The 2012 National Smart Start Conference will feature more than 140 workshops! View the Full Conference Program with all workshop decriptions.
Below are descriptions from some of our featured sessions.
- Addressing Inclusion within Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (Standards & Accountability)
Explore possibilities for addressing inclusion for children with disabilities within Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and learn about a tool for measuring dimensions of inclusion in EC classrooms. Participants will have the opportunity to practice assessing inclusive practices through video clips and discuss how the tool can be used to improve the quality of inclusion.
Presenters: Pam Winton, Tracey West & Elna Soukakou, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute - Comprehensive Early Childhood Services as Part of Systems Reform (EC Systems)
Hear from public and non-profit leaders from three states that have made progress in embedding a comprehensive approach to early childhood in their systems building and reform efforts, Progress and challenges, case studies from each state will be shared, and commonalities drawn out to advance this work as part of ongoing efforts to create a sustainable early childhood system.
Presenters: Harriet Dichter, Ounce of Prevention Fund, Anne Bryan, NC Governor’s Office, Kelly Maxwell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute and Norma Everett, Nemours Health & Prevention Services - Designing and Implementing Effective Kindergarten Entry Assessments (Standards & Accountability)
Join this session to learn about the general purposes and types of assessments and guiding principles and criteria for effective assessments. Presenters will share different states’ approaches to designing and implementing assessment systems that provide useful and credible information. This session will also cover how to guard against potential unintended negative consequences of kindergarten entry assessment systems.
Presenters: Catherine Scott-Little, University of North Carolina at Greensboro & Kelly Maxwell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute - Effects of Coaching and Coursework on Teacher-Child Interactions in Preschool (Research)
Findings from the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education’s randomized controlled evaluation of two approaches (college course and MyTeachingPartner web-based coaching) to improving teachers’ interactions with young children will be shared during this workshop. And a discussion about the consistency of the intervention and the extent to which a variety of teachers responded positively to the intervention will engage participants.
Presenters: Jason Downer & Bridget Hamer, University of Virginia - Leveraging Home Visiting to Reach Children in Early Care and Education Settings (EC Systems)
In this session, presenters will offer questions to consider in implementing home visiting programs and suggestions for adapting models to reach children and families in family child care and FFN settings. Examples of initiatives implemented and strategies for partnering with other early care and education programs will be shared. A tool developed by CLASP to aid states will be provided.
Presenters: Christine Johnson-Stub & Stephanie Schmit, Center for Law and Social Policy - Promoting Nutrition and Physical Activity among Children in Child Care (EC Health & Mental Health)
This presentation will focus on four cutting-edge programs (Let’s Move! Child Care, Watch Me Grow and NAPSACC) designed to improve nutrition and increase physical activity. Presenters will also share campaign implementation (described by a member of the First Lady’s Advisory Committee) and a collaborative effort among a center-based program, Child Care Health Consultant and community agencies to create change.
Presenters: Dr. Jonathon Kotch and Diane Ward, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Bernadette Rodgers, Smiling Faces Child Care Center, Rebecca Brouwer, Duke University and Sandra Cianciolo , National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants - Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge: The Race Begins (EC Systems)
This Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge workshop will describe some of the ways States who were awarded RTT-ELC grants will focus on the 5 key areas of reform as well as a 50-State strategy that allows States not awarded these funds to learn along with the awarded States and share new developments, findings, and strategies.
Presenters: US Administration for Children and Families and US Department of Education - Being a Strategic Leader: Creating Work Environments Where Everyone Can Learn (Early Care & Education Program & Practioner Support)
This session challenges the myth that being a leader means having to be an autonomous overseer of daily program operations and focuses instead on how to distribute leadership to maximize program quality. Drawing on research conversations with early educators, this working session will explore tools and strategies leaders can use to distribute leadership among staff, and with their colleagues in different locations.
Presenters: Marcy Whitebook, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment & Sharon Ryan, Rutgers University - From Birth to School: Smart Start, Early Childhood Programs and Third Grade Outcomes (Research)
Findings from the Duke University evaluation of NC Smart Start and other early childhood programs will be shared during this presentation. The study used administrative data to measure the effects on student outcomes of access to early childhood program and showed higher standardized math and reading scores and fewer special education placements in counties with more Smart Start funding.
Presenter: Helen Ladd, Duke University - Tools and Strategies for Building Strong Systems of Support for Young Children’s Mental Health (EC Health & Mental Health)
This workshop will present tools for use in state and local planning efforts to strengthen supports for young children’s mental health; key strategies to consider (e.g., child screening; strengthening mental health supports in early care and education settings); and 3) examples of states’ experiences using these tools and strategies. Participants will try out tools and identify approaches suitable for their states or communities.
Presenter: Sheila Smith, National Center for Children in Poverty - Challenges and Opportunities for Early Childhood at the Federal Level (Policy, Public Engagement, & Advocacy)
This workshop will discuss the challenges facing early childhood programs at the federal level and highlight opportunities for effective advocacy. Content will focus on key issues at the federal levels including the overall status of the federal budget and maintaining early childhood investments. Participants will gain a better understanding of how to advocate for funding in these challenging times.
Presenter: Helen Blank, National Women’s Law Center - QRIS and the Race to the Top/Early Learning Challenge Grant: The Latest Innovations (EC Systems)
This workshop will share the latest innovations underway in states in the development of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a result of the recent Race to the Top/Early Learning Challenge grants. Hear from state and national leaders on the use of QRIS as a lever for systems change and strategies being used through QRIS to develop high quality early learning and development systems.
Presenter: Gerry Cobb, BUILD Initiative - Ready Schools Toolkit for Community and District Teams: Connecting the Community and School District to the work of Early Childhood Education (EC Systems)
This session covers the development and implementation of the Ready Schools Toolkit 2 for Community and District Engagement. Materials in the kit will be highlighted and participant will be asked to work in small and large group discussions around the use of the tools, development of a plan to engage communities and school districts, and opportunities for community collaboration assessment.
Presenter: Susan Catapano, University of North Carolina at Wilmington - Early Brain and Behavior Development (Research)
This presentation will focus on the science of the interplay between the development of the brain and behavioral development to build our understanding of how life experiences impact child development. Core concepts that will be discussed include the development of brain architecture and what leads to the establishment of a sturdy foundation for later learning and capabilities, the interaction between genes and experiences in shaping the developing brain, how cognitive, emotional and social capacities are intertwined, the impact of stress during early development, and the key role of interventions to improve behavioral development.
Presenter: Judy Cameron, University of Pittsburgh - Strengths-Based Coaching: The Key to Teacher Success (Early Care & Education Program and Practitioner Support)
This workshop will introduce participants to three important coaching frameworks for facilitating teacher success, gaining a conceptual understanding of why they are important and how they work, Participants will engage in hands-on opportunities to practice new approaches such as imaginative story listening, distinctive reflections, appreciative questioning, and design brainstorming and leave with clear and valuable strategies to use back home.
Presenters: Bob Tschannen-Moran and Susan MacDonald, Center for School Transformation - Cradling Literacy: The Importance of Nurturing Early Language and Literacy (Early Care & Education Program and Practitioner Support)
This session will explore the research foundations and theoretical frameworks of nurturing language and literacy during the first three years of life. An overview of the research, video clips and small and large group discussions will provide an interactive format to learn about the foundation of literacy skills is laid years before children enter school.
Presenters: Judy Whiteman, Zero to Three - Managing Change to Evidence-Based Programs: A State Level Perspective (Standards * Accountability)
This workshop will highlight how the North Carolina Division of Social Services (NCDSS) has managed change in the funding of the implementation of evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs in local communities. Participants will hear from NCDSS on its intentional approach to supporting evidence-based programs, the challenges faced, and strategies for building state and local agency capacity for implementation.
Presenter: Kristin O’Connor, North Carolina Division of Social Services - Systems Building: Evidence for Program Development, Outreach, Leadership, and Evaluation Activities (EC Sysytems)
This session offers a review of key evidence validating the critical impact of these local strategies for effective early childhood systems building, by the nation’s leading experts in implementation science, the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN).
Presenters: Henrietta Zalkind, DownEast Partnership for Children and Melissa VanDyke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute - Leading for Equity – An Essential Piece of the Puzzle (Leadership)
This workshop will continue the conversation that was started in 6 local partnership’s Leading for Equity Initiative retreats. A panel of Executive Director’s from the Smart Start Leaders Collaborative will discuss the process for bringing together the right group of people to address this important issue. They will share lessons learned and provide the tools needed for any community based group to begin Leading for Equity in Early Childhood.
Presenter: Genevieve Megginson, Chatham County Partnership for Children
