CEHD News Karen Anderson

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CEHD News Karen Anderson

First Annual Reflective Supervision Symposium

August 16, 2016
2016 Reflective Supervision Symposium
Mary Harrison, Jill Hennes, Christopher Watson, and Kristin Armbruster

Christopher Watson and Mary Harrison from the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) attended the first annual Reflective Supervision Symposium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor August 10-12. The Symposium was hosted by the newly incorporated Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health and the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. On the first day of the Symposium, Watson presented a new research and training tool, the Reflective Interaction Observation Scale (RIOS), developed by the Alliance research committee. The team is led by the Minnesota team of Watson, Harrison, Jill Hennes and Maren Harris. The RIOS identifies five Essential Elements – the “active ingredients” – in reflective supervision/consultation that is grounded in infant mental health theory and practice. The Symposium featured live, unrehearsed individual and group reflective supervision sessions and facilitated reflective small group processing. One of the presenters was Minnesota independent consultant and trainer Jill Hennes. Kristin Armbruster, coordinator of the Minnesota Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, rounded out the Minnesota contingent at the Symposium.

Minnesota Risk and Reach Report

October 5, 2015

ICD and CEED contribute to the 2015 Minnesota Early Childhood Risk and Reach Report.

The Minnesota Risk and Reach Report was produced by a partnership of the University of Minnesota, Wilder Research, and the Minnesota Departments of Education (MDE), Health (MDH), and Human Services (DHS). The report describes potential risks to the healthy development of young children and the extent of coverage of publicly-funded services to meet their early learning, health, and basic needs. The partnership is an ongoing collaborative working to continue to improve data collection and infrastructure to support integrative early childhood systems. Authors included Elizabeth Carlson, Senior Research Associate (ICD) and Director of the Harris Training Programs (CEED), and Alison Giovanelli, Graduate Student (ICD). The report was made possible by funding from the Irving Harris Foundation to the University of Minnesota.

Knowing Numbers: Research Shows the Way to Support Mathematical Thinking from Early Childhood

December 19, 2014


MazzoccoM-PrefMichele Mazzocco, professor in the Institute of Child Development and research director for the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED), wrote the article “Knowing Numbers: Research Shows the Way to Support Mathematical Thinking from Early Childhood.” Read the article in the Winter 2015 issue of the College of Education and Human Development’s Connect.

How early is too early for adults to start teaching kids about math and science? “It’s never too early.”

November 6, 2014

MazzoccoM-2013“It’s never too early,” says Michele Mazzocco, professor of child development at the Institute of Child Development and research director for the Center for Early Education and Development. According to developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, children ages 2 through 7 are in the symbolic function stage and begin to explore math and science concepts. Parents and teachers can help build a strong  foundation for fostering written and oral math and science skills that can enhance children’s future success. Read the full article in The Atlantic, Turning 3-Year-Olds Into Scientists (Nov. 5, 2014, http://www.theatlantic.com).

Scott McConnell is a Member of the Bridging the Word Gap Research Network Leadership Team

October 23, 2014

Scott McConnellScott McConnell, professor of educational psychology and director of community engagement for the Center for Early Education and Development, is a member of the new Bridging the Word Gap Research Network leadership team. The two-year $593,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for which this team will serve, was announced and endorsed on October 16 at a White House event.

Led by University of Kansas researchers, the leadership team will work to help bridge the “30 million word gap,” which refers to the “difference in the number of words that some children from poverty backgrounds hear by age 4 compared with the experiences of other more affluent children,” according to a news article posted on the University of Kansas website. Read the full article.

UROC director of research Lauren Martin and partners expose market structure behind sex trafficking in Minneapolis

September 11, 2014

Mapping the Market for Sex with Trafficked Minor Girls in Minneapolis: Structures, Functions and Patterns is a report released to the public on September 10, 2014, co-authored by Lauren Martin, UROC’s director of research and affiliated faculty with CEED@UROC, and Alexandra Pierce, President, Othayonih Research.

Read the University of Minnesota news release.

Read more and download the report or executive summary on UROC’s website.

CEED presented at NAEYC National Professional Development Institute

June 6, 2014

2014 NAEYC Presenters

CEED staff and affiliated CEHD faculty participated in the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) 2014 National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development on June 8-11, 2014. The Institute was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Christopher Watson, Amy Susman-Stillman, Vicki Hawley, Ann Bailey, LeAnne Johnson, Mary Harrison, and Chloe Webb presented posters and led sessions at the Institute. Vicki Hawley offered one of the Institute’s three featured sessions. The National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development is designed for professionals who prepare, mentor and train early childhood professionals.

Scott McConnell is member of Cradle to K Cabinet

May 24, 2014

Scott McConnellScott McConnell, professor of Educational Psychology and director of community engagement for the Center for Early Education and Development, will serve as a member of the Cradle to K Cabinet announced by Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges on May 22. The Cabinet’s focus is closing the achievement gap in the city’s education system by eliminating disparities for children from prenatal to three years old. Read more about the Cabinet in an article posted on the Minneapolis City of Lakes website.

Amy Susman-Stillman interviewed about Why Kids Obsessed with “Frozen”

May 24, 2014

Susman-StillmanAmy Susman-Stillman was a respondent to the Good Question segment on WCCO-TV on May 20. The question was “Why are kids obsessed with ‘Frozen’?,” Disney’s highest grossing animated film of all time.  “The message that ‘Frozen’ sends about love, and love being such a strong kind of conquering all message resonates with all ages,” Susman-Stillman says,  co-director at the Center for Early Education and Development and mother of three.  View the video and read the article. 

Christopher Watson and LeAnne Johnson Presented at National Training Institute

April 18, 2014

Christopher Watson photo

Christopher Watson, co-director of CEED, and LeAnne Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, presented their findings on scaling up the Technical Assistance Center Social Emotional Interventions’ (TACSEI) project in Minnesota at the National Training Institute on Effective Practices, in St. Petersburg, Florida, on April 24. The invitation came from Lise Wolf, University of South Florida, the head of the national TACSEI project.

LeAnne Johnson photoMinnesota was one of only four states chosen to be supported in its scale-up of the TACSEI project. Drs. Watson and Johnson’s work has focused on working with data that looks at child outcomes in diverse early childhood settings in which professional development has been scaled up; this analysis is a first among the states currently implementing TACSEI.

Scott McConnell and Ann Bettenburg hosted delegation of education and civil society leaders from Mongolia

March 12, 2014
Mongolian delegation 2014
Mongolian delegation visits PACER Center

 Eight representatives of Mongolia’s national Parliament, national ministries, parent advocacy groups, and nongovernmental organizations, along with two consultants from the Open Society Foundation, recently visited Minnesota for a week-long study tour focused on early identification and services for children with disabilities. Funded by the Mongolian Open Society Forum and hosted by Scott McConnell (EPsy and CEED) and Ann Bettenburg (Mounds View Schools), the study tour focused on intervention design, integrated and coordinated services, inclusive education, as well as governance and personnel development capacity needed to support an effective program of early intervention.

This visit was part of a larger effort, funded by George Soros’s Open Society Foundation and the Mongolian Open Society Forum, to assist Mongolia in the design and implementation of expanded services for children and youth with disabilities. McConnell and Bettenburg visited Ulan Bataar Mongolia in November 2013 to meet with ministry officials, educators and program providers, and advocates to better understand the current state and planned development of services in Mongolia, and to identify areas of focus for this year’s Study Tour.

During the week-long course, participants visited inclusive classrooms for children of all ages, met with special education and related service staff to learn about design and provision of coordinated services, talked with advocates about both support to parents and the role of advocacy in system development, and met with UM and other faculty providing both preservice and inservice training. The Study Tour concluded with a focused discussion of next steps in national and local systems development in Mongolia, and may lead to continued interactions between Minnesota and Mongolia as their national system develops.

Professor Scott McConnell collaborates in Mongolia regarding children with disabilities

November 27, 2013

McConnellS-2009Scott McConnell, professor of educational psychology and the Center for Early Education and Development’s director of community engagement, and Ann Bettenburg, student services director for Moundsview schools, traveled to Ulaanbaatar Mongolia November 4-8 to better understand the current policy, practices, and infrastructure that support services for young children with disabilities throughout the country.
Working with the Mongolia Open Society Forum and Soros Open Society Foundations, McConnell and Bettenburg will be using information gained during this visit to prepare for and coordinate a study tour for policymakers, program directors, and advocates in Minnesota early in 2014.

2013 McEvoy Light a Candle Award to Lynn Haglin, KIDS PLUS director for Northland Foundation

November 7, 2013

The 2013 Light a Candle Award recipient is Lynn Haglin, who was presented the award at the Center for Early Education and Development’s 40th anniversary celebration on Nov. 7 at the McNamara Alumni Center.
The Light a Candle award was created by CEED in honor of Mary MaryMcEvoyMcEvoy (right), Ph.D., a tireless researcher, advocate, and collaborator. A highly respected scholar, Dr. McEvoy served as the director of CEED from 1992 to 1999 and chaired the Department of Educational Psychology from 1999 to 2002. The award is presented to an individual or group that successfully promotes ties between research, policy, and practice to improve the lives of young children in Minnesota and throughout the world.
LynnHaglin
Lynn Haglin is the vice president and KIDS PLUS director for the Northland Foundation in Duluth. Her experience includes over 30 years in administration, community development, education, and philanthropy, with an extensive background in early childhood, youth development, and intergenerational programming. Haglin provides leadership for the foundation’s KIDS PLUS Program, which is dedicated to improving the well-being of children and youth from birth to adulthood. Under her guidance, the KIDS PLUS family of programs has developed a wide array of initiatives in response to regional needs; raised millions of dollars from local, state, and national funding partners; provided extensive technical assistance to develop 52 coalitions serving rural communities and Indian reservations; and received numerous state and national honors and distinctions for innovative work aimed at helping children, youth, older adults, and communities thrive. During the past 10 years, Haglin has provided leadership for the Minnesota Initiative Foundations’ Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative and the Minnesota Thrive Initiative.
Haglin has been involved in numerous boards and committees such as Ready 4-K: Youth Community Connections, Children, Youth and Family Consortium; BUILD Core Committee; and the Minnesota Department of Human Services Family, Friend, and Neighbor Advisory Committee. She is currently involved with the Start Early Funders Coalition, Parent Aware for School Readiness, Minnesota Department of Human Services Parent Aware Advisory Committee, and Minnesota Afterschool Network Strategic Leadership Team and Policy Committee.
Haglin holds a master of arts in educational leadership and administration from Western Michigan University and a bachelors of science in elementary education from Bemidji State University. Before joining the Northland Foundation in 1992, Haglin started her career as a kindergarten teacher and educator for the Early Childhood Family Education Program; she also taught at the college level. She and her husband, Reid, live in Superior, Wisconsin, and have two married sons, one soon-to-be married son, along with three granddaughters under the age of five.
CEED offers its congratulations and gratitude to Lynn Haglin for her dedication to early childhood education and the ways in which her work exemplifies the words of former Senator Paul Wellstone that inspired the award’s name:
I know what I believe: I believe that every infant that I hold in my hands–every one of them, it makes no difference if it’s a boy or a girl, rich or poor–that every child in Minnesota and our world can have the same chance to reach her full potential or his full potential. I call on all Minnesotans and all of Minnesota to light a candle and lead the way. We can lead the way in Minnesota, and we will lead the way.

–Paul Wellstone

“Building Power for Babies” explored importance of first 1,000 days of life

July 3, 2013

Governor Dayton’s Children’s Cabinet, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota joined together for Building Power for Babies, an event held at the Science Museum of Minnesota on June 3, 2013. This event explored the importance of the first 1,000 days of life and the critical relationships between experience, environment, families and communities and how those relationships affect the life-long health and optimal achievement of Minnesota’s youngest children. The event was part of Governor Mark Dayton’s Children’s Cabinet’s strategy for improving outcomes for Minnesota’s babies and toddlers.
The event kicked off the Cabinet’s second phase of strategic planning, which is focused on working with partners and parents to create safe, stable nurturing relationships and environments for infants and toddlers. This event was presented by the Science Museum of Minnesota with funding from the National Science Foundation, in association with Governor Dayton’s Children’s Cabinet and the University of Minnesota. The Science Museum’s Wonder Years focuses on important research about optimal brain development and shows the importance of using scientific insights about children to inform public policy decisions.
The Center for Early Education and Development’s (CEED) involvement includes Project for Babies‘ prenatal-to-three state planning group, headed by Jane Kretzmann, and a partnership between CEED and the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW). The CEED/CASCW partnership, coordinated by CEED’s Nikki Kovan and CASCW’s Tracy Crudo, works to translate development science for child welfare audiences and include their voices in the ongoing prenatal-to-three work happening in Minnesota.

Minneapolis Public Radio quotes Susman-Stillman on highlights of early childhood work at Children’s Theater Company

March 22, 2013

Susman-StillmanCEED Co-Director Amy Susman-Stillman was quoted in a piece on Minnesota Public Radio highlighting the early childhood work of the Children’s Theatre Company (CTC). Susman-Stillman, who has been consulting with CTC on their early childhood initiative for the past few years, emphasized the developmental appropriateness of preschool theatre arts practices and the overlap between them and high quality early childhood practices. Listen or read the article on the Minnesota Public Radio website.

CEED staff present at Division of Early Childhood Conference

November 2, 2012

CEEDPresentersDECCEED’s Christopher Watson, Scott McConnell, Tracy Bradfield, Alisha Wackerle-Hollman, and Naomi Rahn, along with fellow collaborators and co-authors, presented October 28-30 at the Annual International Division of Early Childhood (DEC) Conference held this year in Minneapolis. See the CEED Staff Presentations web page for presentation handouts. Presentations included:

  • Early childhood in Promise Neighborhoods: Northside Achievement Zone’s Early Childhood Action Team. (McConnell, S. R., Seiwert, M., Wackerle-Hollman, A., & Bradfield, T. A.)
  • Measuring a response to intervention model in early childhood: Examining assessments for identification, decision making and progress monitoring. (Wackerle-Hollman, A., Bradfield, T., McConnell, S., & Spencer, T.)
  • Practice effects in a preschool picture naming task. (Rahn, N. L., & McConnell, S. R.)
  • Statewide scale-up of the pyramid for social emotional development: Successes and lessons. (Johnson, L., Watson, C., Bedor, M., & Krick Oborn, K.)
  • Thirty years later: Early childhood special education from MECCA to now. (McConnell, S. R., Strain, P. S., Goldstein, H., Kohler, F., Odom, S. L., & Sainato, D. M.)

CEED partners on grant to support education and literacy development

October 18, 2012

The Center for Early Education and Development is a partner on a grant awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Minnesota Children’s Museum to promote early childhood education and literacy development in children from families facing financial barriers. The Children’s Museum, along with the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood, the Hennepin County Library System, the Northside Achievement Zone, and CEED will work to increase school readiness among under-resourced families in diverse communities.
Read the press release for more information.