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Boston's 2011 Early Childhood Summit
Our City, Our Children, One Focus, One Team ~ Aiming for School Success

April 14, 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. @ Northeastern University Curry Student Center

Join us as we reconvene Boston's early childhood community, along with new partners and advocates, to reflect on and celebrate Boston's progress toward universal school readiness and set the direction for our work ahead.

SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Release of progress report and stakeholder panel on universal school readiness
• Update on school readiness progress indicators and context data
• Inspiring speakers, including a keynote speech by renowned economist Arthur J. Rolnick on the powerful economic benefits of early childhood investments
• Informative sessions that will build knowledge about effective practices and mobilize Boston around issues critical to our children’s success

SUMMIT AGENDA

8:00 - 8:30: Registration, Refreshments & Networking

8:30 - 8:45: Welcome & Opening Remarks

Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director, Boston Public Health Commission

The Honorable Mayor Thomas M. Menino, City of Boston

Michael K. Durkin, President & CEO of United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley

8:45 - 9:25: Keynote Address: The Economic Case for Investments in Young Children

Renowned economist Arthur J. Rolnick will share his research on the powerful return on early childhood investments.

"Any proposed economic development list should have early childhood development at the top. The return on investment from early childhood development is extraordinary" - Art Rolnick

Art is a Senior Fellow & Co-Director of the Human Capital Research Collaborative of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota & Former Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

9:25 - 10:20: Stakeholder Panel: Boston's Progress toward Universal School Readiness

Opening Remarks: John Lippitt, Executive Director, Thrive in 5

Panelists:

Superintendent Carol Johnson, Boston Public Schools

John Barros, Executive Director, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

Shari Nethersole, Medical Director for Community Health, Children's Hospital Boston

Regina Robinson, Parent, Thrive in 5 Parent Advisory Group

Yvette Rodriguez, Director of Head Start and Children's Services, Action for Boston Community Development

Moderator: Marilyn Anderson Chase, Assistant Secretary for Children, Youth and Families, MA Executive Office of Health and Human Services

10:30 - 11:45: Break Out Sessions

• Making it Easier for Families to Navigate the System for Children’s Success - Knowledge of existing, innovative models and ideas for breaking down silos in service delivery so that it's easier for families to connect with beneficial services and supports.

• Closing the Communication Gap in Early Childhood School Readiness - Knowledge of the progress toward and ideas for improving communication between early childhood providers and the public schools, including sharing information about children’s development that may impact their school readiness and continued learning.

• You Matter as Your Child’s First Teacher: Promoting Effective Family Engagement - Understanding of successful, concrete family engagement strategies and ideas for supporting every parents’ desire to do the best for their child by building their capacity as leaders in their children’s education, including their role in recognizing and advocating for quality services in early childhood and beyond.

• Children Succeed When Everyone Plays a Part: Building Community Support for School Readiness - Exploration of East Boston Children Thrive as a model for tapping into a communities' existing resources to improve their children’s healthy development and ideas for building on and bringing these successes city-wide.

• The Great Return on Investment: Why Children’s Success is our Bottom Line - Increased understanding of the savings and opportunities associated with investments in early childhood. Ideas for improving and promoting partnerships between the Boston's early childhood community and corporations and foundations.

11:45 - 12:00 Noon: Break to Select Lunch for Working Session

12:00 - 12:40: Sustain, Start, Stop for Boston's Future: Identifying action steps from the breakout sessions Moderator: Marta T. Rosa, Special Assistant to the President for Government and External Affairs, Wheelock College

12:40 - 1:00 p.m.: Closing Keynote ~ Liz Walker,Founder and Principal, The Walker Group: Communications Specialists; Better Living with Liz Walker on WCVB-TV5 & Ministerial staff, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Register today! Trouble registering? Email info@thrivein5boston.org or call (617) 624-8005

1. Select the number of tickets/registrations you need
2. Click on the Register button
3. Enter your contact information
4. Select which breakout session you want to attend

Do More than Attend...

Volunteer ~ Volunteers are essential to the event's success! Read about needed volunteers here. Sign up to be a volunteer here!

Be a Sponsor ~ Looking to raise your organizations visibility? Can't attend, but want to support the Summit? Read more about our sponsorship opportunities.

Are you a parent of a young child? Stipends to cover child care and transportation are available for attending parents. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide on-site child care.