October 26, 2022

IPP Demo Sites; Ambassadors for Inclusion 

IPP Demosites; Ambassadors for Inclusion 

Representatives from Singapore with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and AWWA – Kindle Garden visited Washington State to engage in transformational professional development. ECDA’s vision is a good start for every child. They are working on supporting this start with inclusive preschools. AWWA is a social service agency in Singapore, serving people across all life stages. Kindle Garden is AWWA’s inclusive early learning center. This educational visit supported learning toward Kindle Garden’s mission of personalized programming, embracing diversity, nurturing educators to foster relationships with each child, working with families and engaging in accessible spaces for all. These groups were hosted by the University of Washington, The UW Haring Center Experimental Education Unit, the Old Redmond SchoolHouse, and Edwin Pratt Early Learning Center, an IPP Demonstration Site. In addition to school leaders, the visitors also met with leaders in the fields of research and education such as Kathleen Meeker the Director of Research at the Haring Center and Angel Fettig the director of  the UW Special Education Doctoral Program. Engaged in observation at each of these sites and through meaningful conversation with multiple sources, evidence based practices and resources were shared to aid in building inclusive communities. This trip embodied Kindle Garden’s vision as well as ECDA’s core values of Care, Commitment, and Collaboration. Supporting this visit aligns with the IPP goal of creating communities as sites for research, professional development, and model demonstration sites for best practices in inclusive education. The UW Haring Center IPP Demosites look forward to a continued collaboration with ECDA and Kindle Garden on their journey to inclusion. To learn more about our visitors check out their websites:
ECDA: https://www.ecda.gov.sg
Kindle Garden: https://www.kindlegarden.com.sg/

You can find more about Edwin Pratt Early Learning on their website: https://www.shorelineschools.org/earlylearningcenter or on the IPP demo site webpage: https://ippdemosites.org/