Outstanding Contributor to Child Care Awards

The Outstanding Contributor to Child Care Awards is an annual event that provides an opportunity to show our appreciation to individuals and/or organizations that have made exceptional contributions to the needs of young children and their families particularly within quality, licensed child care.

2012 Award Winners

Konne Ainsworth, Director, Explorer Preschool

Konne holds a BA in Child Development and an MA in Early Childhood Education. She is also a credentialed elementary school teacher. She is a Lifetime Achievement awardee from the CA Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools. Under Konne’s direction, Explorer Preschool was one of the first co-op preschools to be accredited by the National Assoc. for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

As a parent participation nursery school, all parents are required to participate in the classroom 2-4 days per month. In addition, all parents attend monthly parent education classes. Each class includes discussions on age-related topics and concerns. The program also increases knowledge of individual children and their needs and improves our ability to parent appropriately and effectively.

Unique or exceptional contibution

Konne has brought her unique love of science and the outdoors to the children at Explorer. The children spend 10 weeks per year (fall and spring) in an outdoor classroom at Vasona Park. The outdoor curriculum includes creek and water exploration, free climbing, cooking, nature study, hiking, writing experiences, science books and materials.

McKinley State Preschool/Head Start Program

McKinley State Preschool is operated by the Santa Clara County Office of Education. The facility provides this low-income community with a developmentally appropriate, high quality program for 168 preschoolers. McKinley State Preschool is a Smart Start San José site.

Unique or exceptional contibution

McKinley Preschools has long been recognized for its high quality programming for young children. These recognitions include:

2007 - Catherine Atkins, President, Preschool California showcased McKinley to Assemblyman Joe Coto as a "truly effective quality preschool".

2008 – FIRST 5 Santa Clara selected McKinley Preschool to host a summer arts programs – Arts Alive.

2009 – Kris Perry, Executive Director, FIRST 5 California visited the preschool and noted the program’s intentional instruction, well-planned environment, and quality teacher-child interactions.

2009- West Ed taped segments of the program to produce a DVD demonstrating quality preschool practices for the CA Dept. of Education, Child Development Division’s Preschool Learning Foundations.

San Jose Day Nursery (2 nominations)

San Jose Day Nursery (SJDN) has served the downtown San Jose area for over 95 years. SJDN serves infants through preschoolers. They provide a sliding scale tuition in order to provide a quality early education to families of all socio-economic levels. SJDN is a Smart Start San José site.

Unique or exceptional contibution

SJDN provides young children the opportunity to develop compassion and empathy for others. The children decide on a community service project and with the help of staff and parents, raise money and implement the project. For several years the children have raised money by recycling cans or selling morning coffee to parents. The children took the funds to the grocery store and purchased supplies to make bag lunches for the homeless at St. James Park. The children filled the lunch bags with sandwiches, fruit and bottled water and (with plenty of supervision) distributed the lunches at the park. This year the children sold muffins to parents and staff to buy books for the family literacy program at the King Library. The children "ordered" the books on the phone from the "book lady", sorted and delivered them to the Partners in Reading Program

SJB Child Development Centers

SJB Child Development Centers operate 11 sites in the City of San Jose. For over 40 years these sites have provided infant care, preschool and afterschool programs. SJB also offers Early Head Start, Head Start and Rocketship programs. Over 1500 children are served by these programs.

Ninety-five percent of these children are from very low-to-moderate income households. Several of the SJB sites are Smart Start San José sites.

Unique or exceptional contibution

SJB Child Development Centers have made a huge impact on the physical well-being of the children and families participating in their programs. Some examples include:

• Funded by the Kaiser Foundation, SJB developed and hosted a Health and Community Resource Conference. The conference provided 170 childcare professionals information on childhood obesity, child health, public policy efforts, and local resources. Professionals from the public, government, and private agencies spoke on these topics and 20 local agencies from the areas of health, mental health, food assistance, and family engagement participated.

• In partnership with Foothill Health Center, 100 parents participated in "Doctor Dialogues". This program was designed to allow families the opportunity to ask questions related to nutrition, child health, immunizations, chronic diseases, etc. It also supported parents to reach out to health care professionals and be health advocates for their families.

• Also in partnership with Foothill Health Center, SJB conducted children’s dental screenings resulting in 100 children being served and 30 treatments completed.

• SJB hosted Family Health Nights at four sites to support parents in increasing healthy eating habits and physical activity.

• SJB recently partnered with UCLA and Johnson & Johnson on a health project which included taking waist measurements of 80 staff, parents, and children. The participants received information on healthy eating and excerise. After 6 months measurements were retaken and progress was significant