2000 Directors' Choice Awards
Recognizing Excellence in Products for Young Children

The Judging Process

Throughout the years, Early Childhood News has built a reputation for recognizing excellence in products for young children. This year is no exception. In fact, this year's competition was one of the toughest ever. More than 150 products were put to the ultimate test: Would these products survive up to eight hours of intense use day after day in a child care setting?

Each product was reviewed upon its own merit by five judges and six criteria. The judging criteria included:

1. Appropriateness for use in a child care setting
2. Safety
3. Durability
4. Appropriateness for stated age range
5. Effectiveness for intended use
6. Value

After two days of careful evaluation, our judges selected a total of 59 products to receive the Directors' Choice seal.

Lois Mitten
Ms. Mitten is owner and founder of Children's Discovery Center, Inc., with six locations in Toledo, Ohio. She was named 1991 Ohio AEYC Administrator of the Year and 1991 Entrepreneur of the Year for Northwest Ohio. She is a member of the Ohio Day Care Advisory Council and is the process of franchising her child care company nationally. Ms. Mitten also serves as a member of the Early Childhood News advisory board.

Sally Moomaw, M.Ed.
Ms. Moomaw is an early childhood education specialist and adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati Arlitt Child and Family Research and Education Center. She teachers preschool children from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, develops and implements curriculum materials, mentors practicum students, and teachers college courses. She is the author of six early childhood curriculum books, including the award winning More Than Counting.

Leslie Rogers
Ms. Rogers received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She has been a director with KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc., for over 20 years. Currently, Ms. Rogers serves as the area representative for 26 KinderCare Learning Centers in the Region Newsletter. She also conducts office and classroom computer training sessions with other directors and inservice workshops about how to incorporate creative storytelling, science, and nature into the classroom.

Joan Tolles
Joan M. Tolles received her degree in early childhood education from Ohio Wesleyan University. She has directed four large child care centers in both Massachusetts and Ohio and has done graduate work at Wesley College in Boston.

Ruth Wilson, Ph.D.
Dr. Wilson teaches courses in early childhood special education and in environmental education as an associate professor at Bowling Green State University. She has published several books and numerous articles on issues relating to young children, including several articles in Early Childhood News. Dr. Wilson directed her own child care program for six years and taught pre-kindergarten through ninth grade in public and private schools in both regular and special education programs. Dr. Wilson's most recent work has focused on environmental yards for young children.

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