Denise is a family child care provider who just enrolled a family who recently immigrated to the United States from El Salvador. Although the family speaks some English, their home language is Spanish and 3-year-old Jorge, their son, communicates solely in Spanish. Jorge has transitioned well into the program and enjoys playing with the other children in the program but struggles to communicate verbally with his English-speaking peers. Denise wants to help Jorge fully participate in the program, but she is unsure how to best support him since she does not speak Spanish. Does this scenario sound familiar?
Allyson Dean, Ed.D.
Allyson Dean, Ed D. is the Director of Resource and Training Development at the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning (NCECDTL) where she oversees the development of all Training and Technical Assistance resources used in the child care and Head Start Professional Development Efforts. She has an extensive background and expertise in child care professional development, the CLASS: Pre-K and Toddler, Early Educator Central and ZERO TO THREE’s Critical Competencies for the Infant Toddler Workforce.