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18th Annual GSA Child Care Conference18th Annual GSA Child Care Conference Approximately 400 participants from across the nation attended the 18th Annual GSA Child Care Conference in Washington, DC, July 24 through 26, 2007. The Office of Child Care 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. Deputy Regional Administrator Ann Everett kicked-off the conference by welcoming guests and with great pride, shared her personal experiences as former Director of GSA's National Child Care Program; PBS Commissioner David Winstead applauded the exceptional work that GSA is doing in the area of quality child care. David L. Bibb, Deputy Administrator, 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:
Regional Administrator Tony Reed acknowledged the efforts of the National Capital Region’s Child Care Program and Administrator Lurita Doan addressed the audience at the Accreditation Luncheon. She read a congratulatory letter from President Bush which reiterated that “GSA’s Child Care Conference is a valuable opportunity for child care providers to learn best practices in high-quality child care,” Six GSA-managed child care centers earned accreditation or re-accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Kim McClennahan Means, MEd, Associate Executive Director, NAEYC spoke on the importance of achieving NAEYC accreditation and reaching that higher standard. NAEYC provides the “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval for childcare centers. Accreditation hinges on key factors such as curriculum, administration, professional development, staffing, and proper attention to health and safety. Ninety-two percent of eligible GSA child care centers are accredited. The conference program was divided into five tracks, offering 20 breakout sessions, along with a general session on Pandemic Influenza 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 building partners for Center Support for facility managers which was moderated by Bart Bush, Assistant Regional Administrator, PBS, NCR; S.A.F.E. Playgrounds; Reading Right from the Start, Raising Children in a Negative World; Playing with Pests; Security in Centers-What You Need to Know and many others. Highlights from the conference include: Diane Macklin, renowned storyteller; who engaged the audience in an interactive story about Wisdom and Age; Dan Hodgins, PhD, keynote speaker, who spoke on the “Extinction of Childhood”; and many other talented, bright speakers gave sessions that were insightful, and filled with practical and effective strategies that participants could take home and use immediately. The last day, attendees boarded shuttle buses and visited child care centers (both federal and non-federal) throughout the Washington, DC, area.
Last Reviewed 9/4/2008
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