Professional Development:
Creating a Credential for a School-Age Workforce
Speaker Biographies
Harry A. Kujath became the first paid Director of the Missouri AfterSchool Network in 2005 after 30 years of service with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. His career in afterschool includes a two-year term as President of the Missouri School Age Community Coalition 2005-2007, reviewer of both 21st CCLC Grants for the U.S. DOE and afterschool grants at the state level for several years. Mr. Kujath has had articles published in national, regional, and state professional journals and established State Rules for Department of Education to receive Afterschool Funding through State Legislation. He has developed and administered training of afterschool programs in public schools statewide and assisted in the development of projects and evaluation instruments to assure that goals were being met and quality afterschool programs were maintained. Mr. Kujath also received the Governor’s Appointment to the Commission on Child Care.
Robert LaVallee is currently a Senior Program Associate at The Finance Project. He is a seasoned program manager and technical assistance provider with more than 15 years of experience managing direct service programs for children and youth (including afterschool programs), supporting the design and development of afterschool policies and programs, and serving as an expert consultant and advisor on afterschool to State and city leaders in Massachusetts and Boston. Prior to joining The Finance Project, Mr. LaVallee served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Commission on After School and Out of School Time. He also directed the Community Afterschool Initiative for BOSTnet, a community intermediary that helps expand, strengthen and sustain quality afterschool programs in Boston. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University.
Carole Weisberg is the Coordinator of Early Childhood and Youth Programs and an online professor at Charter Oak State College in Connecticut. Carole has an extensive background in school-age care having run a large multi-site before and after-school program for over 14 years in Northern Westchester County, New York. She is a founding member and past president of the School-Age Directors’ Network in Westchester and a founding member of the New York State School-Age Care Coalition. She is a National AfterSchool Association (NAA) Accreditation Endorser and is currently co-editor of the NAA Accreditation Endorser Newsletter.
In February 2000 Carole joined Yale University’s School of the 21st Century initiative as a Program Associate, and moved to New Haven, CT in 2001. Since 2003 and prior to joining the staff at Charter Oak State College in 2006, Carole has been an independent consultant, parent educator and trainer in Connecticut as well as Professional Development Director of The Connecticut After School Network. In this capacity, she worked on professional development and quality practices throughout the State, and worked closely with Charter Oak State College to develop the coursework for the Credential in After School Education. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the CT After School Network. Carole holds a Masters of Arts in Education from Concordia University with an emphasis in school-age care. She is the author of the book: "Children of Divorce in School-Age Care: A Resource for the School-Age Care Professional and Youth Care Specialist".
Vilma M. Williams has been involved in the field of early childhood education since 1979. She studied Early Childhood Education/Child Development at Howard University, University of the District of Columbia and Catholic University. She is the Director of Training Services at the Council for Professional Recognition. She has conducted training throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Peru, Guatemala, and Germany. Her presentations cover an array of diverse topics in the field of early childhood education/child development, such as appropriate curriculum for young children, early childhood educators’ credentialing, as well as Bilingual/Multicultural issues. In her current position as Director of Training at the Council, Ms. Williams has been involved in the development and implementation of the Military School Age Credential and conducts training for Military School Age Representatives in the USA and overseas. Ms. Williams has received numerous awards for her continuous work and dedicated service to the field of early childhood education, specifically, for her work with Latino children, families and community and her educational support to the immigrant community and indigenous nations in the United States.
|
