Capacity Building
Florecer
Florecer is a youth mentorship program first developed through First 5 Napa County’s First 5 Napa Network (F5NN) in 2022 to diversify and support Napa County’s early childhood workforce.
The word florecer means to bloom in Spanish. This program established a mentorship network for youth to connect with career professionals in a variety of early childhood specialties, allowing them to explore future career paths.
The program consists of an annual summer cohort experience where junior and senior high school students are paired with mentors from a variety of early childhood field professions such as pediatric physical therapists, speech language pathologist, childcare center directors and providers operating family childcare homes. During this period students complete internships at the mentor host site, develop career and education goals, and learn from a variety of child and family-serving organizations in our community.
Students participating in the Florecer program also have access to college-level coursework in child and family studies and education (CFSE) through Napa Valley College.
Mentors and mentees are encouraged to develop career and education goals, complete reflective journal prompts, and execute a plan to stay connected beyond the cohort experience.
Rainbow Kits
Rainbow Kits provide early childhood education settings with resources, training and the materials to promote diverse families and gender inclusion in their early childhood spaces.
Rainbow Kits are LGBTQ and gender inclusive toolkits for preschools in Napa County. Kit materials align with the NAEYC Anti-Bias Goals for early childhood education.
Since 2020, over 500 providers in Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Humboldt, Mendocino, Marin, and Lake counties have received Rainbow Kits and training, and 570 kits have been distributed.
This Rainbow Kits project was a partnership with First 5 HUB Region 1 and Napa Valley Unified School district to develop resources serving TK-6th grade students.
Providers requesting a Rainbow Kit must first attend a two-part training series: Safe Space Training for Early Childhood Educators: Making Early Childhood Settings more LGBTQ and Gender Inclusive. These trainings are currently offered through Napa Valley College’s CFSE 223 Practicum Course.
If you are interested in learning more about rainbow kits for your classroom, please email admin@first5napa.org.