What Really Works? Impact and Innovation for Young Learners

Join us for The CAYL Institute Fourth National Conference for
Principals and Child Care Directors!
 
What Really Works?
Impact and Innovation
for Young Learners
 Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel at Camden Yards 110 South Eutaw Street Baltimore, MD 21201
CAYL Conference Room Rate
$125 a night availible for July 12-21
Click here or call 1-800-228-9290 to make your reservation before this offer expires
 
  You will not want to miss this highly motivating event! Whether you are a veteran or novice, this conference… Show more will inspire and support you. Participants in previous conferences report that the conference helped them to: * Bolster their  leadership skills * Strengthen their capacity to implement school improvement * Sharpen their classroom observation skills through  school site visits * Learn about tools that help them  to assess and better meet the needs of children * Collaborate more effectively with community-based organizations and families * Use their program’s diversity as strength * Have and use a specific plan for their own program in the coming year. The 2012 National Conference is an outgrowth of many years of exceptional work with elementary school Principals. Education Week  highlighted our work with Principals in a cover story in the November 19, 2008 issue. Highlights of the 2011 conference can be viewed at www.cayl.org.
 
“What excites me about this conference is its emphasis on quality and outcomes in early learning. Indeed, only real quality leads to measurable and significant outcomes for children. This is a genuine learning gathering.”
               -David Lawrence Jr., President of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and chair of The Children’s Movement of Florid a
2012 Speakers
 
Dr. Valora Washington, Host
President, The CAYL Institute
Throughout her career, Valora has co-created several institutions, such as Michigan’s Children, a statewide advocacy group, and the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, both of which continue to exist. Frequently tapped for senior-level service, she has been Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Governor’s School Readiness Commission; Board Chair for Voices for America’s Children; Secretary of NAEYC; chair of the Black Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development; Co-Chair of the National Head Start Association Commission on 2010; and a member of the current governor’s Readiness Commission subcommittees. She has served on numerous boards and tasks forces including of the Boston Children’s Museum and Wheelock College. She currently serves as a President of the Board of the Council for Professional Recognition.
Prior to founding the CAYL Institute, Valora was CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and Vice-President of the Kellogg Foundation. She has held executive and tenured teaching positions at institutions including Antioch College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since 2001 she has been a Certified Association Executive with the American Society of Association Executives.
 
Dr. Jacqueline Jones, Keynote Speaker
U.S. Department of Education Senior Advisor on
Early Learning to the Secretary of Education
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan named Jacqueline Jones as Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Early Learning.  Dr. Jones is the former Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Early Childhood Education in the New Jersey State Department of Education, where oversaw standards, curriculum and assessment for preschool through 3 rd grade programs statewide.
Prior to joining the NJ Department of Education, Dr. Jones worked for 15 years in the Research Division at Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ. As a Senior Research Scientist and the Director of Early Childhood Research and Development, her work focused on the study of assessment in early childhood, specifically the development of classroom-based strategies to document young children’s science and literacy learning.  Dr. Jones has written in the area of early childhood assessment and is particularly interested in the development of effective early childhood assessment systems for school districts and states.  Her work also explores the role of documentation and assessment in the ongoing professional development of early childhood educators.
Dr. Jones has given presentations across the country and has served on a number of national advisory committees including the National Head Start Research Advisory Committee, the Pew National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force and the National Research Council’s Committee on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children.  She received a BA from Hunter College and MA and Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
 
Dr. Kyle Snow, Keynote Speaker
Senior Scholar and Director of the Center for Applied Research, NAEYC
Kyle Snow is currently Senior Scholar, and Director of the Center for Applied Research, at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Prior to joining NAEYC in 2010, Dr. Snow was a senior research psychologist at Research Triangle International (RTI), where he was the Principal Investigator for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth cohort study (ECLS-B). Prior to joining RTI in 2005, Dr. Snow was the Director of the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development Program in Early Learning and School Readiness. Dr. Snow holds an MA and Ph.D. in Human Development from Cornell University. His areas of specialization include infant and child development, the interface between early social and cognitive development, and children’s transition to school. Dr. Snow is co-editor (and contributing author) of School Readiness, Early Learning, and the Transition to Kindergarten in the era of Accountability (Brookes, 2007). He has published papers in a range of areas, and has prepared nearly 20 technical and government reports related to educational programs and educational policy.
 
Peter Pizzolongo, Keynote Speaker
Senior Director of Professional Development Solutions, NAEYC
Peter Pizzolongo is currently the Senior Director, Professional Development Solutions, at the National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC), and previously served as Director of the Analytical Support and Technical Assistance Services Division of CSR, Incorporated—a social sciences research and management support firm. He has over 35 years of experience as an author, faculty member, training and technical assistance provider, consultant, program evaluator, Head Start and child care agency administrator, and child care resource and referral director/counselor. Mr. Pizzolongo has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications, videotape and online programs, and other resources. He has conducted training programs on numerous topics, including child development, curriculum, developmentally appropriate practice, language development, health and mental health, nutrition, parenting, victim support, violence prevention, and program evaluation. Mr. Pizzolongo began his early childhood education career as a teacher of toddlers and preschoolers. He has served as a Head Start program center director, education coordinator, program director, and state training officer.
 
Dr. Sherri Killins, Keynote Speaker
Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Early Childhood Education and Care
Dr. Sherri Killins is the Commissioner of Early Education and Care for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Since 2009, Dr. Killins has provided leadership in designing and implementing a statewide method to define, measure and communicate quality called the Quality Rating and Improvement system for early education and care, out of school time in multiple environments including family childcare, public schools, center based, and Head Start. Dr. Killins has also positioned four statewide systems mental health, educator and provider supports, community family engagement and information and referral for early educators, children and their, families and providers of early education and out of school time services.
Dr. Killins has worked as an advocate for children and families in a variety of ways for more than 20 years, both as a provider of direct care and in leadership roles on issues relating to children and families. From 2006 to 2009, Dr. Killins has worked at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that promotes “public policies, human-service reforms, and
community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families.” She held several roles in the Foundation. Her final position was serving as Vice President for Human Development and Operations. Prior to her work with the foundation, she served as the founding President/CEO of the New Haven Empowerment Zone, was a mayoral candidate in New Haven, Connecticut, and led operations and programs for both the Empowerment Zone Corporation and the Family Preservation Initiative of Baltimore. Dr. Killins holds a nursing degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a master's of administrative science from Johns Hopkins University, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Sarasota.
Since being appointed the Commissioner of Early Education and Care,  Dr. Killins received her certificate from Harvard Graduate School of Education PreK-3 rd : The Foundation for Educational Success Institute in 2010.  Dr. Killins was appointed in 2011 to the Regional Advisory Committee under the U.S. Department of Education.   Dr. Killins is the mother of three daughters.  
Maurice Sykes, Keynote Speaker
Executive Director, Early Childhood Leadership Institute
Maurice Sykes is an urban educator who consults on systemic change, early childhood education, and early literacy acquisition. As the former Deputy Superintendent for the Center for Systemic Educational Change and Director of Early Childhood Programs for the District of Columbia Public Schools, he has demonstrated his ability to take charge of change and brought significant innovations to the D.C. Public Schools’ educational reform agenda. While at the U.S. Department of Education, where he served as an Educational Program Specialist, Sykes advised the department on educational policy and programs related to urban school improvement. He also has served as a teacher, teacher trainer, and a curriculum developer. Sykes directed the Tufts University Day Care Center in Somerville, Massachusetts, where he held a joint appointment as Assistant Professor in the Elliot Pearson Child Study Department.
He also directed the Education Policy Fellowship Program at the Institute for Educational Leadership, where he trained mid-career educational leaders. Sykes had provided consultation to the Florida “Smart Start” initiative. He also serves as the principal early childhood consultant for the Memphis “Getting Schools Ready for Children” initiative, as well as Washington, D.C.’s “Safe Passages” initiative. Sykes was profiled as an “Early Childhood Champion” in a national study released in 1997 by the National Association of State Boards of Education. Most recently, he was elected to the Board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Amongst his accomplishments he has written numerous publications and has spoken across the nation voicing the need for schools and communities to “do the right thing” for children.

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