Pyramid Colorado
Since 2020, we have served as the hub for Pyramid Model implementation in Colorado. We work on the local, state, and national level to strengthen awareness and support for early childhood social and emotional well-being.
Colorado Pyramid Model Champion Award
Nominate the 2nd Annual Colorado Pyramid Champion! Healthy Child Care Colorado and the Pyramid State Leadership Team are thrilled to announce the Colorado Pyramid Model Champion Award nomination process is open from July 31 through September 22, 2023.
The Pyramid Model has been utilized throughout Colorado for over two decades and there are many champions at the program, local, and state levels engaging in critical work to strengthen early childhood social and emotional learning.
Through this award, we will recognize one individual or organization who demonstrates strong knowledge of and commitment to implementation and expansion of the Pyramid Model in Colorado.
Timeline
July 31, 2023: Nomination Period Opens
September 22, 2023: Nomination Period Closes
September 27, 2023: Nomination Review Process
October 2, 2023: Award Notification
October 17, 2023: Award presented at Colorado Pyramid Institute
Introduction
The Pyramid Model is a collaborative professional development system that fosters and sustains evidenced-based practices to support the social-emotional development and inclusion of children.
The Pyramid Model builds upon a tiered public health approach to providing universal support to all children to promote wellness, targeted services to those who need more support, and intensive services to those who need them.
Pyramid Colorado
As the Colorado Pyramid Network Hub, we have foundations and an action plan to guide our work. The Foundations include our purpose statement, guiding principles, desired outcomes, and core functions. The Action Plan articulates our annual goals and priorities for each core function of our work. The core functions of the Pyramid Colorado Network Hub include: 1) Engagement & Support, 2) Learning & Implementation, and 3) Leadership & Advocacy.
We support the social-emotional development and inclusion of all children ages birth through five by promoting and expanding evidence-based Pyramid practices in Colorado. View our full foundations and action plan by clicking on the button below.
Leadership Structure
Our leadership structure collaborates to provide insight, context, expertise, and guidance to Healthy Child Care Colorado on matters of programming, research, opportunities, funding, and systems alignment. We aim to ensure Pyramid-related efforts maintain relevance, meaning, and utility in local, state, and national contexts.
State Leadership Team Members
The State Leadership Team includes the following members:
- Chris Henager, Fremont County Head Start
- Heather Craiglow, Office of Early Childhood
- Debbie Kunz, Bal Swan
- Kathleen Merritt, Bright Futures
- Melissa Caron, Early Connections
- Marcia Blum, Department of Education
- Virginia Kile, Consultant
- Dr. Rebecca Vlasin, University of Colorado Denver
- Dr. Stacy Howard, Buell Foundation
- Heather Blanco, Early Childhood Council of Larimer County
- Lisa Matter, Office of Early Childhood
Healthy Child Care Colorado Staff: Taran Schneider, Robin Levy, Becky Edwards
Pyramid State Leadership Team Advisors: Rob Corso, Dr. Phil Strain, Kelly Jo Wilson
Program Content Workgroup
Membership of the Program Content Workgroup will be maintained to ensure relevance of statewide programming to implementers and integration of content into broader systems. The Program Content Workgroup will include the following members. Additional participants may be called upon to join Team meetings throughout the process.
- Robin Levy, Healthy Child Care Colorado
- Becky Edwards, Healthy Child Care Colorado
- Nicole Donatto, The Edification Station
- Daisy Thomson, Mesa County Partnership for Children and Families
- Stephanie Bivins, Mesa County Partnership for Children and Families
- Jennifer Coggin, Ability Connection Colorado
- Alisha Emile, Primrose DTC
- Donna Salvador, Trainer/Coach/Facilitator
- Jennifer Young, Early Childhood Options
- Kelly Esch, Early Childhood Network
History
The Colorado Pyramid Plus Center transitioned to Healthy Child Care Colorado in 2020. Through support from the Buell Foundation and a Transition Team of stakeholders, together we created a strong plan to ensure sustainable state level infrastructure and programming for this vital component of Colorado’s growing and evolving early childhood system.