2023 Spring Education Conference - Onsite Participation
Friday March 31st - Six Clock Hours Approved
Saturday April 1, 2023 - Three Clock Hours Approved
We only have a few more spots available ONSITE for our Spring Education Conference as follows:
Friday 3/31 Afternoon Breakout Sessions
- Framework for a Center with Fidelity - 7 spots left
- Get Your Edlink On - 17 Spots Left!
- KidKare Class - 5 spots left!
- Medication Administration - 4 spots left!
- Workplace Happiness Formula - 30 spots left!
We have officially "closed" onsite registration. However, if you are interested in registering for one of these slots, we are leaving our waiting list open AND if you email cindy.bishop@checkmate-strategies.com and david.roberson@checkmate-strategies.com and let us know what slot above you're interested in, we can manually register you and send you an invoice for registration. Include your name, center affiliation and whether you want to attend Friday only, or Saturday only or Friday & Saturday. Also state the name of the afternoon breakout session that you are interested in.
We are requiring all conference registrations to be paid by this Wednesday so that we can expedite the registration process onsite.
You can also register for our virtual option. Virtual registrants will receive a ZOOM link on Thursday March 30th before 5 PM.
To register for virtual, go to childcarelouisiana.org/events and select the VIRTUAL option
9:00 AM Welcoming Remarks - Tafta Miller, CCAL President
9:05 AM Keynote Speaker: Julie Bartkus!
Motivate The Motivator!
Every day, you have the opportunity to impact many lives in many ways. The lives of the children, the families, and your co-workers are just a few of the people who are positively impacted by you. You are The Motivator. So the big question is: who motivates you? During this keynote, you'll discover immediately applicable strategies for creating an enduring source of motivation for yourself so you can thrive and feel alive as you achieve greater levels of success in your life. If you sometimes feel that things are hard (and perhaps at times, really hard) and your motivation is faltering, don't fret. You will leave feeling motivated with tools and strategies that you can implement daily to regain hope as you strive to bring your big, bold dreamy vision to life! Are you ready to Motivate the Motivator?
Concurrent Sessions
10:30 AM - 12 Noon
LDOE Update
Introductory Remarks -
Karen Powell, Deputy Assistant Superintendent
Early Childhood Strategy
- Moderator: Shelia Campbell
- EdLink Update – Daisy Grotsma, Director of Early Childhood Data Systems, LA Department of Education
- Child Care Assistance Program – Tamara Patrick
- Licensing Updates (Bulletin 137) –Andrea Burl
- Criminal Background Checks – Kayla Batiste
10:30 AM - 12 Noon
Teachers Roundtable Discussion (Onsite Only)
Target Audience: Teachers & Support Staff
- Helping Children with Behavioral Issues
- Dealing with Stress and Burnout in the Classroom
- Getting Support from Management
12 Noon - 1 PM Lunch and Door Prizes
Tafta Miller, CCAL President
Tara Emery, Vice-President
1:00 - 4:00 PM Afternoon Breakout Sessions
The Workplace Happiness Formula presented by Julie Bartkus
What does it take to create a motivated, happy team? During this session, you'll discover a formula that you can put into place immediately to help you ATTRACT and RETAIN the team of your dreams. If you're struggling with absenteeism, tardiness, turnover, gossip, complaining, and blaming and you're ready to detox your workplace so everyone (including you) comes to work feeling happy - you'll want to grab a front-row seat and discover The Workplace Happiness Formula. For over 20 years Julie Bartkus has been confidentially surveying every level of staff in child care programs across the globe. During this session, she is pulling back the curtain and revealing the results to you. You'll gain an understanding of what really motivates your staff, what attracts new staff members, and why child care professionals check out and quit.
Get Your EdLink On!
Daisy Grotsma, Louisiana Department of Education
Target Audience: Center Owners and Directors
Bring your laptop computers and get ready for an interactive session on how to navigate the LDOE’s new EdLink system. Daisy Grotsma, the chief architect of the Department of Education’s new data management system, will walk participants through the process of completing their license renewal through EdLink. She will be joined by a few early learning center directors who have successfully completed their license renewals on EdLink who will share their personal insights and experiences.
Medication Administration
Dianna Constant, Agenda for Children
This three-hour breakout session provides staff training on how to properly administer medication to children in early learning centers. Participants will learn the state’s policies and procedures to follow to implement a clear guiding principle for medical administration. Upon completion of this training session, participants will receive a certificate to demonstrate compliance with the Louisiana Department of Health. Dianna Constant has been part of Agenda for Children’s team since 1990. She has over forty years of experience in early childhood education.
A Framework for Fidelity
Dr. DeShannon Burrell
For Owners, Directors and Teachers
This three-hour breakout session will identify a framework for operating a center with fidelity. Fidelity looks at how close policies and procedures along with curriculum are followed. Fidelity fits into the framework of everyday practice within a childcare center. Center owners and directors who implement fidelity within their daily practices administratively will engage in proficient and strong staff. Childcare teachers who implement curriculum with fidelity will assess if the curriculum is working for children and support children in their growth and development. This course will help staff and students with daily interactions and activities, resulting in positive goals and outcomes for the children and the center as a whole
KidKare Class
Good Nutrition Pays: The Benefits of Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
Target Audience: Owners and Directors
Cindy Vian, KidKare
This breakout session is designed for child care providers who are interested in learning more about the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the benefits of participating in the program. Industry experts encourage the essential child care industry to leverage all subsidy programs during this staffing shortage. So now is the time. The CACFP is a federal program that provides funding to improve the quality and accessibility of nutritious food for children and adults in care settings. In this workshop, participants will learn about the CACFP and how it can help to promote good nutrition and healthy eating habits in care settings. Participants will gain an understanding of the nutritional guidelines established by the program and the requirements for participating. The workshop will also cover the financial benefits of participating in the program, including the reimbursement provided to care providers for the meals they serve. Participants will learn about the potential for increased enrollment and improved health outcomes associated with providing healthy and balanced meals. In addition to discussing the benefits of participating in the CACFP, the workshop will provide participants with practical guidance on how to enroll in the program and navigate the requirements. And when the paperwork seems too much, you’ll get to see how other providers are utilizing KidKare to manage this program with ease.
Saturday April 1, 2023
Morning Breakout Sessions
9:00 AM - 12 Noon
Attract Staff Fast and Keep Them Long-term!
Julie Bartkus
Can you attract people to you? Can you attract staff to work for you? If you believe you can, but you’re just not sure how to make it happen, this session is for you! We’re deep diving into staff attraction strategies that will move you from hearing crickets after you place a Help Wanted Ad to attracting 9, 23 or even 50 job applicants in just a matter of days. You’ll discover the secret to attracting staff fast (really great staff) and engaging them for the long run. Bring your Help Wanted Ad and get ready to transform it into your ultimate staff attraction magnet. You’ll leave other leaders in your community wondering how you’re attracting the most amazing staff ever when everyone else is struggling. This is a do-not-miss opportunity for child care leaders who need staff to grow.
Target Audience: Owners and Directors, Assistant Directors
Managing the Madness: Conflict Resolution by Dr. DeShannon Burrell
Co-Presenters: Sharon McNeely and Dominique Byrd
Target Audience: Teachers and Support Staff
This three-hour breakout session will identify the types of conflict and the reason why we deal with certain challenges within center life. Our daily work involves dealing with difficult people and difficult situations. Participants will be challenged with resolving conflict and reconciling relationships if possible. Strategies in dealing with difficult people - supervisor, staff, students, and parents will be given. Managing the Madness begins with you.
Ready Set Eat Food Safety by Dianna Constant, Agenda for Children
Ready Set Eat Food Safety is a session on how children grown and develop. This is an interactive session that includes information on handling children with special needs. After completion of this three-hour training class, participants will be able to:
- Define the grasping status
- Describe a positive and supportive learning environment for feeding children
- Be able to discuss how language and feeding are related. CLASS language is used
- This meets the food safety requirement of the Louisiana Department of Health
Musical, Mathematical and Language Development of Infants:
Transferring Knowledge to Practice in Louisiana Early Childhood Environments
Kamile Geist, Ph.D., MT-BC
Associate Professor and Board-Certified Music Therapist, LSU School of Music
Eugene Geist, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Payne School of Education at LSU
Emily Marcinowski, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
LSU Department of Kinesiology
Target Audience: Teachers
Experts in early childhood research and practice from LSU will share
their recent findings of how infants naturally use music
interactions to self- regulate and attach to caregivers, how
they use mathematics to construct their world, and how they
shape early language through motor development.
You don’t want to miss this one! It’s going to be fun with lots of
hands-on ideas and music that can be applied to all three areas
of development. You will leave with many tools to take back to
your classrooms and centers.
Spring Conference Social Event
Friday, March 31, 2023
West Baton Rouge Conference Center
6:30 - 9:30 PM
"CCAL Has Talent Show", Buffet and Dancing
80s style Attire Recommended but Not Required
Register separately for the Social Event at
http://childcarelouisiana.org/events
Only $53 per person!
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