June 2022 eNews

View as Webpage

Inside this Issue

• ZERO TO THREE LEARN Conference in September and Together for Families Conference in October
• Resources: We're Hiring an Operations Associate, and Juneteenth
• Sorenson Impact Summit, Garvey Dishes Preschool Protection to Mocha Moms, DePaoli Helps Polish Advocacy Skills, and Stegelin Presents at The Association for the Study of Play Conference
• Bulletin Board: John Young Shik Concklin to Lead Hendersonville Orchestra

Upcoming Events

ZERO TO THREE LEARN Conference in September

ICS VP and General Counsel, Bryan Boroughs and ICS VP of Research, Megan Carolan will be presenting sessions at the ZERO TO THREE virtual conference in September. The conference runs September 12-15, and welcomes early childhood professionals from across disciplines, geographies, and backgrounds. This virtual experience is your opportunity to build relationships, reignite your passion, and strengthen your practice.

Together for Families Conference in October

The biennial Together for Families Conference will take place virtually from October 19-21, 2022. Our colleagues at EC PRISM will be presenting, "Measuring What Matters: Equity Considerations in Assessment."

The conference connects various stakeholders from across the U.S. and Canada in the Family Support and Strengthening field to focus on best and promising practices for supporting families’ advancement. It is designed for practitioners at the program, systems, and funder levels.

Resources

We're Hiring an Operations Associate!

The Operations Associate position is full-time and remote. The associate will play a vital role in the execution of core nonprofit business processes. Under the supervision of the Finance and Operations Manager, the Operations Associate will work across the entire team to provide archival, financial, technological, and/or project management support. The position is dynamic in nature and mirrors the needs of the organization as its strategic interests evolve. The ideal candidate is curious, flexible, extremely organized, independent, and a fast learner.

If you are interested or know a good candidate, please read the full job description. 

Juneteenth, More than a Day Off

The Institute for Child Success was closed in honor of Juneteenth–also widely known as Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day.

• Juneteenth, the 19^th day of June, commemorates the day in 1865 that enslaved African Americans in Texas were informed of their freedom (General Order Number 3). Even though President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years prior, many enslaved individuals were unaware that they had become legally free.
• June 19, 1865 is often viewed as the official end of slavery in the United States, since African Americans in Texas were among the last to gain their freedom.
• While it became a state holiday in Texas in 1980, Juneteenth became a federal holiday only a year ago, in 2021.

ICS stands in solidarity with African American children and their families toward the end of pursuing the success of all children–a success that we know is contingent on an equitable early childhood ecosystem. Our equity-centered mission aligns with thoughts shared in a recent Fast Company article:

“Juneteenth is an opportunity for all Americans to think about how we engage with our history, and how we commemorate the past critically and truthfully. It is also a time for us to reflect on the present, and openly discuss what has changed and what hasn’t. If we’re able to use our brains and hearts on June 19^th to these ends, we’re doing Juneteenth right.”

~Fast Company, How to Celebrate the Complexity of Juneteenth by Porter Braswell

Please find additional resources below:

• How to Celebrate the Complexity of Juneteenth-Fast Company
• Ibram X. Kendi on Anti-racism, Juneteenth, and the Reckoning that Wasn’t-Vox
• Ways to Celebrate and Serve Juneteenth-CNN
• 18 Children’s Books to Honor Juneteenth and Black History

What We've Been Up To

Ascending the Sorenson Impact Summit

The Sorenson Impact Summit was held June 13-15 in Park City, Utah. This year's event was in-person and emphasized building and renewing relationships.

ICS marked the occasion by announcing the launch of the Hello Family Pay for Success project. ICS leveraged impact investing to bring this early childhood initiative to life whereby the outcomes for young children and their families are immensely improved by providing a continuum of evidence-based services from prenatal care to age five. Services include BirthMatters (prenatal care for low-income mothers), Family Connects (nurse visits to first time mothers), and Triple P (community-wide parent education). 

Equipping Mocha Moms with Knowledge

Mary C. Garvey was invited by the Mocha Moms of Westchester County (NY) to chat about bias in preschool in the group's Sister Chat on May 9. She presented, "Protecting Black Children: An Exploration of Preschool Suspension and Expulsion." About 20 moms participated, making it the most well-attended virtual Sister Chat.

As part of the discussion, they unpacked the term “resilience” and discussed how it can be both helpful and harmful for Black children experiencing implicit bias and racial injustice. The expectation of injustice easily morphs into the acceptance of it if we/society continue(s) to believe that children simply and easily “recover.”

Mary encouraged participants to educate on the existence and impact of implicit bias in the classroom, advocate for more inclusive learning environments, and legislate change in policies.

About Mocha Moms, Inc.

Mocha Moms is the premier voice for mothers of color. Through chapters and online, Mocha Moms, Inc. provides support for women of color as they journey through all phases of motherhood while advocating for them nationally. Mocha Moms, Inc. also encourages the spirit of community activism and service among its supporters.

DePaoli Polishes Engagement Centers' Advocacy Skills

Deborah DePaoli, ICS Palmetto Engagement & Policy Director, recently gave a virtual presentation, Advocacy 101, before the Carolina Family Engagement Centers' board members on June 3.

DePaoli presented the guidelines for advocacy with 501(c)4 and 501(c)3 organizations, the need for grassroots and grasstops advocacy around early care and education on behalf of advocacy partners with whom ICS works, and specific actions that people can take to advocate (write a letter to the editor, send an email to an elected official, meet with an elected official or their staff, call the office of an elected official, etc.).

Stegelin Presents at The Association

for the Study of Play Conference

Dee Stegelin, PhD, ICS Senior Fellow, took part in a virtual session as part of The Global Healing Curriculum Project on May 21 for The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) Conference. TASP is a professional organization in academia dedicated to interdisciplinary research and theory construction concerning play throughout the world. This year’s TASP conference focused on providing for play during times of crisis and stress including homelessness, abject poverty, natural disasters, border crossing/trafficking, imprisonment, refugee/mass migration, pandemic, terrorism, and war.

Bulletin Board

Young Shik Concklin to Lead the 

Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra

John Young Shik Concklin, ICS VP of Strategy and Development, will be busy during his “off” hours. He is set to lead the Hendersonville (NC) Symphony Orchestra when it opens for the 2022-2023 season, heralding its 50^th anniversary.

Read about Concklin's latest endeavor as music director and conductor, and how he brings an inclusive approach to music in the Biltmore Beacon. 

Read article, New music director ready to lead

Connect with us!

Know someone who would enjoy this content?

Feel free to forward this email and share it with your network.