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The Northern Lights Atlas
Early Childhood and Afterschool Professional Development News
Contact Us
Welcome to the newest edition of The Northern Lights
Atlas! Please pass it on! (hint: cut-and-paste works too)
802-828-2876
[email protected]
Volume 8, Number 2
SPRING | APRIL 2015 NEWSLETTER
IN THIS ISSUE
Website updates
Frequently Asked Questions
Did You Know?
What’s New
Coming Up
Congratulations!
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Press CTRL + click to follow any web or email sites in the
newsletter
Don’t forget: save the Northern Lights Career
Development Center website to your Favorites
and LIKE US on FACEBOOK…
Always hit REFRESH
when looking at the Northern
Lights website to see the latest version.
Focus on the Northern Lights Website: http://northernlightscdc.org

NEW! Teacher License page which includes information about the Peer Review Project,
colleges and universities in VT which can recommend for teacher licensure and more. http://
northernlightscdc.org/career-pathways/college-and-university-pathways/teacher-licensure/

UPDATES to the Early Childhood Career Ladder! Vermont’s Early Childhood Career ladder
now recognizes (a) training hours for those with Montessori or Waldorf certification and also
(b) experience gained while working with young children as part of high school technical
education programs. Get the details on the CAREER LADDER page: http://
northernlightscdc.org/career-pathways/early-childhood-pathways/ Career Ladder certificates
are issued for each level completed, and are also recognized by STARS and the Child
Development Division.

NEW! Paying for college courses, a table you can print that summarizes where to get $$ for
college courses, especially when you work in regulated early childhood or afterschool
programs. Find the document on this page: TRAINING AND COURSEWORK - FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE http://northernlightscdc.org/training/financial-assistance/ Find other ways to
get low cost college credit on that page too!
REMEMBER…...
Get Help with Bright Futures Information System (BFIS). The Child Development Division
created tutorials, movies and fact sheets to guide you in using your BFIS Credential account. Find
them on the Child Development Division page: http://dcf.vermont.gov/cdd/bfis
To receive news directly from Child Development Division by email just sign up: http://
vermont.us5.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=9a6aebfc0a6fe752e7e9ec925&id=69d30bf5e4
AND...
Look on the bottom of the Northern Lights home page, or the side bar of all the other pages
to find the latest WHAT’S NEW. We update it at least once a week!
Do you Facebook? Every week we post new information on our facebook page. LIKE US and you
can always get the latest update: www.facebook.com
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Frequently Asked
Questions
QUESTION: BFIS, Northern Lights and
Child Development Division: are they the
same? How do they connect?
ANSWER: These three are not the same
but they do connect. Here’s how:
Child Development Division (CDD) is
part of the Department of Children and
Families, in the VT Agency of Human
Services. It funds Northern Lights Career
Development Center and owns and
manages the Bright Futures Information
System (BFIS).
Bright Futures Information System is
a data management system.
 All regulated programs have a
Program (or Provider) BFIS account.
 Each staff person listed also has a
password protected individual account
in BFIS, called a Quality and
Credential account.
Having this data in one, central, online
place makes it easier for everyone to see
and share information.
Northern Lights Career Development
Center provides information, career
advising and support for early childhood
and afterschool professionals. Northern
Lights is funded by the CDD. Northern
Lights works for CDD to verify and enter
professional development information into
the BFIS data system.
We all work closely together to ensure
the professional development system is
linked, clear and accessible.
Did You Know?
There was a 30% jump in Early Childhood Career
Ladder Level Certificates awarded between July 1
and Dec. 31, 2014, compared to July – Dec 2013?
There are now over 1300 certificates issued, and 20%
go to people with more than one certificate. ALSO in
the first half of this year, over 690 workshop sessions
were entered into the BFIS Course Calendar and almost
9000 individual attendance entries were made in BFIS
Quality and Credential Accounts. Whew…
Early Educator of the Year Award: Nominate a
home-based childcare Professional
The Permanent Fund is seeking
nominations for an outstanding
home-based childcare
professional. This year, the top
two finalists will be honored at
the October 2015 VAEYC
Conference in Killington, VT. To be eligible the person
must:
 Work in a home-based childcare program with least
four stars in the Vermont STep Ahead Recognition
System (STARS), and
 have provided care for at least three years, and
currently have infants and toddlers enrolled
You may self–nominate. Nomination forms are available
on the Permanent Fund website. Next year the
Permanent Fund plans to seek nominees from center
based programs.
“The Legal and Financial class was quite
relevant to me. As the director of an ECE
program, I am in charge of all aspects of
the program, including financial, staff and
policy issues. All of these have legal
ramifications that must be adhered to, and
the importance of finances is obvious. My
job entails so much more than
administering an educational experience for preschoolers,
which is my primary focus. However, to run a successful
program, the legal and financial issues are paramount.
Taking this class taught me how to be better at and more
efficient in my daily job performance from day one.”
-student in the Legal and Financial Issues course, a
requirement in Step 2 of the Program Director
Credential.
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NORTHERN LIGHTS
INSTRUCTOR REGISTRY
NEW APPROVED INSTRUCTORS
Affiliate I
Tonya Waldron - Waterbury
Madeline Denis - Brandon
Specialist II
Emily Sosnoff - Poultney
Lauren Smith - Burlington
Certified
Meghan Meszkat - Londonderry
Polly Stone - Arlington
Sara Dakin - South Royalton
Tara Stanton - Fairfax
Master
Tricia Finkle - Grand Isle
Caryl Corbett - Essex Jct
Sherry Yandow - Williston
Shaunee-Florence Higgins - Fairfield
John Everest - E Dummerston
RENEWED INSTRUCTORS
Specialist II
Grace Winslow - Bennington
Certified
Marie Sullivan - Danville
Amy Hornblas - Marshfield
Sue Clarke - Brattleboro
Dori Oatley - Montpelier
Lisa Tulkop - Burlington
Rachel Hunter - N Springfield
Master
Sally Anderson - Chester
Janice Stockman - Brattleboro
Kim Kiniry - North Springfield
Frasier Zahniser - Mercer, PA
Andrea Racek - Burlington
Nancy Coleman - Woodford
What’s New
Have you started your Program Director Credential
process? Do you need a Human Resource
Management class to complete the Credential Step 2?
The registration deadline for CCV's online Human
Resources class is May 22 (http://goo.gl/wPDIid). A few
scholarships ($300 each) are available through Northern
Lights for those enrolled in the Program Director
Credential process. Contact John Everest at (802)8858374 or [email protected]
Learn more on the Program Director Credential page of
the Northern Lights website http://
northernlightscdc.org/career-pathways/credentials-andcertificates/program-director-credential/.
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Early Childhood and Afterschool program directors
and owners can now view their staff BFIS Quality
and Credential/professional development
accounts (read only). Individual staff can also see
their own Bright Futures Information System (BFIS)
Quality and Credential account. Get into your own
account by creating a user name and password on the
home page of BFIS:
http://www.brightfutures.dcf.state.vt.us/ Learn more
about BFIS on the Child Development Division page:
http://dcf.vermont.gov/cdd/bfis
Northern Lights: Peer Review Project for Early
Education Educator Endorsement (PRP) 2015
Update. The 2015 PRP cohort is full with a wait list. If
you missed the opportunity to join this cohort but would
like to be notified when another cohort begins please
email Sherry Carlson at [email protected]. As
of now, the next cohort is planned for 2016 but if an
earlier cohort opens up we will be sure to let you know.
Affiliate II
Christina Nelson - North Troy
Chelsea Chase - Chester
You must have a Bachelor Degree and supervised
experience working in the field, to consider earning
teacher licensure with an early childhood endorsement
NEW SPONSORS of TRAINING! through Peer Review. If you would like to get started
on Peer Review on your own, check out this link:
These organizations signed an agreement
http://education.vermont.gov/documents/EDUto work with Northern Lights and the BFIS
Peer_Review_Overview_Fact_Sheet.pdf
system. Participants benefit because
attendance is entered in their personal
BFIS Account.
Agency of Education—Early Childhood
Children’s Integrated Services
Hardwick Area Network
"It was wonderful having an instructor who genuinely
cares about children and wants to see the field of
childcare providers grow"
- Student in the Fundamentals course
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Coming Up Spring 2015!
Governor Shumlin talked to the
gathering of afterschool professionals
and administrators at Afterschool and
Summer Learning Day, Feb. 19, 2015.
April and May 2015 Voices of Learning: An
interactive approach to adult learning and
instructional design Two sessions of this 4 week,
fully online course will be offered (pick one): 1) April 6
– May 3, 2015 and 2) May 18-June 7, 2015.
Completion meets the training requirement for
approval in Vermont’s Instructor Registry. NOTE:
higher education instructors or those who have taken
a course covering these learning objectives, already
meet the Instructor Registry requirement. There is a
$50 charge with a limited number of slots; scholarships
are available. Sign up by completing this short survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/voices5and6_2015
For more information contact
[email protected] 802-828-2876 OR
[email protected] 802-885-8374.
*******************
You can nominate a Champion! Let’s
Grow Kids wants to hear your story
about who is a champion of early
childhood… and then to recognize
them! Log on to this page to tell your
story:
http://www.letsgrowkids.org/
nominate-champion
“I felt that the observation gave me
the opportunity to have an objective
point of view see me during times of
stress and times of group contact. I
am very thankful to have someone
see where my strengths area and
what areas I need improvement.”
April 24-25, 2015 Creating Early Childhood
Environments That Are Ready for All Children:
The Role of Observation, Reflection & Courage. A
conference dedicated to developing our readiness as
early childhood educators and administrators to create
social, physical, and temporal learning environments
that recognize and celebrate each child’s right to be
cherished and challenged, to grow and to learn.
Featuring Guest Keynote Speaker Lella Gandini, U.S.
Liaison for the Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia
Approach. Conference Agenda: Download here in pdf
format. Friday evening, April 24, 2015 Burlington, Vt
City Hall Contois Auditorium and Saturday, all day,
April 25, 2015 University Of Vermont. Registration and
information: http://www.uvm.edu/~ccc/conferences/
****
- Career Ladder Level IV certificate
applicant, reflecting on two areas
she asked her observer to notice, as
part of the required observation of
her working with children.
Early Childhood Day at the Legislature, March 2015!
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CERTIFICATES AWARDED
Certificates issued December 31, 2014 - March 23, 2015
LEVEL I
Megan Bedard - Middlebury
Shaina Benjamin - Mooers, NY
Kathy Boivin - Winooski
Kimberly Ann Crawford Ferrisburgh
Ivy Crowe - Beebe Plains
Rosamaria Fay - Milton
Kendra Francis - South Hero
Gail Gaudette - Dorset
Catherine Hebert - Windsor
Emily Kilburn - Johnson
Karissa King - Dorset
Emily Lloyd - Bennington
Mallory McGurn - Shaftsbury
Shelby Miller - Hyde Park
Julia Mohseni - Jamaica
Halaina Patoine - St. Johnsbury
Lynn Peters - Shaftsbury
Jodi Pratt - Bennington
Wendy Scully - Winooski
Meghan Seifert - Burlington
Debra Terwilliger - Swanton
Norma Therriault - Bennington
Melissa Trzesiara - White River Jct
LEVEL II
Francesca Bourgault - Brattleboro
Ashley Broughton - Windsor
Margaret Feerick - Fairfax
Melissa Hunt - White River Jct
Kate Keach - Essex Junction
Paula Maurer - Keene, NH
Carrie Moote - White River Jct
Jacqueline Myers - Shaftsbury
Marci Robidoux - Woodstock
LEVEL II Continued
Bridget Anne Ventour - Lyndon Ctr
Veronica White - Fairlee
Ashlee Yavaniski - Hoosick Falls,
NY
LEVEL IIIA
Winnie Adelt - Milton
Patricia Blood - Shelburne
Janelle Brennan - Barre
Carolynne Fox - Brattleboro
Ashley Kitonis - Johnson
LEVEL IIIA Apprenticeships
Laura Blair - Williston
Amy Bull - Bennington
Tina Guile - Bennington
Jordyn Lawrence - Burlington
Star Porter - Bristol
LEVEL IIIB
Jessie Cerretani - East Arlington
Chelsea Chase - Perkinsville
Laura Gypson - Brattleboro
Bambi Hoadley - Hyde Park
Amy Hoisington - Windsor
Danielle Noll - Grand Isle
Stephanie Simpson - East Concord
Rocksy Smith - Wilmington
Cassandra Whitcomb - Rutland
LEVEL IVB
Suzanne Aquistapace - Rutland
Erica DeDell - Burlington
Nikki Dockum - Shaftsbury
Priscilla Gaiotti - Mount Tabor
Sheri Hill - South Burlington
Jeannette Mills - Dummerston
Kate Ryan - Morrisville
LEVEL VA
Nicholas Britton - S Burlington
Laura Butler - Milton
Lindsey Melville - Arlington
Lorette Palin - Newport
Sarah Wright - Vershire
LEVEL VB
Lisa Bauer - Brattleboro
Emily Brower - Milton
Pamela Ann Fontaine - St. Albans
Alyson Grzyb - Sunderland
AFTERSCHOOL FOUNDATIONS
Carin Messier - Bethel
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Step 1
Samara Mays - Montpelier
LEVEL IVA
Cynthia Brush-Pires - Thetford
Jennifer Cyr - Middlebury
Elizabeth Levante - Barton
Tracy Patnoe - Morrisville
Iveta Shalna-Malley - Shelburne
Katherine Walsh - S Burlington
“Being able to access professional development for my
staff, that fits in my budget, is time consuming. Knowing I
can go to one spot and find hundreds of approved online
courses that cover basic things, is valuable. My staff are
tech savvy so this is convenient and helpful.”
Staff and students who attended
Afterschool Programs met important
people in the gallery of the VT
Statehouse on Afterschool and Summer
Learning Day 2015.
- director of early childhood program after attending a
“Learn it online” workshop by Northern Lights. Find out
about approved online sponsors of training, on this page of
the Northern Lights website: http://northernlightscdc.org/
training/online-training-and-coursework/
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