Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
Engaging young children and their families: Best practices for remote and hybrid learning
Presenters: Dominique McCain, Kristin Valdes, & Cecelia Doyle
Whether online or in-person, young children’s learning is grounded in engaging interactions and relationships. What should that look like in the era of remote, hybrid, and physically distanced teaching? In this webinar, panelists will share strategies for engaging young children (Pre-K to grade 3) and their families during these challenging times to lay the foundation for long-term success.
Participants will:
- Reflect on the importance of interactions and relationships for young children’s learning;
- Discover strategies for building positive relationships and productive interactions during distance and hybrid learning;
- Learn about the CLASS framework for understanding and measuring high-quality interactions;
- Explore why family engagement is more important than ever; and
- Gain strategies for building relationships with families and engaging them to support children’s learning.
Presenters
Cecelia Doyle, Early Learning Coordinator, South Washington County Public Schools (MN)
Cecelia Doyle is the early learning coordinator at South Washington County Public Schools in Minnesota where she coaches more than 30 preschool teachers in best practices to close the opportunity gap. She was dean of the school of education at Rasmussen College where she grew the program from 4 to 24 campuses and nationally online while innovating a workforce credentialing program that celebrated 3,000 early childhood graduates. While there she was selected Master Leader in Education in recognition of leadership in making a difference for children, families, and communities (Exchange Magazine). She has served as a professor at the University of Minnesota, Concordia University, and Metropolitan State University. She earned her Doctorate in education – adult learning from the University of Minnesota where she studied young immigrants’ school experiences and the impact on mainstream teachers.
Dominique McCain, Managing Director, The Commit Partnership
Dominique McCain is managing director at The Commit Partnership in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, which supports equitable education beginning with high-quality early childhood education. Previously, she was director of instructional strategy for the Dallas ISD Early Learning Department, where she oversaw all curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for the district’s PK-2 grade classrooms. She has also served as senior manager of Dallas ISD’s Teacher Preparation Program. She began her career as a classroom teacher in Aldine ISD and later worked as a teacher leader and instructional coach.
Kristin Valdes, Senior Multimedia Instructional Designer, Teachstone
Kristin Stuart Valdes first began working with trauma informed practices when supporting NYC students who had witnessed 9/11 from their school building. She spent over 15 years working in all five boroughs of NYC to bring conflict resolution, social and emotional learning, culturally responsive education, and trauma informed practices to teachers and students. She has been working with CLASS since 2011, when she ran a large federal grant that used CLASS coaching to support teachers in social and emotional learning curriculum.
Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.
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