ABOUT SPARK

ABOUT SPARK

ABOUT SPARK

SPARK Quality Support Center (QSC) or “SPARK Philly” is dedicated to the providers in the City of Philadelphia's PHLpreK program by delivering high quality support services that are designed to improve the quality of early learning.

SPARK Philly is powered by Shine Early Learning who operates nationally and is dedicated to helping early childhood programs implement proven practices that deliver positive results through supporting the education providers serving children, families, and communities.

The SPARK QSC develops programs that are responsive to the needs of early childhood education providers. Whether providers need support in running their business or managing their students, SPARK Philly strives to provide easy access to the right resources at the right time.

Our Team

SPARK Quality Support Center is proud to have team members serving early childhood education and care programs across the City of Philadelphia.

Leadership

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Raksmeymony (Rex) Yin
Deputy Director Content
Development and Strategy

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Dena Short
Deputy Director of Coaching
and Technical Assistance


Management

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Aliyia Brown
Coaching Manager

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Ann Boccuti
Manager of Data,
Impact, & Technology

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Nicole Lejet-Morton
Help Desk and Professional Development Manager

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Lauren Merrell
Coaching Manager

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Alissa Vazquez
Administrative Assistant


Specialists

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W. Burke Bodo
Health and Wellness Specialist

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Taneeshi Campbell
Early Childcare and Education Business Specialist

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Dayona Evans
Early Childhood Education Specialist

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Afroza Hossain
EIB Specialist

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Mindi Leiber
Education Specialist

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Tihana Williams
Family and Community Engagement Specialist


Coaches

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Ben Cady
PHLpreK Coach

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Dionne Singletary
PHLpreK Coach

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Dominique Hinton
PHLpreK Coach

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Eric Johnson
PHLpreK Coach

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Tasha Lopez
PHLpreK Coach

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MaryPat Tait
PHLpreK Coach

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Michelle Warren
PHLpreK Coach

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Sedudzinam Fugar
PHLpreK Coach

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Paty Boyd
PHLpreK Coach

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Wendy Wagner
PHLpreK Coach

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Josalyn Cambridge
PHLpreK Coach

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Shana Jones
PHLpreK Coach

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Ejah Thompson
PHLpreK Coach

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Stephen Carter
PHLpreK Coach

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De’Zebbra White
PHLpreK Coach


Partnerships

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Office of Children and Families

The Office of Children and Families (OCF) aligns the City’s policies, resources, and services for children and families. Its priorities are safe children, strong families, and supported schools and communities. OCF administers a number of City-supported programs, including Out-of-School Time, WorkReady, Community Schools, PHLpreK, and Access Centers. The office also oversees the Department of Human Services (DHS), Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Learn more about its mission and priorities.

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Shine Early Learning

SPARK QSC gets its spark from Shine! Shine Early Learning develops early learning programs that deliver positive results for children, families, and communities from coast to coast. Shine offers resources and a programmatic approach to help early education programs reach their own ambitious goals. The Shine Early Learning approach is developed, implemented, and continuously refined at Acelero Learning, a high-performing Head Start and Early Head Start program serving more than 5,000 children across the nation. Shine Early Learning has created SPARK Learning Lab to provide integrated training, coaching, and technical assistance to early education and care programs across Indiana.

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Erikson Institute

The Erikson Institute is the premier early childhood development organization committed to ensuring that all children have equitable opportunities to realize their potential.

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PHMC

In its role as Administrative Intermediary, PHMC supports implementation of the PHLpreK system including managing the provider seat request process, coordinating provider contracting and payment processes, developing compliance monitoring protocols for the system, overseeing the enrollment process, and collecting provider- and child-level data for analysis and reporting. PHMC uses system data and stakeholder feedback to make recommendations for the PHLpreK system.

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School District of Philadelphia

The School District of Philadelphia is the eighth largest school district in the nation, located in an historic and culturally rich setting. It is a community of 19,000 caring employees working together with parents, families, volunteers and community members to support the limitless potential of more than 203,000 young scholars. The District is committed to educating and graduating generations of thought leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, government officials and change makers. The School District’s mission is to deliver on the civil right of every child in Philadelphia to an excellent public school education and ensure all children graduate from high school ready to succeed, fully engaged as a citizen of our world.

The District provides technical assistance to a number of PHLpreK providers to ensure success in meeting PHLpreK requirements. The School District also provides instructional coaching to all quality center based PHLpreK Providers under the oversight of OCF, and in coordination with the SPARK QSC.


Partnerships

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Office of Children and Families

The Office of Children and Families (OCF) aligns the City’s policies, resources, and services for children and families. Its priorities are safe children, strong families, and supported schools and communities. OCF administers a number of City-supported programs, including Out-of-School Time, WorkReady, Community Schools, PHLpreK, and Access Centers. The office also oversees the Department of Human Services (DHS), Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Learn more about its mission and priorities.

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Shine Early Learning

SPARK QSC gets its spark from Shine! Shine Early Learning develops early learning programs that deliver positive results for children, families, and communities from coast to coast. Shine offers resources and a programmatic approach to help early education programs reach their own ambitious goals. The Shine Early Learning approach is developed, implemented, and continuously refined at Acelero Learning, a high-performing Head Start and Early Head Start program serving more than 5,000 children across the nation. Shine Early Learning has created SPARK Learning Lab to provide integrated training, coaching, and technical assistance to early education and care programs across Indiana.

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Erikson Institute

The Erikson Institute is the premier early childhood development organization committed to ensuring that all children have equitable opportunities to realize their potential.

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PHMC

In its role as Administrative Intermediary, PHMC supports implementation of the PHLpreK system including managing the provider seat request process, coordinating provider contracting and payment processes, developing compliance monitoring protocols for the system, overseeing the enrollment process, and collecting provider- and child-level data for analysis and reporting. PHMC uses system data and stakeholder feedback to make recommendations for the PHLpreK system.

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School District of Philadelphia

The School District of Philadelphia is the eighth largest school district in the nation, located in an historic and culturally rich setting. It is a community of 19,000 caring employees working together with parents, families, volunteers and community members to support the limitless potential of more than 203,000 young scholars. The District is committed to educating and graduating generations of thought leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, government officials and change makers. The School District’s mission is to deliver on the civil right of every child in Philadelphia to an excellent public school education and ensure all children graduate from high school ready to succeed, fully engaged as a citizen of our world.

The District provides technical assistance to a number of PHLpreK providers to ensure success in meeting PHLpreK requirements. The School District also provides instructional coaching to all quality center based PHLpreK Providers under the oversight of OCF, and in coordination with the SPARK QSC.

Relationship Between Shine, PHMC and OCF

Shine Early Learning (“Shine”) serves as the PHLpreK program’s Quality Support Center (Known as SPARK QSC) and is responsible for serving as a centralized location that coordinates the quality support services available to contracted and pre-qualified PHLpreK childcare providers. The Quality Support Center serves as a key contractor for the Early Childhood Education division of the City’s Office of Children and Families along with the PHLpreK Program Intermediary that is responsible for oversight and monitoring of the PHLpreK program.

Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is the administrative and fiscal management agency selected by The City of Philadelphia to conduct monitoring and oversight of the PHLpreK program.

The Office of Children and Families (OCF) aligns the City of Philadelphia’s policies, resources, and services for children and families. The priorities of OCF include Safe Children, Strong Families and Supported Schools. OCF administers a number of City-Supported programs, including Out-of-School Time, WorkReady, Community Schools, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, the Philadelphia Free Library, Adult Education, and PHLpreK. OCF also gives oversight to the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Philadelphia Children and Families Cabinet.