children’s success in life. It can be challenging for early care professionals to meet the needs of every child in the classroom. With the support of Behavior and Inclusion Support (BIS) consultants, tools provided by the Center on the Social-Emotional Foundations of Early Learning are utilized and include the promotion of healthy social-emotional behaviors in young children, the prevention of expulsion in child care, and the promotion of inclusive practices. Coaching is available on two levels of support based on need and request:
- Child Specific Forms: Request; Parent consent; Teacher Confidentiality
- Classroom Specific Form: Request
To submit forms electronically, you must download and save the completed form, then send the saved file.
Otherwise, we will receive a blank form.
Child Care Health Consultation
The Child Care Health Consultation model provides consultation, training, and technical assistance to child care providers to address health or safety issues, assess the facility’s health and safety status, and promote best practices for healthy and safe environments. The Child Care Health Consultant can provide support and assistance with illness and infectious diseases, safety and injury prevention, policy development, and health education, to name a few. Child care facilities may be eligible to receive free training on health & safety topics: staff would participate in the training with follow up TA provided to the staff and administrator. For more information, contact Lakeasha.Glaspie@newhanoverkids.org or call 910.815.3731.
Health & Safety Private Training Request
Health & Safety Technical Assistance Request
Child Care Updates
Smart Start of NHC assists the child care business by sharing up-to-date information such as openings and other services with parents seeking child care. Please fill out this form in its entirety to update your Child Care Center or Family Child Care Home’s openings.
Community Outreach and Education
Smart Start of NHC provides accurate and relevant information about children birth to age five with parents, community members and public officials to strengthen the early childhood system. Audiences include early childcare centers, community events, and work-groups. Contact Smart Start of New Hanover County, 910-815-3731.
Our partnership with NHC Schools provides support to publicly funded preschool programs, including NC Pre-K and Head Start, through the implementation of a unified curriculum, an on-line assessment system, professional development, and coaching by a trained team.
Farm to Early Care and Education (F2ECE)
Farm to Early Care and Education (F2ECE) connects local farms with local childcare centers to empower the development of community-based, equitable food systems, providing children with experiential ways to engage with food. For more information, click here.
Job Board
Search early childhood educator job openings for FREE here! Information posted will include position, pay range, age group and more. For any questions, contact Matt Schaeffer at Smart Start NHC.
Professional Development Connections
Smart Start Professional Development Connections provides incentives to early educators with the goal of raising the education levels of professionals working with young children.
Each year, Smart Start of New Hanover County offers Dedication to Education bonuses to individual early educators who have attained certain educational milestones and to child care centers who have achieved at least five of seven education points. Applications and eligibility criteria are mailed to all licensed child care centers in New Hanover County serving children birth to five years of age.
Individual and Center Bonus application windows are closed.
For more information, contact Mindy.Davis@newhanoverkids.org 910-815-3731 ext. 1010
Professional Development Support
Smart Start of New Hanover County is committed to raising the education levels of professionals working with young children. Staff plan trainings around topics such as Creativity in the Classroom, Outdoor Spaces, Challenging Behavior, and many others. Additionally, staff are able to help guide you as you work towards a degree in early childhood. Learn more.
Resource Room
Early childhood professionals and families can check-out curriculum guides, resource books, videos, children’s CDs, and theme boxes with educational toys and activity ideas. Laminating services, die cuts, museum passes, baby wear and other items are also available. A computer work station is available to educators completing college coursework. Membership requires a small annual fee. For more information, click here.
Scholarships – Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health
Smart Start of New Hanover County is pleased to offer scholarships designed to support experienced professionals who wish to obtain a graduate level certificate in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. In collaboration with New Hanover County and funding from the Federal American Rescue Plan, this scholarship can provide tuition assistance to service providers who currently work with or on behalf of families with children age birth through 5 years old.
Candidates must live and work in New Hanover County and may include social workers, early childhood educators, psychologists, counselors, pediatricians, nurses, public health educators, child protective services personnel, and other professionals working with, or on behalf of, infants and young children. Learn More
Training and Technical Assistance
To improve and maintain the quality of care and education for young children, Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) consultants provide individualized coaching to early care professionals on room arrangement, daily schedule review, updating policies and procedures, preparing for Environment Rating Scale assessments, and many other areas pertaining to early care and education. If you’d like to receive Technical Assistance from one of our CCR&R consultants, please complete the request form.
CCR&R and BIS consultants provide specialized, DCDEE approved workshops on a variety topics such as CPR and First Aid, ITS SIDS, Operating a Family Child Care Home, Challenging Behaviors, and Infant Toddler Development. Learn More
If you’d like to provide your staff with a private workshop, please complete the appropriate request form below. Requests are first come-first served and dependent upon the consultant’s schedule. Fees are $10 per participant or $100 flat rate with less than 10 participants.
CPR and First Aid
NC Foundations
General (topics of your choice)
For more information, contact Mindy.Davis@newhanoverkids.org 910-815-3731 ext. 1010
