Diane Levin to Present Keynote Address at 2010 Conference
We are excited to announce this year’s Education Conference keynote speaker; Diane Levin. Diane is an internationally recognized expert on the harmful effects of violence, war, media and commercial culture on children.
Diane’s latest book; So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents can Do to Protect Their Kids with Jean Kilbourne is a valuable tool for parents and educators who are concerned about children growing up too fast. Diane has written several other books including our favorite “The War Play Dilemma with Nancy Carlsson-Paige.
Diane Levin is co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood www.commercialfreechildhood.org and Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment www.truceteachers.org. Both sites offer excellent resources for parents and for teachers.
As Diane Levin pointed out in her book, So Sexy So Soon, “girls learn at a very young age that their value is determined by how beautiful, thin, “hot” and sexy they are. And boys are taught to judge girls based on how close they come to an artificial, impossible and shallow ideal.”
Albany County Has Been Selected to Participate in the Quality Stars Field Test
QUALITYstarsNY iis New York State’s quality improvement and recognition system for early childhood programs of all kinds. It is designed to recognize programs that demonstrate quality above and beyond meeting New York’s strong regulatory standards.
The field test of QUALITYstarsNY is currently underway. This field test will provide data to guide decisions necessary for statewide implementation of QUALITYstarsNY. The NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (PDI), housed at the City University of New York is coordinating the field test.
If you are an ALBANY COUNTY Family/Group Child Care, Child Care Center, Nursery School, or Universal Pre-K, you are invited to attend a meeting to learn more about the project and how you can participate. There are three meetings scheduled. Choose the date/time that is best for you and RSVP to Abbe 426-7181 x323.
Thank you very much to everyone who attended this morning’s Annual Meeting. The meeting began with the presentation of the Council’s 2009 Report to the Community, presented by Executive Director, Patricia Skinner. This report (see link below) highlighted the efforts made by the Council over the past 12 months. This was followed by the business portion of the meeting, conducted by Board President, Liz Roberts-Laura. Participants were informed of the election of Jane Schwerd to the position of Vice-President of the Board of Directors. Council Members then elected Ann Day, Child Care Director for School-Age at Fulton/Montgomery Community College, to a position as a member of the Board of Directors.
The highlight of the morning was the presentation of the Community Collaborator who Cares Award to Literacy NY of the Greater Capital Region. A special introduction was given by Literacy Volunteer, Richie Woodzell, who worked tirelessly to assist Child Development Associate students to successfully complete their work. Richie’s speech conveyed the devotion of a person who truly loves what they do. Her introduction set the stage for the presentation of the award to Bob Stevens, Executive Director of Literacy NY of the Greater Capital Region. Mr. Stevens was accompanied by Jackie Orr, Literacy Task Force Coordinator and Elizabeth Allen, Program Director. The Child Care Council is proud to have such a dedicated partner in improving child care in the Capital Region.
The meeting concluded with the presentation of the Dianne Meckler Scholarship by Lynda Weismantel, Director of Operations, to Sara Gambino. Ms. Gambino was selected from many applications to receive the scholarship in recognition of her leadership in the early childhood field.
