Leaping Forward: Ensuring that Children Thrive
Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Summit: A three day virtual conference on February 28–March 1, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily
The Summit brings practitioners, administrators, leaders, and families together to share best practices in:
- Early Intervention, to help families transition to preschool
- A review of the outcomes accomplished through Early Intervention and preschool programming
- Instructional strategies for inclusive programs
- Supports to prevent and address challenging behaviors
- Ensuring that all children experience a team of professionals working with families to address the children’s needs
Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Rebecca Isbell is a motivational speaker, prolific writer, and consultant in early childhood education. She served as the Director of the Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Learning and Development and Professor of Early Childhood Education at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee where she was honored as an “Outstanding Teacher.” She is the author of thirteen books and numerous articles related to creativity, learning environments, play, literacy, the arts, and child development. She is the author of Creativity and Arts with Young Children (3rd edition), a textbook that is widely used in early childhood classes.
Dr. Sadia Batool, born and raised in Dubai, is a physician by qualification with a current focus on supporting families and professionals in the Early Childhood Systems. Her passion for Early Childhood systems stems from her personal experience of receiving life changing Early Intervention services for her daughter. She has recently joined the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning as Early Childhood Family Lead for the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Health Integration Prenatal-to-age Three Project, to focus on cross-sector collaboration and partnership, health system transformation, state-level policy and fiscal innovation, family leadership, to advance opportunities for all. As an author, speaker, and educational consultant, I am a passionate believer in children’s right to learn through play, inclusive classrooms, and transformative professional development that supports teachers’ wholeness.
Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontzak is a past president of the Ohio Division for Early Childhood and she also served as President of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children. Kristie spent 16 years in higher education as faculty at Kent State University (KSU) and continues to serve as a co-advisor for doctoral students. She also served as an applied researcher, evaluator, and trainer in early childhood intervention. Rounding out her experience, she was the principal investigator on several federally funded research, model demonstration, and personnel preparation training grants. With a keen eye, sharp mind and deep intuition, Kristie brings both integrity and playfulness into educational decision-making and, above all, limitless innovation! Kristie’s core beliefs rest in the power of educators, the shared understanding between them and their students, and in their abilities to convert problems into solutions and those solutions into opportunities.
Submit a request to exhibit programs and resources (vendors)