“Our goal is to provide quality training for people working in childcare and preschool teachers,” said Martha Page, program coordinator and associate professor of Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education at ECTC.
The conference will be held Saturday, April 16, with the theme of “Imagination and Innovation in Early Childhood Education.” It is a full-day event that includes a keynote speaker and workshop presentations, all with the objective of helping prepare children to be successful in school. “It all begins in the cradle,” Page said.
This year’s keynote speaker will be Kellie Thompson, the Professional Growth and Effectiveness Instructional Specialist from the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (GRREC). She is a certified trainer for Dr. Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty. She will focus on relationships that are imperative for learning and achievement, regardless of the child’s socio-economic backgrounds. Supplementing the keynote address will be two additional Ruby Payne trainers who will present workshops throughout the day.
Additional workshop presentations consist of training on such subjects as creating a children’s garden, signing with infants and toddlers, music fun for little ones, creative visual arts for young children, dancing with little ones, virtual learning to promote family engagement, Kids Yoga, and positive praise techniques. “We must provide high quality training for employees at childcare and preschool centers if we expect them to provide a high quality experience for students,” Page said. “Not only are conference participants receiving pertinent information, they also have an opportunity to collaborate with other professionals in their field with similar concerns. They can trouble shoot problems in a face-to-face, interpersonal format.” She also said that by attending, childcare providers can earn five of the required 15 training hours they must have each year.
The cost to attend the conference is $30 and includes lunch. The conference will have educational vendors and agencies within the community and region on hand to provide information and items for purchase. “Participants have an opportunity to network with the respective organizations and see how those constituents can assist in the field of early childhood education,” Page said.
With the conference, ECTC strives to include very competent presenters to ensure that young children and their families are receiving the professional best, regardless of where they attend school or their unique stage of development.
“It is so important that child care providers no longer assume that young children fit a mold or develop at the same rate,” Page said. “Each child must be given opportunities to reach his/her highest potential.”
For more information, contact Martha Page at (270)706-8499 or mpage0003@kctcs.edu.
Photo caption:
Keynote speakers for the 2015 Early Childhood Education Conference were Nicki Patton Rowe (Chair, Governor’s Early Childhood Task Force) and Former Governor Paul Patton: Language and Brain Development in Early Childhood Education.