The Departments of Early Education and Care (EEC) and Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) are inviting instructional and community leaders to a seven-month professional development opportunity focused on building and sustaining strong Birth to Grade 3 systems of services and supports for young children and their families. This professional development opportunity will be kicked off by a regional conference (Boston, Worcester or Westfield) in November, Brain Building and Early Literacy and Numeracy: Strategies and Supports for Young Children (Birth to 8), and will be followed by three regional, seven-month, professional learning communities. Connected Beginnings Training Institute’s Mary Watson Avery will be leading the professional learning communities for the social-emotional strand.
Applications will be accepted beginning on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 until Friday, November 4. Each regional professional development opportunity (kick-off conference plus the professional learning community) can accommodate up to 150 participants. Slots will be filled based on the order of applications received as well as a review process that ensures a diverse representation of the mixed delivery system in Massachusetts (child care, Head Start, public schools, independent family child care providers, system family child care providers, after-school and out-of-school time providers and community leaders). If awarded a slot, participants will be asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding confirming their commitment to this 7 month professional development opportunity. A waitlist of participants will be kept in the event that an individual is unable to attend.
The conference and the professional learning community will focus on five areas or strands: literacy; numeracy; social-emotional development; family and community engagement; and leadership and professional development. The content of these strands will address the development and learning of all young children from birth up to Grade 3.
If you have any general questions regarding this opportunity, please feel free to contact Donna Traynham at 781-338-6372 or [email protected]. Questions specific to the registration process can be directed to the Educator Provider Support (EPS) grantee for the region in which you are applying.
Instructional and community leaders interested registering, please choose your conference location below for specific registration instructions:
Boston: Please complete the online registration application at region6eps.bostonabcd.org.
Worcester: Please complete the registration application and email it to [email protected]. If you have difficulties opening the document, please email [email protected] and request the application.
Springfield: Please complete the registration application and email it to [email protected]. If you have difficulties opening the document, please email [email protected] request the application.