A Look At Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning Program
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) improves outcomes for children and families by strengthening early learning experiences in partnership with home and center-based childcare providers, families, and communities. DECAL supports thousands of early education professionals across Georgia. Each DECAL program has its own unique needs as it relates to delivering quality professional learning for its educators. State leaders were looking for ways to expand access to high-quality professional learning opportunities across Georgia.
TORSH Talent Supports With Early Educator Professional Learning in Georgia
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) recognizes the importance of supporting the professional growth of their early care workforce in order to strengthen early learning experiences and improve outcomes for children and families. DECAL is using TORSH Talent, an innovative online platform, to facilitate collaboration, learning, mentoring, coaching, and professional development for providers.
The FERPA-compliant and HIPAA-secure TORSH Talent platform includes customizable tools for:
- Synchronous online coaching using built-in video conferencing
- Asynchronous coaching using recorded video and time-stamped feedback
- Self-guided online courses
- On-demand support from exemplar videos and other resources in the easily searchable resource library
- Goal setting and tracking
- Observation using standardized rubrics and frameworks
- Tracking and management of coaching interactions
“TORSH Talent provided us with a comprehensive, easy-to-use, configurable platform that allows us to serve the unique professional learning and coaching needs of our thousands of early childhood educators.”
~ CHRISTI MOORE, PH.D.
Director of Professional Learning, Georgia Dept. of Early Care and Learning
TORSH Talent in Action Through DECAL
TORSH’s team of early childhood care, intervention, and education specialists have collaborated with DECAL team leaders to customize TORSH Talent to support their specific goals and needs.
Spotlight on the Quality Rated Team
The Quality Rated team has built a series of virtual learning pathways within TORSH Talent to help providers stay on track with portfolio completion. Providers can also access resources aligned to ERS Scales in their custom-built TORSH Talent Resource Library. Additionally, thanks to TORSH Talent’s robust reporting and data analysis tools, the Quality Rated team is able to track and share quantitative progress on portfolios with providers, TAs, and CAPS.
Spotlight on the Inclusion & Behavior Team
A priority for the Inclusion and Behavior team is to strengthen their 1:1 coaching process. They’ve loaded standardized rubrics and frameworks to TORSH Talent so that coaching is aligned to evidence-based practices and coaches are using built-in reports to monitor growth and measure impact. TORSH Talent’s Coaching Corner portal centralizes access to all interactions, activities, and assignments which has improved provider follow-through on next steps from coaching conversations.
By leveraging TORSH Talent’s powerful tools, DECAL will save time and money. Program leaders can look forward to seeing the impact TORSH Talent will make in helping achieve higher-quality childcare environments and better child-teacher interactions.
Download the flyer to learn more about the partnership.
