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Early Childhood Education

  • The 2018 Elections: What Do They Mean for American Education?

    November 27, 2018

    What are the implications of the results of the 2018 election for American education, in Washington D.C,. in state capitols and in the nation’s schools and classrooms? From a variety of perspectives ranging from political actor to scholar, our panelists will address this question. Speakers: Domingo Morel assistant professor, political science, Rutgers University; visiting scholar, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University; Michael Petrilli, president, Thomas B. Fordham Institute; research fellow, Stanford University's Hoover Institution; executive editor, Education Next; distinguished senior fellow, Education Commission of the States; Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers and Albert Shanker Institute. Moderator: Michelle Ringuette, assistant to the president for labor, government & political affairs, American Federation of Teachers. Watch the video.

  • Puerto Rico: The Road to Recovery and Reconstruction

    March 1, 2018

    Puerto Rico: The Road to Recovery and Reconstruction (#rebuildPR), March 1, 2018, co-sponsored by Albert Shanker Institute, American Federation of Teachers and Hispanic Federation. With the future of Puerto Rico hanging in the balance, this national conference focused on what needs to be done to rebuild the Puerto Rican economy and its educational system in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.  Watch the video.

     

  • Deborah Meier Book Event and Reception

    October 25, 2017

    Wednesday October 25, 2017. More information

  • School Integration By Race & Class: A Movement Reborn?

    June 7, 2017

    In recent years there have been signs of a resurgent grassroots movement to integrate schools. From a variety of perspectives, our panelists examined the state of segregation by race and class in America’s schools, and the promising initiatives and practices that are emerging in the renewed movement to integrate America’s schools. Watch the video.

  • In An Age of Scapegoating, Making School A Safe & Nurturing Place for Youth

    May 10, 2017

    From a variety of different perspectives and work with different populations of vulnerable students, our panel examined the challenges facing American educators and the best practices educators have developed to address them. Watch the conversation..

  • Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education Conversation Series 2013-2016

    June 8, 2016

    Sponsored by the Albert Shanker Institute and the American Federation of Teachers, this conversation series held the second Wednesay of the month during the school year, is designed to engender lively and informative discussions on important educational issues. Watch the videos from the last three seasons.

  • Educating English Language Learners in an Age of Anti-Immigrant Scapegoating

    June 8, 2016

    Most students who immigrate to the United States enter our schools as English language learners (ELLs). These students face the challenge of simultaneously learning a new language and the same subject material as students for whom English is the native language, while struggling to adapt to a new, often alien culture. Few groups are more poorly served by our schools. The divisive, hateful rhetoric of racial, ethnic and religious bigotry that has been unleashed in the current presidential election campaign has increased the obstacles faced by these students, and left them shaken and unsure about their place in American society. What is the appropriate response of American educators to this critical situation? What must be done to provide English language learners with the quality education that addresses their specific needs? What pedagogical strategies best meet the needs of English Language Learners? What must be done to provide students with a pathway to citizenship and full incorporation into American society? How should educators confront expressions of prejudice and bigotry against immigrant students and other English language learners? Our panel will address these and other questions from different vantage points and experiences.

    Speakers include: Steven Choi, Executive Director, The New York Immigration Coalition and Joe Luft, Executive Director, Internationals Network for Public Schools, Inc. Watch the video.

  • Educating Tomorrow's Teachers: Are U.S. Education Department Regulations for Schools of Education a Help or a Hindrance?

    April 13, 2016

    Controversial new regulations for teacher education have been proposed by the U.S. Ed Dept. Although there are objections to the regulations, the controversy centers on the proposed measures of teaching performance -- student test scores, as seen through the prism of value-added measurements, and surveys. Are there better alternatives? Can they be replicated at scale? Given the need for teacher ed schools to prepare teachers to do well from day one, what is the best way to ensure that all teacher prep programs are of the highest quality? Wed., April 13, noon to 2:00 pm. Watch the video.

  • Quality Teaching: Individual and Social Approaches

    December 7, 2015

    This two-panel conversation focused on theresults of the annual “PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes toward the Public Schools,” and their implications for policy and practice, taking on the question of how government, schools of education, school districts and schools can promote, nurture and support quality teaching. Watch the video.

  • Positive Alternatives to Suspending And Expelling Misbehaving Students in Early Childhood Education

    November 4, 2015

    Recent research and news reports show that even very young children--and particularly young children of color--can be subject to harsh and overly punitive school disciplinary practices. At the same time, the need for schools to be safe and orderly places to teach and to learn remains a top priority in poll after poll of parents and the public.These are the issues our speakers will discuss.

  • Creating Safe & Supportive Schools II: Next Steps

    November 4, 2015

    The focus of this Good Schools seminar was to share effective policies and strategies to enhance school climate, mitigate behavior problems, and support improved performance, with special attention to supporting labor-management teams as they work to comply with new rules and guidelines on behavior management. The discussion bridged a wide range of topics, including: schools as caring communities; providing the social, emotional and medical supports that students need; the challenge of implicit bias; and alternative behavior and classroom management strategies

  • Teaching Content Through Oral Language Development

    July 14, 2015

    In this workshop, learn how to take advantage of children's natural learning processes to teach content and build background knowledge in the academic domains of science and mathematics, using strategies that are both developmentally appropriate and aligned with the demands of the Common Core standards. This panel is part of AFT's TEACH Conference. Watch the panel.

  • Gauging the Impact of School-Based Health Care On Students’ Health, Wellbeing and Educational Outcomes

    June 12, 2015

    Co-sponsored by the Albert Shanker Institute, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Public Health Association, and the National Association of School Nurses. Watch the video.

  • Early Childhood Education: The Word Gap & The Common Core

    December 11, 2013

    Do the Common Core State Standards represent a threat or an opportunity for the early childhood field?

  • Early Childhood Education: The Word Gap & the Common Core

    December 11, 2013

    Given states’ difficulties in implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) thoughtfully, many early childhood educators have begun to worry about what the NAEYC refers to as “a downward pressure of increased academic focus and more narrowed instructional approaches.”

  • The Role of Curriculum in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs

    November 17, 2011

    This workshop session offered an overview of research on why the early acquisition of broad content knowledge is crucial to young children’s later academic success, and provides a guide so that the design, choice, and use of teacher training materials is improved by careful focus on content suitable for three and four year olds. The presenters discussed these findings and what they mean for the improvement of professional development programs for early childhood educators, and offered examples from four new research-based teacher training modules in the content domains of oral language development, early literacy, mathematics, and science.

  • Early Childhood Assessments: Problems & Possibilities

    October 8, 2004

    With increased support for and public investment in early childhood education programs, federal, state, and local authorities have begun to grapple with the need to assess student outcomes, for diagnostic, accountability and program improvement purposes. At the same time, critics continue to raise questions about the appropriateness, validity, and utility of assessments with very young children: How accurate is the data that’s being gathered through various methods and for what purposes can it legitimately be used? What can research tell us about how to design assessments for preschool children that are reasonable, reliable, valid, and useful for teachers and policymakers alike?

  • Education and Care for Children in their Preschool Years

    February 21, 2001

    This conference, involving participants with a wide range of viewpoints, was designed to elicit discussion about what the academic core of high-quality preschool programs should entail and how it should be delivered.