Building the Preschool to Promise Pipeline Conference

Join us for our 2nd Annual Fall Conference “Building the Preschool to Promise Pipeline” from September 19, 2020 to September 26, 2020 virtually. Attendees will hear from influential leaders in the St. Louis area discussing transformational education: supporting children at the intersection of literacy, language and trauma.. There are 16 total clock hour training sessions available for Missouri and Illinois. The week will be filled with a Key note speaker, panel, and multiple sessions to choose from.

Who should attend?
Early Education Teachers, Directors, Family Care Providers, Child Care Providers, Substitutes, Family members of children 0-6 and other interested individuals.

Saturday, September 19

9:00 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Panel Discussion

The panel of early childhood educators will review and discuss how trauma impacts children’s literacy and language skills and strategies on how to build collaborations between the early childhood center and families.

Panel:
Shelia Oliveri | Tina Mosley | Adrienne Pennington | Bolanle Ambonisye | Miranda Bell | Tango Walker-Jackson

Monday September 21 

This session will engage participants in evidence-based information surrounding the use of self-care to mitigate the effects of trauma and chronic stress. 

Participants will leave with a greater understanding of trauma’s impact on the developing child and how to respond to each child’s unique needs through sensory integration and regulation strategies within the classroom setting.

Teachers and caregivers will learn the importance of engaging young children in recognizing and identifying emotions, building important emotional literacy/communication skills, and practicing simple breathing/movement/calming techniques using children’s literature as the foundation for classroom discussion.

Participants hear what policy changes have happened or are in the works in the early childhood space at the state and federal levels!

Tuesday, September 22

Participants will learn the connection between fine motor development and emergent literacy. They will take away practical solutions to encourage fine motor skills that lead to strong writing abilities.

This session explores the importance of providing a literacy rich environment for all children, including strategies for children with special needs and challenging behavior.

This session will shed light on the benefits of storytelling, while also helping participants learn to give voice to their own stories.

This session will apply research-based theories of growth and development to planning and practices while Recognizing that children and youth have individual needs, characteristics, abilities, and develop at their own rate.

Wednesday, September 23

This session will include an overview of The Strengthening Families Approach, including reviewing each of the 5 Protective Factors of Child Abuse and Neglect. We will discuss HOW participants can implement the protective factors with the children and families that they work with.

Emotional safety is a pillar of a trauma-informed approach. The concept of belonging is a building block of emotional safety. In order to experience authentic community where children and families experience true belonging, providers can learn and develop cultural fluency to actively work against implicit biases and deliver culturally-responsive engagement.

The session includes 4 videos and a short book that defines education and why parents are the first teacher. By the end the Early Educator will know how to equip their parents to create a home environment that supports academic success.

The focus of this session is encouraging language development from Birth to 5 yrs old. We’d start with Sign language for babies and how it supports the emerging talker. We’d emphasize ways to encourage children to keep trying until they are understood. Encourage teachers and parents with strategies for listening and waiting for child to express themselves. Includes how effective communication decreases frustrations and behavior outbursts. Poor communication often leads to poor behavior in children. We can interrupt that pattern by knowing how to help children express themselves with words and actions.

Thursday, September 24

Teachers and caregivers will learn the importance of engaging young children in recognizing and identifying emotions, building important emotional literacy/communication skills, and practicing simple breathing/movement/calming techniques using children’s literature as the foundation for classroom discussion.

Participants will leave with an understanding on the importance of completing developmental screenings on young children later literacy development. During the first 3 years of life, the brain undergoes its most dramatic development and children acquire the ability to think, speak, learn, and reason. When this early development is not nurtured, young children begin to fall behind. Early intervention is key to children’s literacy and language skills.

This session explores the importance of providing a literacy rich environment for all children, including strategies for children with special needs and challenging behavior.

This presentation is based on the book, How to Tell Stories to Children and Everyone Else Too (West & Sarosy). We will discuss the Storytelling Loop and tips to telling a story. Different types of stories will be discussed and participants will get a chance to practice what they have learned.

Friday, September 25

Participants hear what policy changes have happened or are in the works in the early childhood space at the state and federal levels!

Participants will learn the connection between fine motor development and emergent literacy. They will take away practical solutions to encourage fine motor skills that lead to strong writing abilities.

Saturday, September 26

Keynote Speaker: Julius B. Anthony on Believe
Final Remarks & Giveaways
9:00 a.m.

Julius B. Anthony will introduce The Believe Project. St. Louis Black Authors of Children’s Literature is committed to fostering awareness about the importance of early literacy by creating innovative opportunities for all kids to have access to Black children’s literature. sing a student driven workshop model, children are exposed to cross-platform media content connected through related curriculum goals, PBS Kids characters, and children’s literature. The results are innovative playful learning experiences, which are collections of games, videos, and offline activities designed to support young learners as they explore and transfer science knowledge and thinking skills to the real world. The Ready to Learn Initiative anchors The Believe Project with wonderful experiential teaching and learning!