Tom Raymond, Department Chair, Phone
Darleen Bear Killer, Early Childhood Coordinator, Phone
Lynnea Bouheguel, Early Childhood Instructor, Phone
Lucy Bull Bear, Secretary, Phone
We believe that community change must incorporate all members of society, starting with out very youngest. To this end we provide high quality teaching, training, and support teachers, caregivers, parents, and grandparents of young children in keeping with the college's vision Wolakolkiciyapi (Learning Lakota Ways of Life in Community).
To graduate highly qualified professionals, motivated, and reflective teacher who possess and teach/practice Wolakolkiciyapi in a multicultural, changing world. The professional teacher education program view Wolakolkiciyapi as reflection and conduct of the Lakota Virtues as a means of self and others.
Graduates from our programs will be proficient as competent reflective teachers of content, theory, and application with an emphasis on (Lakota Virtues) character education while emphasizing community empowerment through reflection of traditional Lakota perspectives.
Oglala Lakota College Early Childhood offers CDA training, mentoring and advising to prepare candidates for the national CDA assessment process which is conducted by the Council for Professional Recognition out of Washington DC. Our CDA instructors follow the South Dakota CDA curriculum which is recognized and honored by the Council for Professional Recognition. The CDA program requires candidates to complete 135 clock hours of training which exceeds the "Council's" requirement of 120 clock hours of training. Upon receiving the CDA credential candidates can transfer twelve credit hours toward an AA Degree in Early Childhood. Completion of the CDA also meets the South Dakota Department of Education requirements for an endorsement in Early Childhood for state certified teachers. The cost for the full training is $1500. The CDA packet and assessment fee required by the "Council" is included in this fee.
Oglala Lakota College Early Childhood Program is part of the South Dakota Early Childhood Enrichment program with five regional offices and six tribal sites to coordinate and provide WestEd infant-toddler training services through the SD Infant-Toddler Training Initiative. This training initiative is funded through the Bush Foundation. The main focus of this training program is to improve the quality of child care services for infants and toddlers in our State and on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. WestEd training is incorporated into our college's Early Childhood curriculum but it can also be offered separately to any interested child care providers, daycare centers or early childhood program as needed. Training and certificatiion in First Aid and CPR for child care providers is available. Interested participants may obtain Continuing Education Credits for this training.
This program is for certified teachers interested in adding a Preschool Special Education Endorsement on their South Dakota state teacher licensure. This endorsement requires both coursework completion and a passing score on the designated birth through early childhood and special education state licensure examinations.
Course Title and Clock Hours: Course Title Clock Hours Early Childhood Profession 24 Includes one mentor observation Health, Safety, and Nutrition 15 Child Development and Planning 45 Includes four mentor observations Guidance of Young Children 17 Includes one mentor observation Partnership with Parents 15 Programs for Young Children 15 Advisor Assessment Observation Scheduled with CDA Advisor
Students will be given 11 credit hours toward their AA in Early Childhood upon successful completion of our CDA training and the national CDA assessment with the Council for Professional Recognition. The actual CDA Certificate must be turned in to the Registrar for the transfer of the 11 credit hours. Refer to the Early childhood AA Degree Status Sheet for the credit substitutions, all allowed classes are in italics.
Oglala Lakota College Students/Candidates for the CDA Credential are assessed based upon the CDA Competency Standards. These national standards are the criteria used to evaluate a caregiver's performance with children and families. The Competency Standards are divided into six Competency Goals, which are statements of a general purpose or goal for caregiver behavior. The six goals are defined in more detail in 13 Functional Areas, which describe the major tasks or functions that a caregiver must complete to carry out the Competency Goal.
The six Competency Goals are the same for all settings. However, the Functional Area definitions (and sample behaviors) differ according to the particular skills needed for specific child care settings and/or age groupings.
Table I presents the Competency Goals and Functional Areas for preschool caregiver behavior in center-based settings. Each Functional Area has a developmental context, which presents a brief overview of relevant child developoment principles. They also include sample behaviors and examples of caregiver skills.
I. To establish and maintain a safe, healthy, and learning environment. Functional Areas:
1. Safe: Candidate helps provide a safe environment to prevent and reduce injuries.
2. Healthy: Candidate promotes good health and nutrition and provides an environment that contributes
to the prevention of illness.
3. Learning Environment: Candidate uses space, relationships, materials, and routines as resources for
constructing an interesting, secure, and enjoyable environment that encourages play, exploration,
and learning.
II. To advance physical and intellectual competence. Functional Areas:
4. Physical: Candidate provide a variety of equipment, activities, and opportunities to promote the
physical development of children.
5. Cognitive: Candidate provides activities and opportunities that encourage curiosity, exploration,
and problem solving appropriate to the developmental levels and learning styles of children.
6. Communication: Candidate actively communicates with children and provides opportunities and support
for children to understand, acquire, and use verbal and nonverbal means of communicating thoughts
and feelings.
7. Creative: Candidate provides opportunities that stimulate children to play with sound, rhythm,
language, materials, space and ideas in individual ways and to express their creative abilities.
III. To support social and emotional development and to provide positive guidance. Functional Areas:
8. Self: Candidate provides physical and emotional security for each child and helps each child to
know, accept and take pride in himself or herself and to develop a sense of independence.
9. Social: Candidate helps each child feel accepted in the group, helps children learn to communicate
and get along with others, and encourages feelings of empathy and mutual respect among children and
adults.
10. Guidance: Candidate provides a supportive environment in which children can begin to learn and
practice appropriate and acceptable behaviors as individuals and as a group.
IV. To establish positive and productive relationships with families. Functional Areas:
11. Families: Candidate maintains an open, friendly, and cooperative relationship with each child's
family, encourages parents to take leadership in personal and family education; supports family
empowerment, involvement in program, and positive family relationships.
V. To ensure a well-run purposeful program responsive to participant needs. Functional Areas:
12. Program Management: Candidate is a manager who uses all available resources to ensure an effective
operation. The Candidate is a competent organizer, planner, record keeper, communicator, and a
cooperative coworker.
VI. To maintain a commitment to professionalism. Functional Areas:
13. Professionalism: Candidate makes decisions based on knowledge of early childhood theories and
practices, promotes quality in child care services, and takes advantage of opportunities to improve
competence, both for personal and professional growth and for the benefit of children and families.
