We definitely colored outside the lines!

Head Start California would like to applaud the 2022 Annual Conference planning committee members for their diligent work in selecting the content for the more than 45 sessions for the 2022 Virtual Annual Conference!

This year’s planning committee included:

Billiejo LaBriola, Sandra Gonzales-Pabon, Elizabeth Holloway, Christine Feenstra and Threasa Hernandez. The conference committee provides program perspective on training needs, participates in the selection process of workshops, and identifies speakers. If you are interested in joining the planning committee for our 2023 event, please keep an eye out for a solicitation email this summer.

Event Highlights

We hope you were able to join us as we began on Monday morning with the viewing of pre-recorded workshops and a live fitness class with Emily Davenport. We welcomed our first keynote, Markus Law, who taught us the importance of teaching with music. As one attendee said, “Really enjoyed his ideas around music and engaging children through lyrics.” Thank you, Markus for getting us moving on the first day!

We wrapped up Day One with our virtual Paint Night, led by local artist, Beth Bates. Attendees were able to follow along at home and create their own masterpiece! Several prizes were given away, thanks to generous donations from conference sponsors.

On Day Two we welcomed our keynote, Adriana Molina, who brought to our attention the importance of developing trusting relationships with young children during transitions. She bravely shared with us her own experiences and reminded us that communication and love are essential for trust in all relationships. One attendee commented that “The STAND acronym for what it represents is so true. I will do my best to assist our teachers in ensuring they remember and that each child is truly unique in a lot of ways and not just sometimes.” We, at HSC, echo so many of your comments that we received about Adriana – You are so inspiring!

On Wednesday, we closed the conference with a presentation from Dr. Patricia Nunley, who educated us on the A-Up approach and how to employ the 5 H’s – Help, Holy, Humans, Hearts, and Heal. Attendees and staff appreciated the knowledge shared and the honest conversation that took place between Dr. Nunley and our very own Executive Director, Christopher Miracle. This session alone received over 135 notes in our comments and question section – a session record! As one attendee put it, “Bravo!!! Thank you for an astounding presentation.”

Thanks to our generous sponsor, Controltec, we were able to give away 20 Amazon gift cards worth $100 each during the conference! Many thanks to our other sponsors: Learning Genie, Acorn Evaluation, Simply Fun and PlusOptix for helping to underwrite some of the costs of our conference. And a special shout-out is due to the 16 HSC Proud Partners who support us all year round.

The HSC staff and planning committee would like to thank each and every one who made the time in your busy schedules to join us for our 2022 Annual Conference! We appreciate your flexibility and willingness to gather together virtually despite the challenges it brings, your willingness to continue pressing forward, and all of your efforts to keep serving the children in your community each and every day.

All on-demand sessions and recorded sessions are still available to watch until Friday, May 8, 2022. And remember, it’s okay to “Color Outside of the Lines”!