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Conference

  • ECE-RJ posted an article
    Top 5 Reasons Why Every Early Childhood Professional Should Be in San Antonio in January see more

    Top 5 Reasons Why Every Early Childhood Professional Should Be in San Antonio in January

    There is a lot of value in sending your early childhood professionals to ECE-RJ’s national conference, which is taking place next month in San Antonio. Here are the top 5 reasons.

    At the  ECE-RJ National Conference, your early childhood professionals will:

     

    5. Learn with colleagues who are on the leading edge of early childhood Jewish education which is vital to the continued growth of the early childhood education and engagement efforts at your organization.  Hear from experts on Moving from “Us vs. Them” to “We,” Early Education and Social Justice, and Brain Architecture: Building the Brains of Tomorrow."

    4. Connect with other early childhood professionals who speak the same language on the topics that are relevant today and that help us prepare for tomorrow.   Professionals will bring back strategies related to Recognizing and Accommodating the Needs of Every Child, Gender Identity Formation, and Singing Shalom:  Prayer and Peace.

    3. Deepen their connections from virtual to personal within our national network of Reform early childhood professionals.  The ECE-RJ conference provides participants with formal and informal opportunities to build invaluable relationships with colleagues across North America.

    2. Have a chance to step away from the everyday to take a “deep dive” into visioning for the future.  Big conversations will include Pathways to Navigate Difficult Decisions, New Measures of Success – Relationships, Meaning & Impact, and Sacred Partnerships as a Tool.

    1. Explore the theme of Peace in Our Time, and everybody needs a bit more peace in their professional and personal lives.  Attendees will explore ideas around peace in your school, peace in your community, and inner peace.

    To learn more about the 2019 ECE-RJ National Conference (January 16-20, 2019 in San Antonio), click here or visit our website at www.ecerj.org.

     

    Unite Staff

     

     December 11, 2018
  • ECE-RJ posted an article
    The 2019 ECE-RJ National Conference had it all. see more

    The 2019 ECE-RJ Conference Had It All

    With the sun setting and the pleasant south-Texas air turning chilly,  attendees of the 19th ECE-RJ national conference huddled together for warmth, both physically and spiritual, in front of San Antonio’s most sacred and iconic landmark, The Alamo.

    Together, with one voice, they began to sing Debbie Friedman’s iconic melody for the Havdalah Prayer.

    As they did, tourists—who had come to visit a place where more than 800 individuals were killed or wounded (Texans and Mexicans)—stopped, watched and listened as the group of early childhood educators and their supporters marked the end of Shabbat, and a Conference with the theme, Peace in our Time. 

    “All I could feel was love,” said Dale S. Cooperman, Director of Early Childhood Education at Albuquerque’s  Congregation Albert. “Love for my fellow attendees and love for the organization (ECE-RJ) that brought us all together.”

    Cooperman was one of more than 100 teachers, directors, lay-leaders, congregational staff and religious leaders from 20 different states who attended this year’s conference.

    Susan Anderson of Gan Shalom Preschool in Bloomington, Ind. said that she has always seen herself with three different lives: teacher, musician, and creator of Story Church (a non-denominational program that incorporates music and story-telling). At this year’s Conference, her first, she had a profound moment.

    “For three hours on Saturday morning in San Antonio all three of my lives finally came together,” explained Anderson.  “ I wasn't one person with three lives, I was whole. As I sang, I fought, without much success, to swallow the tears that were desperate to overflow.”

    Stories like Cooperman’s and Anderson’s abounded after the event.

    The Keynote speaker was Rabbi Joel Simonds, the founding executive director of the Jewish Center for Justice and the Associate Rabbi at University Synagogue in Los Angeles. Rabbi Simonds inspired  Conference attendees with his thoughts on peace and justice.   

    “When we pursue justice as a community, we pursue a path of hope, compassion, and care,” said Rabbi Simonds. “We go to sleep each night determined to create a brighter tomorrow for  current and future generations.”

    Many of the 30 breakout sessions focused directly on the early childhood classroom.

    Lindsay Astor Grant, a licensed pediatric occupational therapist in Los Angeles, provided insight on how physical design and layout of a classroom can impact a child’s learning potential.

    “A classroom with lots of bright colors and busy walls, while visually pleasing, can be over-stimulating,” said Grant. “It  is a good idea to make sure the wall behind you during circle time is not cluttered so that the students can focus their attention on you, the teacher, and not what is behind you.”

    Jessica Frank, a learning specialist at Temple Emanu-El’s Early Childhood Education Center in Dallas, presented on creating a peaceful, inclusive classroom.

    “It starts with building a relationship with the parents,” said Frank. “This is done by listening first to understand their goals for their child.”

    Attendees also let their hair down, Texas style.  A second-night field trip to Tejas Steakhouse and Saloon meant some good, ole’ fashioned Texas Bar B Q and line dancing. 

    “I heard from so many attendees about the wonderful experiences they had,” said April Schafer, Director of Early Childhood at University Synagogue in Los Angeles and ECE-RJ VP of Conferences and Biennials. “None of it could have been possible without the hard work of our Executive Director, Tricia Ginis, and the more than 25 members who were involved in putting together this conference.”

     February 11, 2019