Early Education in Quarantine:

What Happens Now?

Dr. Jeanette Betancourt with Holly Delgado and Anna Marrs

Dr. Betancourt is the Senior Vice President for U.S. Social Impact at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street. She directs the development and implementation of community and family engagement initiatives making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and their families. These research-based initiatives are designed to impact children’s early learning, health and well-being, and provide strategies and resources to counteract the effects of trauma while fostering the critical connections that adults have on children’s lives.

Dr. Benjamin Edmondson, Michelle Salcedo, Damaris Boone, Kenneth Sherman, Amanda Goodwin
Coronavirus and the response to it looks different all over the country. Our opening expert panel will discuss the state of Early Childhood, the impacts of the virus on teachers, children, and families, and ways different types of early childhood programs have adapted to mandated school closures and these challenges. Panelists will also share how they are preparing to support children and families in the transitions back to school.

Michelle Molitor, Caroline Hill

COVID-19 has brought inequities to the forefront of the minds of educators across the country. This session will explore the implications of CV19 on the educational experiences of those most marginalized by this pandemic. In small group discussion and personal reflection, educators will be asked to create future early childhood learning experiences through the lens of equity by design.

Conversation with Krista Shambleau

Tara Westover is an American author. Born in Idaho to a father opposed to public education, she never attended school. An older brother taught her to read, and after that her education was erratic and haphazard, with most of her days spent working in her father’s junkyard or stewing herbs for her mother. She was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Currently, she is a Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center, working on projects related to media and political polarization.

Gloria Sherman
We have all heard about how ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) can have a long-term impact on brain development, mental health, and physical health issues. Trauma is an experience that overloads the sensory system. COVID-19 has added a layer of additional worry, concern, and stress for children and families. Learn strategies to provide the emotional, social, and cognitive supports necessary to promote resilience. One or two caring adults can impact a child's life. It could be YOU!

Fireside Chat with Christine Snyder

Mr. Canada grew up in the South Bronx in a poor, sometimes violent neighborhood. Despite his troubled surroundings, he achieved great academic success, receiving a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. After graduating, Mr. Canada began his life’s work helping children who, like himself, grew up in poor, distressed neighborhoods.