Early Learning ServicesLearning Support :

Special Help for Young Children

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is pleased to provide a video production, Special Help for Young Children, for families who are English Language Learners. This production is available in Hmong, Cambodian (Khmer), Lao, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Viewers of Special Help for Young Children will learn about how some babies and young children need extra help to learn, how experts find out if children have special learning needs and how families can get free help for young children's special learning needs.

Special Help for Young Children is developed and sponsored by MDE in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), PACER and St. Paul Public Schools. This is the second television and video production for families who are English Language Learners. Last year's production on Early Childhood Screening is available for viewing from a link at www.MNParentsKnow.info in the video library under "Tips" or under the "Parenting A-Z" topics. 

The Special Help for Young Children program can be downloaded in multiple languages with English subtitles. In the near future, it will be available as a link from www.MNParentsKnow.info.

Calendar of MDE Workshops, Trainings and Meetings

The Minnesota Department of Education, in response to input from Website visitors, is pleased to announce the launch of an agency-wide calendar. The calendar includes all MDE-sponsored training, meetings and events. Search and sort features allow you to find events by date, title, location and sponsoring program area. View the calendar by using the “Calendar ” link at the top of this page.

Expanded Website for Parents of Young Children

The MNParentsKnow.info Website is a convenient source of trusted information about children’s learning, development, health and safety. The Newborn Web pages feature a free monthly email newsletter, The Baby Express, for parents and caregivers. The Website also features videos, podcasts, research-based topic search (across the net) and articles with a parent focus.

MNParentsKnow.info, hosted by the Minnesota Department of Education, is part of the Educate Parents Partnership, an early childhood initiative of Governor Tim Pawlenty. Visit MNParentsKnow.

Finding Minnesota's Early Childhood Programs Made Easier

The early childhood years from birth to the start of kindergarten are an important time of rapid growth. The Early Learning Services Division at MDE has a variety of helpful programs for parents and their children that support children's learning and development for future success in school.

Find local program information about Early Childhood Screening, Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), Head Start, Even Start, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), and School Readiness programs and the local contacts for the Interagency Early Intervention Committees (IEICs) throughout Minnesota. Individuals may search by county, school district or city to find early childhood programs.

Governor’s Summit on School Readiness

The Governor’s Summit on School Readiness resulted in a list of themes and opportunities for improvements to Minnesota’s Early Childhood Programs. Ten summit themes and opportunities were identified and have been summarized for this report. Read the report or  read the combined report with program-by-program analysis by research element. View and down the 2006 Summit background materials.(Scroll to bottom of page.)

Note: By clicking on the links on this page you will leave the MDE site. Please read the copyright notice at the bottom of the page for our disclaimer regarding these sites.