On March 29, 2003, more than 400 parents, childcare providers, teachers, and other community leaders gathered to attend the second annual "Getting School Ready" conference at Seattle University. Talaris sponsored and helped coordinate the event, which featured presentations from national experts in early learning, best practices in early education, and discussions about preparing children for schools and readying schools for the kids coming their way. Keynote speakers Megan Gunnar, Ph.D. and Debra Sullivan, Ph.D. discussed stress and early learning and the importance of cultural relevance in education, respectively.

Megan Gunnar, Ph.D. Professor of Child Development - Institute of Child Development  University of Minnesota Stress and Early Learning Speakers Bio PowerPoint Presentation  3.2M download Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., President - Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Education Cultural Relevance and "Getting School Ready" Project Report Speakers Bio

1. Promising School District Approaches to Getting School Ready: What Bremerton, Seattle and Tukwila are exploring.     2. Fathers' Role in School Readiness: How fathers/significant males can influence a child's school  readiness and ways schools can partner with fathers.  Bernie Dorsey, Conscious Fathering Programs     3. Early Childhood Caregivers and School Sucess: How you, as a child care provider, are already helping prepare children for school, and how to work with schools and parents.  Susan Hakoda, Child Care Resources     4. Connecting Schools and New Immigrant Families: Current efforts to bridge the gap between new immigrant/limited-English speaking families and their community's school so that children get the best start possible.  Karen Akada Sakata, City of Seattle ECEAP     5. Early Learning Goals and State Academic Standards: Panel discussion on national, state and local trends and developments in creating "Early Learning Goals" that support a continuum of learning.  Diane Kroll, Puget Sound Educational Service District     6. Public Policy and Engagement Can Promote School Readiness: How state, local and school district policies can improve school readiness, and what's coming up to engage parents, communities and schools.  Garrison Kurtz, Foundation for Early Learning     7. Becoming Parents: A program that teaches the survival skills couples need to make the transition to parenthood.  Pamela Jordan, University of Washington School of Nursing     8. Promoting First Relationships: How to promote healthy social and emotional behavior in young children, birth to three.  Jean Kelly, University of Washington School of Nursing     9. The "Ounce Scale": A new tool that helps families and service providers assess a child's progress (birth to three) in social/emotional, physical, communication, and cognitive development.  Donna Weston, University of Washington School of Nursing

STARS Continuing Education hours Clock hours for K-12 educators

Click here for more information on Getting School Ready

 

Please register by March 15, 2003 By invitation only.  Seating limited. No cost to attend. We encourage you to register online.  Click here to register online If you choose to mail or fax, send your completed registration to:  Talaris Research Institute,  P.O. Box 45040, Seattle, WA  98148 Fax: 206-529-6899 Print registration to fax or mail

Getting School Ready is sponsored by the Foundation for Early Learning, with leadership from the
Puget Sound Educational Services District and Child Care Resources.