National Head Start Association

 

 

Be sure to mark your calendar TODAY!

Pre-conference Dates: Dec. 10 & 11  (See the Special Tracks & Free Training Seminars listed in the Conference Program Book for details.) 

Regular Conference Dates: Starts with the Opening General Session on Dec. 11th at 5:30 p.m.; educational sessions offered Dec. 12-14 (For a listed of the educational session offerings, download the Conference Program Book below.)

Download the Complete Conference Program Book here.

Conference registration is open until Dec. 14th. Click here to download a conference registration form.

Why Attend?

NHSA's Annual Head Start Parent Conference is the only national parent conference that delivers high-quality training and educational opportunities to Head Start parents and those who work with or on behalf of parents. Parent engagement is critical to helping children to be ready for kindergarten and to building lifelong learning skills. Participants in this comprehensive professional development event will learn best practices, effective strategies, and cutting-edge approaches that address the many challenges they face, explore areas critical to parent engagement, and facilitate the healthy development of Head Start children. The goal of this conference is to ensure that all participants gain the information and resources needed to bridge the gap between "what to do" and "how to do it."

 

Who Should Attend?

With more than 100 educational sessions that address a broad range of topics to suit all levels of learners and their interests, the conference is a valuable learning opportunity for...

• Parents who are looking for effective strategies that support their child's optimal development, facilitate school readiness, and help their family attain self-sufficiency.
• Entry-level professionals, recent graduates, and students who are just beginning their careers and are looking for an effective and convenient way to cover a diverse range of topics in a short period of time; who want to build a network of experienced professionals who can provide future guidance; and who are interested in discussing the questions and challenges they are encountering.
• Seasoned early childhood professionals who want to remain current on best practices, new developments in the field, and changes in federal guidelines and requirements, and who are looking to increase their network of professionals with whom they can collaborate.

Specifically, the Parent Conference is designed to meet the professional development and training needs of Head Start parents, directors and administrators, educators, parent coordinators, home visitors, education managers, and other early childhood and Head Start staff who work with or on behalf of parents.

 

What Areas of Interest will be Included?

Here are just a few of the many learning areas that will be covered!

• Parent Involvement and Parenting Practices
• Parent/Family Engagement
• Health, Nutrition, and Safety
• Early Education/Care and Child Development
• Partnerships and Collaboration
• Social Emotional Development and Challenging Behavior
• Assessments, Planning, and Management
• Self-Development and Awareness Building

Click here to scroll sessions and special tracks.

Download the educational sessions by clicking here.

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Register Online

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Downloads

Schedule-at-a-Glance.

Registration form.

Presenter Registration form.

 

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Questions?

Questions about the Parent Conference may be directed to Angela Smith by e-mailing asmith@nhsa.org or calling (703) 739-7563.

Questions regarding registrations should be directed to Patty Gray at 703-739-7566.

We hope to see you in Virginia Beach!

 

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Conference Location:

Virginia Beach Convention Center

1000 19th Street
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 385-2000
www.vbgov.com

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Airport Information:

Virginia Beach is accessible through Norfolk International Airport.  

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Ground Transportation

In addition to taxi service, the following shuttle services are available:

Orange Peel Transportation, Inc:
Reservations for transporatioin from the Norfolk International Airport may be made in advance by visiting www.orangepeeltransportation.com, or by calling 757-463-7500.

Airport Connection/Carey Transportation:
Airport Connection-Norfolk is located outside baggage claim at the booth marked "Airport Connection"
For further information, call 866-823-4626 or 757-963-0433.

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Hotel Information:

 

DoubleTree Hotel
1900 Pavillion Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 422-8900

Located adjacent to the Virginia Beach Convention Center
Complimentary NHSA Sponsored "Fitness in the Morning" Activity

Hotel cut-off date: November 19, 2010

Hampton Inn Oceanfront
3107 Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 428-7233

Complimentary NHSA sponsored "Fitness in the Morning" Activity
Free Shuttle Transportation Provided
Complimentary "On-the-House" hot breakfast each morning

Single/Double - $124
Triple/Quad - $144
Hotel cut-off date: November 19, 2010

www.hamptoninnvirginiabeachoceanfront.com

 

Hilton Virgina Beach Oceanfront
3001 Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 213-3000

Complimentary NHSA Sponsored "Fitness in the Morning" Activity
Free Shuttle Transportation Provided

Single/Double - $149 
Hotel cut-off date: November 19, 2010

www.hiltonvb.com

 

Sheraton Oceanfront
3501 Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 425-9000

Complimentary NHSA Sponsored "Fitness in the Morning" Activity
Free Shuttle Transportation Provided

Single/Double - $144
Hotel cut-off date: November 15, 2010

www.sheratonvirginiabeach.com

 

Holiday Inn & Suites North Beach
39th &  Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 428-1711

Free Shuttle Transportation Provided

Single/Double - $144
www.vboceanfrontnorth.com 

 

Courtyard Oceanfront North
3737  Atlantic Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 437-0098

Free Shuttle Transportation Provided

Standard - $119; Suite - $139 

www.courtyardoceanfrontnorth.com  

Questions or concerns involving hotel accommodations may be directed to Stephanie at (703) 739-7557 or smcelwee@nhsa.org.

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Free Training Seminars

 

12/10/2010

 

Brain States, Breathing, and Building a Family (A workshop based on the principles of Conscious Discipline)

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 1-5 p.m.
Presenter: Peggy Osborne

This training seminar will give participants a better understanding of the brain states in which we function: survival state, emotional state, and executive state. Participants will learn practical strategies that they'll be able to use in their home or classroom. Music and movement will be integrated into the discussion on brain states, breathing, and building a family! Come learn how to help your discipline be more effective!

 

Building Your Foundation to Work with Males and Fathers

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 1-5 p.m.
Presenter: Luis Bautista

This training seminar will focus on current research and best practices for involving fathers in Head Start. Participants will learn how to assess their own attitudes and the need for male/father involvement in their agency. They will learn the basics of recruitment strategies to increase father/male involvement and participation in Head Start.

 

CLASS: An Overview of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Mala Pandya

 

Conducting Effective Policy Council Meetings (Seminar will be repeated on Saturday)

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Melvin J. Gravely

The ultimate goal of any parent policy council/committee meeting is to be effective and fair and to produce measurable outcomes that benefit the grantee/delegate agency, Head Start parents, and the children you serve. While this training seminar isn't meant to be a comprehensive approach, it will provide Head Start staff and parent policy council/committee members with a framework that will help them begin the process of conducting effective meetings.

 

Finding Funding for Father Involvement: "Old School" Strategies

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 1-5 p.m.
Presenter: Randell D. Turner

This training seminar will explore how Head Start programs can obtain sustainable father involvement funding through a variety of diversified long-standing sources. Participants will learn how to market their father involvement initiatives in order to maintain their funding. An abundance of resources and how-to information will be shared. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop computer to this seminar.

 

How Head Start Can Use PTA's National Standards for Family/School Partnerships to Successfully Engage Families in School

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Bryce Jacobs, Ph.D.

One thing we know for sure is that parental involvement in Head Start is often very different from the K-12 school experience. Come explore what Head Start professionals and parents need to know and be able to do in order to develop a successful working relationship between home and school.

 

Parent Substitutes: An Entry into the Early Childhood Profession

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Brenda McDonald

Participants will learn strategies used in a "Substitute Training" initiative that have been shown to increase parents' ability to be hired and have been effectively used as a stepping stone to professional advancement and long-term retention. Through the seminar, participants will become better prepared to apply for entry-level substitute positions.

 

Preparing Start Safe Partnerships

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Peg Carson

Start Safe: A Fire and Burn Safety Program for Families of Preschoolers, a program developed by the Home Safety Council in collaboration with NHSA, is designed to make homes safer for young children. State fire training personnel, Head Start directors, and other participants will learn strategies for establishing local partnerships to deliver the Start Safe program.

 

Safe Environment - It's Not Just About the Classroom: Keeping Children SAFE from the Classroom to the Home and BEYOND!

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Jenifer Lindley Lipman

Using a multidisciplinary approach to health, nutrition, and safety, parents and early childhood professionals will receive information and activities that promote healthy behaviors and safe environments in the home, at school, and in the community. Training topics will include the following: injury prevention, preventing the spread of infections, emergency preparedness, and community resources.

 

TakeIt Outside!

Are you providing engaging outdoor play experiences for your children? Learn about the importance of outdoor play for children's health, identify key features of high-quality outdoor play spaces, and extend your thinking about the adult's role in facilitating movement and learning during outdoor play. You'll leave this training seminar feeling re-energized and ready to get outdoors and have some fun!

 

The More You Know, the More You Grow: Families and Children Learning Together

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Jacquie Davis

With the release of the Head Start Roadmap to Excellence, the Office of Head Start has reaffirmed the important roles parents and families play in the improvement of school readiness for young children. This seminar will build on the premise of family engagement and extend support to parents, families, and staff as they collaborate to enhance children's achievement and success. Through a treasure trove of multimedia materials, beginning with Family Night at the Museum, participants will learn how to use art to build strong connections with parents and families and foster school readiness.

 

The Vital Role of Women in Father Involvement

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: 8 a.m.-Noon
Presenter: Randell D. Turner

This training seminar will encourage and equip women to lead father involvement efforts within Head Start. From the inception of the fatherhood movement, women have played a vital role in successful father involvement efforts. This session will explore that vital role, the importance of engaging women in father involvement efforts, and strategies for increasing women's participation in leading father involvement programming.

 

12/11/2010

 

All Families Have Strengths: Using the Family Development Credential (FDC) Program in Working with Families

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Danee Jones-Mitchell

The Family Development Credential (FDC) is a nationally recognized and well-respected professional development and credentialing program that provides front-line family workers with the knowledge and skills they need to coach families to set and reach their own goals for healthy self-reliance. Through discussion, reflection, and skills practice, participants will discover innovative ways of empowering families and communities.

 

Autism 101: A Child's Perspective

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 1-5 p.m.
Presenter: Nicole Wachter

This training seminar will explore the world of autism as seen through the eyes of a child with a focus on the range and variance of symptoms as a spectrum disorder. The major signs and symptoms of autism and their correlating behavior strategies will be discussed. Participants will learn classroom strategies and environmental adaptations that will better enable them to support children and families living with autism.

 

Commit to Prevention and Health: Building Blocks for a Healthy Future

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 8 a.m.-Noon
Presenter: Gwyndolyn Ensley

Building Blocks for a Healthy Future is a free tool that helps children develop the confidence and skills to make healthy choices and build positive mental, emotional, and behavioral health. Join this seminar to learn how to use these tools today in order to decrease the chances of substance abuse and other risky behaviors in the future.

 

Conducting Effective Policy Council Meetings (Repeated)

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Melvin J. Gravely

The ultimate goal of any parent policy council/committee meeting is to be effective and fair and to produce measurable outcomes that benefit the grantee/delegate agency, Head Start parents, and the children you serve. While this training seminar isn't meant to be a comprehensive approach, it will provide Head Start staff and parent policy council/committee members with a framework that will help them begin the process of conducting effective meetings.

 

Looking Inside Science

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Suzanne Thouvenelle

Come explore child growth and development; family engagement and how it supports children's success in school; family literacy; and parent-child interactions. This seminar will assist Head Start and Early Head Start program staff in responding to the following important goal identified in the Head Start Roadmap to Excellence: increasing every child's exposure to be effective, appropriate learning experiences in both the program and at home. Free Web-based science resources that focus bridging the classroom to the home and that encourage family engagement will be shared.

 

Program Governance Training: Structuring & Refining Program Governance for Challenging Economic Times

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 8 a.m.-Noon
Presenter: Mable M. Jones

This training seminar will enable participants to engage in a process that will help them clearly understand and effectively implement the Head Start Program Performance Standards and the 2007 Head Start Act. It will also prepare participants to ensure that their program clearly meets all guidelines and requirements for parent participation and decision making. Participants will gain a more thorough understanding of how they can maximize the Head Start experience for children, family, and the community at large. Current economic conditions, conducting effective meetings, and enhancing ones capacity to understand, apply, and fully implement leadership skills will be discussed.

 

Strength Training for Head Start Parents

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: J. Michael Hall

Just like a good workout, this seminar will offer brief, interactive training on topics such as discipline, developing social-emotional strengths, building stronger readers, fighting childhood obesity, managing the preschool media monster, and parent collaboration. Participants will be acquire practical information and materials that they can share with parents and colleagues when they return to their programs.

 

Supporting Breastfeeding Families in Early Head Start

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 1-5 p.m.
Presenter: Krista Olson

Home visitors, family advocates, and parent volunteers will acquire practical skills for promoting and protecting breastfeeding among Early Head Start families. Participants will also learn to provide prenatal breastfeeding education, offer hands-on support for common breastfeeding challenges, and identify lactation resources in their own communities.

 

Using Observation-Based Assessment for Children Birth through Kindergarten to Promote Learning and Development

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 8 a.m.-Noon
Presenter: Sally Edwards

As the knowledge base in the field of early childhood assessment has expanded and the demographics of early childhood programs have changed, the need to create a seamless research-based assessment system to meet the needs of all young children has grown. This training seminar will examine practical strategies and tools that make the assessment process more accurate and efficient. Participants will gain an understanding of the terminology and structure of the Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment System and be able to use Teaching Strategies Assessment Opportunity Cards to help observe and document children's learning.

 

Wild and Wacky Word Wizards: Everyday Things Parents and Teachers Can Do to Increase Vocabulary and Language in Preschoolers

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Presenter: Cheryl P. Thompson

Early childhood professionals recognize the critical role that language and vocabulary skills play in children's early school success. And in order to narrow the knowledge gap seen in kindergarten, parents and educators must know effective strategies for increasing and sustaining enhanced language skills in preschoolers. Participants in this seminar will be given the opportunity to review language milestones, see examples of a rich vocabulary environment, and receive tips and ideas for building home connections that will increase children's vocabulary.

 

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Special Tracks

Jump Start Children in Literacy through Song-Based Strategies

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Instructor: LaDonna Wicklund
Fee: $125

Come find out how you can jump start children's literacy skills. Learn effective song-based strategies that will boost children's ability in language, naming, writing letters and words, reading print, and writing messages. You'll gain a better understanding of the theory behind literacy development, sing and dance to songs, explore research, and get motivated to teach literacy joyfully and effectively.

 

Strengths-Based Coaching: A Journey into Coaching for Family Service/Engagement Staff and Education Coordinators

Date: Friday, December 10, 2010 & Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Instructor: Joy Humbarger
Fee: $225

Change is a continuous factor as programs engage in quality improvements. What leads to change? How do we keep others motivated through change, building on their strengths? How can we make the most of our time together? Join this special track to learn a practical systematic process that will empower you in your role as a leader.

 

If It Takes a Village - Let's Build One!

Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Instructor: Monique Russell-Messavussu
Co-Instructor: Peta-Gaye Philpot
Fee: $125

Raising children is not an easy task! Fortunately partnerships among parents, educators, friends, and family make child development more manageable. Participants will engage in four tracks that include: creating a solid village, developing visions and making it visual with a vision board creation and analysis, discussing 2010 global education strategies for academic excellence and how to foster PIAs (Parents in Action) vs. MIA (Missing in Action) through engaging role playing demonstrations."