My journey started on Tuesday November 15 - I headed from Cleveland to Washington DC for my first of many meetings.
Sarah Mulligan (DEC executive director) and I had a meeting with our colleagues from NHSA and NAEYC - followed by a great dinner with DEC's President Elect - Bonnie Keilty.
Wednesday was then an opportunity to learn more about the new Part C regulations. Don't forget about the side-by-side document created by CEC, DEC, and ITCA. I also encourage each of you to reach our to your Part C coordinators to see how you might help with implementation of the new regulations.
Wednesday night was the 1st of 2 DEC executive board meetings. We had the great pleasure of meeting with Bruce Ramirez (CEC executive director) and learn more about CEC initiatives and benefits for DEC members.
DEC Board with Bruce Ramirez
Thursday began with so much excitement as over 60 DEC memberS descended on Capitol Hill. We were taken by bus and then met in the visitor's center where many met with their Senators and House of Representatives. We also learned from DEC's governmental relations consultant Sharon Walsh, CAN coordinator, Sarika Gupta, CEC'S Associate Executive Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, Deb Ziegler, and Lindsay Jones, CEC’s Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy. It was an amazing experience. Be watching for opportunities to organize virtually and enact locally!
Driving to Capitol Hill
Diana Valle-Riestra, DEC Board Member at Large - FL International University
Ohio DEC members, Kristie Pretti-Frontczak, Janet Banks, and Sophie Hubbell with Margie Glick - Senator Sherrod Brown's legislative aide.The Day on the Hill was "topped" off with an inspiring keynote from Kurt Kondrich who was joined by his wonderful family.
Seated L-R: Kurt Kondrich, father, advocate, and this year's keynote speaker; Dr. Steve Bagnato, past DEC president Dr. Amy Santos, President Elect Dr. Bonnie Keilty, and DEC President Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak.The remainder of the conference was equally inspiring. There were 100s of opportunities for networking, for learning, and for advocating. Please enjoy this 7 minute video with messages of inspiration and vision as we head to Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 28-31, 2012.
I'd like to comment on the format of the Pecha Kucha sessions. I attended two Pecha Kucha sessions (Tiered Models and UDL). I hope DEC continues to offer this type of session in the future. In my opinion, the combination of the short, timed slide presentation along with the opportunity for individualized interactions during the poster portion provides an engaging and informative learning opportunity. Additionally, I appreciate getting to hear 5 perspectives on a specific topic in one session. Thanks to the DEC board and all who worked on the conference. I'm already looking forward to the next conference in October!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristie and everyone at DEC for making such an amazing conference come to life! On behalf of the student Special Interest Group, thanks for helping to make DEC a warm, welcoming place to grad students from all points in their graduate careers :)
ReplyDelete-Lori Meyer and Molly Cevasco
The DEC Day on the Hill was an inspiring event for me as a doctoral student. I attended with four of my colleagues from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Due to the great preparation from DEC, I felt well prepared as a professional advocate for young children with special needs. We visited our two Senators' offices and our Representative's office and had a very full yet satisfying day. Through this experience, I felt like I was given permission and access to speak to these politicians. Now our group of students is eager to use our voices and recreate this day with our state politicians. Thank you for planning this experience through the DEC conference!
ReplyDelete-Natalie Danner
Although I have been a DEC member for a few years, this was my first DEC conference. I was so excited to be at a conference were ALL the sessions were specific to early childhood...I am so "used to" attending the TED and CEC conferences. I was HONORED to receive the J. David Sexton award and I was accepted warmly by everyone in attendance. I am proud to be the recipient of the award and look forward to the DEC conference in 2012, I will make it a priority. Thank you again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristie and DEC! This year's conference was an awesome event! Our group was able to meet with all three of our legislators on the Hill and we've even received a thank you note to our follow-up email to one of them! There are some very exciting things ahead--with the EI SIG and new YEC plans--2012 will be a great year! Looking forward to seeing everyone in Minnesota and catch up on where the doc students are in their programs!
ReplyDeleteI want to start thanking DEC and Doc. Valle-Riestra for a wonderful and awesome experience!!. I attend with three of my colleagues from Florida International University. The DEC conferences provide me with a general purpose and a selection of research methods the designing, constructing, and evaluate for young children with and at risk for, disabilities. Through this experience, I was able to grow, learned and reflect. Thanks to DEC and to all who worked on the conference. I love it!!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an amazing week at the DEC conference. The preparation and planning for our poster and Pecha Kucha session led to building our understanding of differentiation for adults and children. Differentiation was a theme for me at the conference as well. The multiple means of representation was evident across the conference. A personal highlight was the Pecha session. As a Doctoral student, to be welcomed and challenged along side researchers and educators was inspirational and motivating. The "bonding" experience of presenting our slides and watching others from the field with similar interests was amazing. Thank you for this opportunity and for the continued work that will build from this conference. pam
ReplyDeleteThe DEC conference was an amazing experience this year! I want to thank our president, the board and all the DEC staff and volunteers for their hard work and dedication, it truly paid off! I love the opportunities this conference has to meet with, share ideas and collaborate with such amazing people in the early childhood field. The Pecha Kucha sessions were a wonderful experience and I feel so lucky to have been able to be a part of one, I only hope that this venue continues in future conferences! Thanks again for the opportunities we are given at this conference every year!!
ReplyDeleteI resonate with what many of my esteemed colleagues have been saying; I, too, found the Pecha Kucha sessions to be an incredible experience that has served to deepen my thinking around the concepts of UDL, differentiation, and tiered instruction (and by extension, data-driven decision making). My understanding of these concepts has continued to evolve over the past several years, and having had the opportunity to prepare for one of these sessions and engage in rich discussion on these matters has further developed my thinking and ideas. In specific, I was honored to speak with such leaders in the field as Mary Ruth Coleman and Eva Horn about their work in this area and their plans for making a positive impact going forward. Despite the varied approaches to addressing these issues, the take-away point for me was that each of these concepts is truly more or less a pillar of good instruction for ALL children.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the necessity of considering next steps in the way we approach bridging the fields of EI and ECE cannot be understated. Interventions, careful planning of instruction based on student performance, needs, and interests, and targeted goals and outcomes should not be buzz words for the world of EI alone. By continuing our efforts to get a grip on these ideas and the way they relate, as well as how we can do a better job of providing professional development that focuses on these concepts as a foundation of quality, developmentally appropriate instruction, we might also begin to inadvertently better explore the ways in which we can eventually address the research to practice gap. In the end, it was an inspiring conference. Many thanks to all of those whose hard work made it possible.
As others have said, many many thanks to the DEC Board, staff, and volunteers for a great conference. I always leave feeling inspired and energized by new ideas, new perspectives, and new people.
ReplyDeleteThis year, I also very much appreciated the family focus in the keynote. Highlighting the family voice sets the tone for the whole conference, and reminds us of why we do what we do. I had the pleasure of personally meeting Chloe Kondrich and her family briefly during one of the breaks, and was humbled when Chloe's mother expressed such gratitude for early intervention. Truly, it should be the other way around - I am grateful for all that I learn from families.
I also appreciated opportunities to interact with esteemed researchers/experts in the field. As a doctoral student and in the very early stages of research, it is encouraging when more established researchers express interest and ask us about our emerging work. I also enjoyed being able to meet other professionals with similar interests through the EI Special Interest Group. I think the SIG is a great forum for DEC members to interact and think of ways to improve (or should I say "transform") practice beyond the few days of the conference.
Overall, I always enjoy the DEC conference, and I look forward to next year's!