Creative Teaching Press Wins Directors’ Choice Award
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ — As a winner in the audio category, Sing & Read with Greg & Steve Readers Variety Pack with CD was selected among numerous applicants to receive a 2007 Directors’ Choice award from Earlychildhood NEWS, an Excelligence Learning Corporation publication. The Directors’ Choice Awards, acknowledging outstanding design and manufacture of educational products for young children, were announced today. This prestigious distinction, now in its 18th year, serves as a resource for childcare providers and preschool teachers to assist them in choosing safe, durable, and age-appropriate toys for young children. Directors’ Choice differs from many “best of” toy lists because of its focus on evaluating products for use in a professional childcare setting. In addition to helping teachers select the best products, Directors’ Choice gives manufacturers valuable feedback on new products.
This year, 20 products were honored in seven categories including curriculum, audio, furniture, administrative/professional development, toys and games, arts and crafts, and children’s books. Items were evaluated based on the following criteria: appropriateness for use in a child care setting, safety, durability, age appropriateness, effectiveness for intended use, and value. Each product is judged on its respective merits, based on the specific criteria. Therefore, there is no limit to the number of winning items in each category, nor is there a guarantee that every category will include a winner.
“It’s an honor to have Sing & Read with Greg & Steve selected as a Directors’ Choice,” stated Brandi West, marketing manager. “This recognition represents our continuing dedication to developing fun and educational children’s products. We hope that our customers enjoy this series as much as we enjoyed creating it.”
According to Megan Shaw, Editor of Earlychildhood NEWS, “With increasing focus on early education, we are pleased that this program recognizes the work of manufacturers who are designing new and innovative products for young children. The judging process actually opens a dialogue between manufacturers and educators and we hope the result will be more great products to enhance the early education experience.”
The judges included a group of experts in varying aspects of early childhood education and educational products. They reviewed products using a variety of hands-on techniques: judges used the products according to directions provided, tested them rigorously to ensure durability, washed them to determine color fastness and leaks and even tasted paints and clay products to be sure they are not “good enough to eat.”
This year’s distinguished panel of judges included:
Julie Dent, Executive and Education Director at Audrey Johnson Day Care in Brooklyn, NY, is the National Association of Child Care Professionals 2007 National Child Care Director of the Year.
Ann Edgerton is a certified trainer for West Ed. PITC/Program for Infant & Toddler Caregivers and holds a Montessori Diploma. In addition, she served as the Child Development Program Director at California State University Monterey Bay in Monterey, CA for five years and is currently adjunct faculty at both Hartnell and Monterey Peninsula Colleges.
Athena Hartley serves as Director of Bluebonnet School of Cedar Park in Austin, TX. The Bluebonnet School serves children from eight weeks to 12 years with a current enrollment of 270 children and was awarded the National Association of Child Care Professionals Center of the Year.
William “Dr. Bill” Strader is the Coordinator of the Institute of Early Childhood Leadership and Professional Development in the School of Education at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. Dr. Strader also holds a faculty position with the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership and is an adjunct faculty member of the Brown University Center for Human Development.
Bradley J. Willcocks is a Teacher Trainer/Teacher Facilitator at Brigham Young University Child and Family Studies Research Complex in Provo, UT.
An adjunct of Directors’ Choice, the seventh annual Judges’ Selection Awards will be announced at a reception held at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in Chicago, IL, November 7th – 10th. The Judges’ Selection Awards will be chosen from the Directors’ Choice Award winners; the recipients are determined by the judges to be outstanding in some way — innovation, value, versatility — from other winning products. This year, five products will receive this special award.
More information about the 2007 Directors’ Choice Awards program is available on the Earlychildhood NEWS Web site at http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/.
About Creative Teaching Press
Creative Teaching Press is a family-owned and teacher-managed supplemental educational publisher of resources for grades PreK-8. A recognized leader in the industry, Creative Teaching Press offers a wide variety of learning decor and research-based products that deliver standards-driven content including: phonics, reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Creative Teaching Press celebrates more than four decades of providing parents and teachers with high-quality, content-rich solutions. Affiliated brands include: The Learning Works, Rejoice!(TM) and Youngheart Music(TM). For more information about Creative Teaching Press visit http://www.creativeteaching.com/.
Creative Teaching Press
CONTACT: Gabby Falcone of Creative Teaching Press, +1-714-895-5047,ext. 120
Web site: http://www.creativeteaching.com/http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/