FAIRFAX FUTURES' 4TH ANNUAL SCHOOL
READINESS SYMPOSIUM

Resilient, Resourceful and Ready for School:
The Importance of Social and Emotional Competence for Young Children

Save the Date...
Saturday, April 26, 2008

Speakers

Jim Greenman, Senior VP, Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Daniel Gartrell, Bemidji State University

Breakout Session Descriptions and Presenters

The Encouraging Classroom: Building a Community for Children
Presenter: Daniel Gartrell

An encouraging classroom is a place where children want to be even when they are sick, as opposed to not wanting to be there when they are well.  Dan uses video clips, anecdotes, group discussions and presentation to explore principles for building and maintaining encouraging classrooms.  Important ideas include: building relationships, using developmentally appropriate practice, and practicing leadership communication skills to reduce the need for, and resolve, classroom conflicts.

Daniel Gartrell

Dan Gartrell is a former sixth grade teacher in Ohio and Head Start teacher for the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota.  During the 1970s, Dan completed his Masters degree at Bemidji State University where he was a CDA advisor for the Child Development Training Program.  Dan received his Doctor of Education Degree from the University of North Dakota in 1977.  For many years, Dan has been director of the Child Development Training Program and professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Bemidji State University in Northern Minnesota.  

Dan has written eight pieces that have appeared in Young Children (the Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children).  In November of 2005, he began a column for Young Children, titled “Guidance Matters.”  Dan is the author of three books:

• A Guidance Approach for the Encouraging Classroom (New 4th edition now out, Thomson/Delmar Learning),

• The Power of Guidance (Delmar/NAEYC, 2004)

• What the Kids Said Today (2000, Redleaf Press).

He has presented over 300 workshops, keynotes, and trainings in many states, Germany, and Mexico.  Dan is a member of a blended family that includes wife, Dr. Julie Jochum, five children aged 28 to 40, and eleven grand children.

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Making Quality Happen: Creating Great Places for Marvelous Learners
Presenter: Jim Greenman

Children are filled with possibilities, fully equipped and driven to pursue the job of development. Great learning environments are laboratories for learning and helping children develop into the best people they can be. This session uses visuals and dialogue to focus on how to make quality happen: the challenges and the ins and outs of good practice.

Jim Greenman

Jim Greenman is Senior Vice President for Education and Program Development at Bright Horizons Family Solutions. His responsibilities at Bright Horizons include the conceptualization and development of curriculum and training strategies, vehicles, and resources.  He is Chairman of the Board of the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children which develops play spaces for homeless children.

Mr. Greenman has over thirty years experience as an early childhood teacher, administrator, researcher, program and facility designer, college professor, and consultant. His experience ranges from working with Fortune 100 companies to inner city, and university child care programs; family education programs; Head Start, family child care and public schools. He has played a significant role in the design and program development process for over 100 child care projects and teaches an annual institute on child care design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Mr. Greenman has written numerous articles for magazines and journals and his many books and videos include Caring Spaces, Learning Places:  Children's Environments That Work (Exchange Press), What Happened to MY World? Helping Children Cope with Natural Disaster and Catastrophe; Places for Childhoods: Making Quality Happen in the Real World; What Happened to the World? Helping Children Cope in Turbulent Times; Prime Times: A Handbook for Excellence in Infant and Toddler Care (with Anne Stonehouse and Gigi Schweikert,  Redleaf Press); Making Day Care Better: Training Evaluation and the Process of Change (Teachers College Press) and the videos Great Places for Childhood and Best for My Baby: Low Income Families and the Struggle to Do the Right Thing.  He has presented keynote speeches, seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Australia, Europe, and Canada on a variety of early care and education topics.

Mr. Greenman received a Bachelors Degree in Education from Rutgers University (1972) and a Master's Degree from the University of California at Berkeley (1976) where he also completed additional advanced graduate studies.

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Promoting Resilience in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Children
Presenters: Sarah Semlak & Lisa Gordon

Supportive relationships promote the social-emotional skills children need for their healthy development and love of learning.  This workshop will focus on ways to support the resilience of culturally and linguistically diverse children, ages birth – five years and their families.  Topics such as the importance of the early childhood educator – child relationship, family cultural and linguistic identity, and school as a potential stressor, will be addressed.  Participants will develop strategies to strengthen what they are currently doing to help children be ready for school.

Sarah Semlak

Sarah M. Semlak, PhD. has worked in the field of Child and Family Development for over twenty years.  Sarah has experience as a teacher and director of a range of federally and privately funded programs, serving diverse groups of children and their families.  Her passion, since the early nineties, has been supporting programs serving high-risk infants and toddlers.  Sarah spent several years at the Head Start Bureau in Washington, D.C., helping Federal Staff link Government Regulations with practices that support the development of children served in Home- and Center-Based Programs. She currently works with a range of programs that include Early Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs to support the design and implementation of curriculum, age-appropriate literacy practices, and school readiness.

Lisa Gordon

Lisa Gordon has worked in the area of diversity education training and programs for over 17 years. She is co-founder of Colorful World, a women-owned diversity education consulting firm where she focused on helping early childhood educators, care-givers and parents create inclusive education environments that empower all children and families to succeed.  Lisa has developed and presented training for early childhood education professionals that addressed topics including:  early social-emotional development and school readiness, creating inclusive classroom environments, selection of diverse resources, supporting home languages & cultures, and literacy & language development for young English Language Learners. She has consulted with for and not-for-profit organizations and school systems on the implementation and roll out of diversity initiatives and responsive practices to supplement core curriculum and programs.  She is a Member of the National Association of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). Lisa is married and is mother to two primary age sons.

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“Want to Play?”: Utilizing Play to Promote Children’s Social and Emotional Development
Presenter: Geetha Ramani

The play context is central in children’s development because it offers them opportunities to build, learn, and practice their social and emotional skills.   Children’s competence in both areas can be essential to their personal and academic success.  In this session, we will discuss the benefits of play on children’s development.  We will also focus on ways to utilize motivating and enjoyable play activities to promote children’s social and emotional growth.

Geetha Ramani

Geetha Ramani is Assistant Professor of Human Development at the University of Maryland.  She received her Masters and Doctoral degrees in Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and received her BA cum laude in Psychology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Geetha is the author of numerous publications, articles and presentations on the topic of cooperative play and preschool children’s social and emotional development and problem-solving skills.

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