Four Rivers Early Learning & Parenting Announces New Director

The Four Rivers Early Learning Hub is excited to announce its new Director, Shira Skybinskyy. Shira has served as Interim Director since July 2022 and was named Director of Four Rivers Early Learning Hub last month. Four Rivers Early Learning Hub is located at the Columbia Gorge ESD in The Dalles. They serve families with young children who live in Gilliam, Wheeler, Sherman, Wasco, and Hood River counties. 

In July 2021 Shira joined the Hub as Assistant Director with a focus on parent education. Prior to this, Shira's experience includes serving as a Licensed Mental Health Clinician in a South Florida women’s prison and then as the Mental Health Program Director for a women’s prison in New Mexico. After moving to the Columbia Gorge with her two small children in 2016, she became the Crisis Supervisor for Mid-Columbia Center for Living and then the Manager for the Children and Families team. During this time, she says "she began to understand the needs of this community while deepening existing relationships and building new partnerships.” Shira earned her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from American International College in Massachusetts. 

While serving as Interim Director and most recently, Director, Shira led efforts to secure contracts with the Hub’s two primary partner providers of Parent Education, Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Inc. (GOBHI) and Mid-Columbia Center for Living (MCCFL). Both organizations provide Parent Education series, workshops, and activities to families in the Hub’s five-county region. 

The Hub also supports Preschool Promise (PSP), a publicly-funded initiative offered by the Early Learning Division that provides free preschool options in a variety of settings to Oregon families with children ages 3-5 living at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The Hub assists local child care providers by processing applications and placing families into the best-fit option based on available slots. Most recently, four new early childhood education programs and two existing programs received funding for additional PSP slots. The Hub also partners with Child Care Resource and Referral to support professional development and training for new and existing early child care providers.

The Hub has also offered Regional Funding Opportunities and ongoing support to community partner organizations that serve local families. Play and Learn at Home, a program within Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC), provides free monthly activity boxes for families with children ages 0-5; The Next Door provides home visiting services and parenting workshops for fathers; YouthThink offers Toddlers to Teens and Parent Cafes. Lastly, the Hood River County Prevention Department offers Parent Cafes and workshops for parents of teens. Additionally, through an ongoing partnership with the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), the Hub provides free Chromebooks to eligible families in their five-county region.

While in this role, Shira has also reinvigorated the Four Rivers Early Learning Hub Governance Board, an advisory committee for the Hub, which has involved maintaining existing partnerships and forming new initiatives such as the Parent Education Leadership Collaborative (PELC). The Board is currently accepting a variety of applications.

During this time, the Hub has undergone rebranding and marketing efforts to streamline their messaging. Their new website, FourRiversFamily.org, Facebook page, and Bright By Text text messages provide family-centered information to families across their five counties. To sign up for Bright By Text text messages, please visit FourRiversFamily.org.

In the future, Four Rivers Early Learning Hub plans to continue fostering relationships with early child care education providers throughout their five-county region, enhancing Parent Leadership opportunities for families, and launching a Parent Leadership Council. 

Shira shares, “Through collaborating with our partners, gleaning the wisdom of our most experienced providers and families, and listening to what our community really needs, I am delighted to lead Four Rivers Family Early Learning and Parenting Hub. This is a time to pull together and support the smallest children in our community and I am honored to be a part of this work.”

If you are interested in applying to become a Board Member, please reach out to Shira Skybinskyy at sskybinskyy@cgesd.k12.or.us. If you or someone you know is seeking preschool slots, please contact Silautua Brookover at Sbrookover@cgesd.k12.or.us.