In this video, ITITA Specialist Lori Anderson interviews Mashunda Vaughters, once lead teacher in the two-year-old classroom, now assistant director for New Horizons Preschool. Mashunda speaks about the biggest impact she’s experienced being a part of ITITA, how technology and COVID-19 affected the project and what she’ll take forward from the project as an administrator with her staff now.
What is ITITA?
The Infant Toddler Intensive Technical Assistance (ITITA) Model Pilot is a three-year project funded by the N.C. Department of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) from September 2018 through September 2021. The primary goals of the model pilot project are to train and support technical assistance (TA) specialists to become ‘Master TAs.’ In addition, the project will determine if intensive, long-term support, based on strong relationships can sustain change and growth in early childhood providers. TAs are focusing on improving teacher-child interactions and leadership skills in directors, which in turn will provide better outcomes for children and families. This project is currently being piloted at Randolph County Partnership for Children, The Children’s Council of Watauga County and Child Care Resource Center in Region 10. Learn more about ITITA here.
Lori Anderson is an Infant Toddler specialist with Child Care Resource Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. She works with the Infant Toddler T/A Model Pilot Project. Lori has worked in the education field for more than 25 years earning her M.Ed in educational leadership and her BA in birth to kindergarten education. She is also a N.C. licensed teacher. Lori has spent the majority of her career in early childhood administration and has also owned two early child care centers. Lori enjoys working with teachers and directors and is passionate about natural learning environments and empowering teachers in project based learning.
