Early Childhood

Training and Best Practices header

UW ECHO in Early Childhood increases the capacity of early childhood professionals to identify and implement best practices in areas that include early literacy, transitions, behavior support and identification, and referral detection.

Network participants include case managers/family service coordinators, general educators, home daycare providers, paraeducators, related service providers (OTs, PT, SLPs, etc.), school administrators, school directors, school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, special educators, state agency staff and all others interested in improving outcomes for students in the early childhood setting.

UW ECHO in Early Childhood is a collaboration with the Wyoming Department of Health.

Sessions

Sessions are on Fridays, bi-weekly,
1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. MT
via Zoom video conferencing technology.

Instructions for joining Zoom are available. Zoom also provides access for users with physical disabilities, blindness, and low vision through a range of keyboard shortcuts.

Past Sessions:

Early Childhood Learning Session Topics: Spring 2017 to Spring 2020

Fall 2020 Learning Topics

*Session materials will be send to registrants prior to the meeting time.*

September 25: 2020 Cowboy State Conference

**We will not hold an ECHO in Early Childhood session on September 25.**

We encourage you to attend this year's Cowboy State Conference on September 25-26.

The conference will highlight three different tracks, which include, Leadership, Family Child Care, and a General Track. The conference will have National Presenters and Keynotes, which include Leading for Children, Debbie Lee Keenan, Tina Jimenez, and Rachel Giannini. Presenters from the Wyoming Early Childhood Learning Collaborative will also be highlighted. Full Conference Program.

October 9: Responding to Children's Comments and Questions about Differences

Children are aware of differences from very young ages. Learn strategies and tools to help children think and talk about their ideas and feelings about themselves, the differences and similarities among people, about fairness and unfairness in people’s interactions with each other, and a framework for anti-bias education.

Presenter: Debbie LeeKeenan, Lecturer, Co-Author of Leading Anti-bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change, and former director of the Eliot-Pearson Children's School at Tufts University

October 23: Creating the Culture and Environment for Anti-Bias Education

This session will provide practical tips and strategies for building the culture and environment for inclusive communities for young children. families and staff. Highlighted will be how to make a safe and brave space for dialogue, learning, resiliency, and growth, designing culturally responsive environments, and choosing books and materials that provide mirrors and windows to the world.

*Oct 23 Session Registration*

November 6: TBA

*Nov 6 Session Registration*

November 20: Engaging Families and Growing Anti-Bias Partnerships

Partnering with families to support children is a cornerstone of early childhood education. Parents are the children’s first teachers. Practical strategies for working with families using a funds of knowledge/strength based approach, making families welcome and visible, building family participation, family dialogues, and managing and negotiating conflict.

*Nov 20 Session Registration*

December 4: Anti-Bias Education in Changing and Challenging Times

Changing demographics, shifts in social views, polarizing political issues, converging pandemics of Covid-19 and racism, all present challenges and complexities to us as educators interested in social justice education. Strategies for facilitating conversations that matter about potentially challenging topics will be highlighted.

*Dec 4 Session Registration*