I was invited to attend the Regional Early Childhood Leadership Summit at Rasmussen College, Blaine campus. Since this event was invitation only, there was a slightly smaller attendance. That being said, I’d guesstimate about 50 professionals were in attendance. Attendees represented early childhood professionals from various backgrounds, experiences, site types, etc. The summit ran from 12:30-5:30pm, ending with a CDA 2.0 1-yr Anniversary Celebration.

The keynote speaker was Stacie Goffin. Stacie has authored a few early childhood books with perhaps her most provocative being Early Childhood Education For A New Era: Leading For Our Profession. Stacie challenges us in early childhood to be the change agent. She believes the change needs to come from within. “As a field of practice, ECE should formally organize as a profession to realize consistency in practice across sites and program types.” Stacie challenged each of us in attendance to consider what we could do personally to continue the conversation. I’d be honored to host Stacie on our blog to discuss her book and vision even more. Of course, we can also share her message with our students as well and challenge them to think about themselves as professionals. How will they continue to move the field forward?

I was delighted to meet some new acquaintances today…

Cecelia Westby (Host) was presented with an
Honorary CDA Credential by CDA Council

Brocklin Qualls and Dr. Valora Washington
from the CDA Council

Look who else I ran in to- Kim W.
DCTC student

My wonderful table-mates! Great advocates for ECE!

The CDA reception/celebration provided delectable food and lemon cake. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any better, I found out that I was the winner of the drawing for Stacie’s book! Wow- what a day. I look forward to more learning, reflecting, networking, and recharging at NAEYC’s PDI conference this week!