Approximately 430 participants from across the nation attended the 19th Annual GSA Child Care Training Conference in San Francisco, CA, July 8-10, 2008.  Child Care Operations conducts this training conference every year to keep centers up to date in quality standards and recognize individuals and center’s excellence during the past year.  Assistant Regional Administrator Jeff Neely kicked-off the conference by welcoming guests to the Pacific Rim Region and spoke of our ongoing commitment to providing high quality care to federal families and communities we serve; PBS Commissioner David Winstead applauded the exceptional work that GSA is doing in the area of quality child care and presented this year’s Cornerstone Awards which are given in recognition of the contributions of GSA employees as well as the others outside of GSA who provide continual and exceptional support to the child care program.
This year’s Cornerstone Award recipients are:

• Marilyn Freeman, Property Manager, New England Region
• Charles Fabyanski, Property Manager, Northeast and Caribbean Region
• Fallon Federal Building Renovation Team, Mid-Atlantic Region
• Matt Elawady, former Director, Portfolio Management Division, Southeast Sunbelt Region
• Randy Korn, Property Manager, Heartland Region
• Casey Bowen, Director, Portfolio Management Division, Greater Southwest Region
• Dana Denning, Building Manager, Rocky Mountain Region
• Claudette Antoine, Building Management Specialist, Pacific Rim Region
• Kay Lynn Smartt, Regional Deputy Emergency Coordinator, Northwest/Arctic Region
• Samuel Bowman, Environmental and Safety Specialist, National Capital Region
• Lisa Daniels, PBS Event Planner, Central Office

At the opening luncheon Regional Administrator Peter Stamison also welcomed guests to the Pacific Rim Region and with great pride shared his personal experiences with the centers in his region and about being a grandfather.  Acting Administrator David Bibb acknowledged the efforts of the Child Care Program at the luncheon and read a congratulatory letter from President Bush which reiterated that “for nearly 20 years, GSA’s Child Care Conference has fostered networking and discussion to help ensure the best possible care for America’s youth.”   At the accreditation luncheon, 30 GSA-managed child care centers were recognized for achieving accreditation or re-accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).  Tony Costa, Deputy Commissioner, PBS, spoke on the achievements the GSA Child Care Program has made over the past 19 years and focused on the high quality our centers provide, putting them way ahead of the non-federal centers.  Stephanie Olmore, Director, Program Assessment and Compliance, NAEYC, spoke on the importance of achieving NAEYC accreditation and reaching that higher standard.  Accreditation hinges on key factors such as curriculum, administration, professional development, staffing, and proper attention to health and safety.  Eighty-five percent of eligible GSA child care centers are accredited.

The conference program was divided into five tracks, offering 29 breakout sessions, along with a general session on Managing Infectious Diseases for directors, teachers, boards of directors, facility and security managers and agency representatives.  Some highlights of these sessions include:  an entire track devoted to the new NAEYC criteria for teachers and directors; a session on the ABC’s of Child Care Facilities which was moderated by Tony Costa, Deputy Commissioner, PBS; Going Green in Child Care Projects; Inclusion of Children with Special Needs; Staffing Challenges, How to Turn Your Classroom Green,  and many others.
Highlights from the conference include:  Timothy Shope, MD, who engaged the audience in an informative general session entitled, “Spit Happens: Managing Infectious Diseases”.  He spoke about the most common types of infectious diseases that occur in child care settings and rational exclusion.  Debra Sullivan, EdD, President, Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Education, spoke at the opening luncheon on “Assessing Leadership in a Time of Transformation and Change”.  There were many other bright, talented speakers who gave sessions that were insightful, and filled with practical and effective strategies that participants could take home and use immediately.

We also offered several opportunities to tour the New San Francisco Federal Building and its child care center for the participants.  The tours were informative and educational and tour guides showcased the “green” aspects of this new innovative, state-of-the-art building.