Early Learning Coalition of Orange County

And the winner of the 2026 Early Learning Coalition of Orange County Teacher of the Year Award goes to …
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Jairo Toribio from Next Steps Academy!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090680295953

Watch the 🎥 to witness the winning moment! 🥹❤️

ELCOC CEO Dr. Scott Fritz presented the award 🏆 during the Teacher of the Year Celebration Breakfast held at ELCOC Headquarters on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Along with a personalized plaque, Jairo, affectionately known as Mr. J, received a $1,000 cash prize generously donated by the
Orlando Magic. 🏀💙

The Early Learning Coalition of Orange County selected Jairo Toribio from a group of 28 exceptional educators who were honored throughout the year as ELCOC Teachers of the Month.
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All Teacher of the Month nominees also received a crystal trophy engraved with their name in recognition of their outstanding contributions to early childhood education.
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Thank you for shaping a brighter future for Orange County’s youngest learners!

⭐ From the Desk of Stella the Star ⭐
Chief Brightness Officer for the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County
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Congratulations to all the VPK Graduates at West Lakes Early Learning Center!
You are ready for Kindergarten!
I hope you enjoy my 🎥 from your graduation ceremony.
I am so proud of your accomplishments!
Love,
Stella 🎓 💙 💚

⭐From the Desk of Stella the Star ⭐
Chief Brightness Officer for the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County
✨ ✨ ✨
I was honored to attend the VPK Graduation Ceremony for the children at
Asbury Early Learning Center.
You are ready to ROCK Kindergarten!
I am so proud of you!
Love, Stella 🎓 ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚

The Early Learning Coalition of Orange County is proud to recognize teaching excellence at local early learning centers.
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We handed out 5️⃣ more Head of the CLASS awards on May 26.
CLASS stands for Classroom Assessment Scoring System, a nationally recognized tool that rates the quality of teacher-child interactions. Scores range from 1-7.
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The centers listed below had scores of 6.0 or higher, which is truly outstanding!
Watch the 🎥 to see the winning moments from the award presentations!

🎉 Spring Lake Elementary School, located at 1105 Sarah Lee Lane in Ocoee

🎉 Mitchell Family Day Care Home, located at 5401 Britan Drive in Orlando

🎉 Azalea Park Elementary School, located at 1 Carol Avenue in Orlando

🎉 UCP Bailes Early Childhood Academy, located at 12702 Science Drive in Orlando

🎉 Kids & Company-Chickasaw, located at 3000 S. Chickasaw Trail in Orlando

Check out https://elcoforangecounty.org/provider-pride-page/ to see all the winners to date!

The Early Learning Coalition of Orange County is proud to recognize teaching excellence at local early learning centers.

We handed out 5️⃣ more Head of the CLASS awards on May 21.
CLASS stands for Classroom Assessment Scoring System, a nationally recognized tool that rates the quality of teacher-child interactions. Scores range from 1-7.
🤗
The centers listed below had scores of 6.0 or higher, which is truly outstanding!

ELCOC Board Member Pamela Clark from Orange County Public Schools joined ELCOC Leadership for the award presentations.

Watch the 🎥 to witness the winning moments!

🎉 Pinewood Elementary School, located at 3005 N. Apopka Vineland Rd. in Orlando

🎉 SunRidge Elementary School, located at 14455 Sunridge Blvd. in Winter Garden

🎉 Lovell Elementary School, located at 815 Roger Williams Road in Apopka

🎉 Kelly Park School, located at 4700 Jason Dwelley Parkway in Apopka

🎉 Zellwood Elementary School, located at 3551 Washington Street in Zellwood

Check out https://elcoforangecounty.org/provider-pride-page/ to see all the winners to date!

The Early Learning Coalition of Orange County is proud to recognize teaching excellence at local early learning centers.
🙌 🏫

ELCOC leadership handed out 🔟 Head of the CLASS Awards on May 20.
CLASS stands for Classroom Assessment Scoring System, a nationally recognized tool that rates the quality of teacher-child interactions. Scores range from 1-7.

The centers listed below had scores of 6.0 or higher, which is truly outstanding!
Watch the 🎥 to see 🔟 winning moments!

🎉UCP West Orlando Charter School, located at 1441 Winter Garden Vineland Rd. in Winter Garden

🎉 Kissha's Little Ones Child Care, LLC, located at 2035 La Due Court in Orlando

🎉Champs Learning Center Inc., located at 1819 Williams Manor Avenue in Orlando

🎉Atwater Bay Elementary, located at 11000 Atwater Bay Drive in Winter Garden

🎉Incredible Kids Learning Academy, located at 4110 Raleigh Street in Orlando

🎉Ibn Seena Academy, located at 12908 S Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando

🎉Kingdom Academies, located at 12601 Balcombe Road in Orlando

🎉Rock & Rattle's Volcy Childcare, Inc., located at 1211 City Park Avenue in Orlando

🎉St. John Vianney School, located at 6200 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando

🎉Sweet Dreams Child Care, located at 7230 West Colonial Drive in Orlando

Congratulations on a job well done! 👏 👏 👏
Check out https://elcoforangecounty.org/provider-pride-page/ to see all the winners to date!

Watch the FULL recap 🎥 from the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County's 4th Annual Slide Into Summer Family Services event!
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We welcomed 3️⃣ 9️⃣ 5️⃣ families at the Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center in Orlando on Saturday, May 16.
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A special thank you to our incredible community partners and volunteers for helping make this event possible and helping families engage in summer learning success. 👏 👏 👏

AdventHealth for Children
West Lakes Early Learning Center
Beyond Simply Fit
Big Chill Effect
Central Florida Help Me Grow Florida
Central Florida Early Steps
Discount School Supply
Gardner Media
Lakeshore Learning Materials
Mindful Play Learning
Nemours Children’s Health
Orange County Head Start
Orange County Public Schools Pre-K ESE
City of Orlando Families, Parks, and Recreation
Orange County Library System
Orlando Science Center
O2B Kids
Rosen Hotel and Resorts
UnlockEd Learning Program
4 Rivers Smokehouse

We can't wait for next year!

The Early Learning Coalition of Orange County's 4th Annual Slide Into Summer Family Services Event was a roaring success!
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Thank you to the hundreds of families who joined us Saturday at the Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center in Orlando.
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Families enjoyed interactive, safari-themed learning activities designed to support early childhood development, and each family received a take-home bag filled with resources to encourage learning all summer long.
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A special thank you to our incredible community partners and volunteers for helping make this event possible.
Stay tuned for the FULL recap video coming soon!

Families are welcome THIS SATURDAY to attend the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County's Slide into Summer Safari!
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Enjoy fun, interactive learning on Saturday, May 16th, from 12pm to 2pm at the Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center in Orlando.

Slide into Summer Safari includes:
💚 Free Educational toys for the FIRST 300 families with children ages infant to five
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💛 Free Interactive Learning Activities
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🧡 Free Food

For more info, visit: https://elcoforangecounty.org/slide-into-summer-2/