Social Justice, Equity and Anti-Bias Early Childhood Education
These professional development videos feature dynamic presenters as they discuss topics on anti-bias education, social justice education, trauma and systemic racism, and culturally reflective practices.
No Small Matter
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The Office of Early Learning and its partnering agencies are pleased to present a full length, free screening of the film No Small Matter beginning Thursday, August 27th. From Executive Producer Alfre Woodard, No Small Matter is the first feature documentary to explore the most overlooked, underestimated, and powerful force for change in America today: early childhood education. Through poignant stories and surprising humor, the film lays out the overwhelming evidence for the importance of the first five years, and reveals how our failure to act on that evidence has resulted in an everyday crisis for American families, and a slow-motion catastrophe for the country.
by Principal Baruti Kafele, Ph.D.
Milken National Educator, international-renowned speaker and best-selling author, Principal Baruti Kafele has excelled in the capacity of teacher and principal. As a teacher in NJ, he was selected as the district and county teacher of the year, and as a principal, he led the turnaround of four different New Jersey urban public schools, including Newark Tech, which was three times recognized by U.S. News and World Report Magazine as one of America's best high schools. Principal Kafele is the author of eleven books including his newly released Amazon best-seller, The Assistant Principal 50: Critical Questions for Meaningful Leadership and Professional Growth.
by Dana M. Benzo
Director of Elementary Programs (Pre-K-6)
Rome City School District
Dana Benzo has spent twenty-seven years working in early childhood education with children, families, and educators. She is currently the Director of Elementary Programs for the Rome City School District where she oversees the District’s PreK Programs including 3PK, UPK and 4410 as well as the curriculum and instruction for Kindergarten - Grade 6. Prior to joining the Rome City School District in 2017, Dana worked at the NY Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (PDI) of CUNY and Bank Street College of Education. During her tenure she coordinated multiple quality improvement initiatives serving the birth – Grade 3 population in both childcare and public-school sectors, as well as numerous projects for the city and state of New York dedicated to professional development initiatives related to teacher training, leadership, and workforce development.
Omar Etman and Dru Collins-Minch - "Early Childhood Professional Learning Toolkit"
Join presenters from the New York City Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Education and Office of Equity and Access as they share a toolkit for professional learning focused on early childhood equity and identity. The toolkit contains a full day of professional learning activities along with facilitator tips and resources to support early childhood educators and leaders in discussing race, identity, and equity to improve their practice. This workshop will walk participants through the toolkit and provide background information about its development.
Omar Etman is the Coordinator of Multilingual Learning at the Division of Early Childhood Education within the NYC Department of Education, and Dru Collins-Minch is a Director for Educational Equity in the Office of Equity and Access for the NYCDOE.
Please refer to the New York City Department of Education for access to this resource.
These presentations were supported by the NYSB5 Grant awarded to the CCF by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. The NYSB5 project seeks to strengthen partnerships, coordinate services, expand parent choice and increase quality to ensure that all children in NYS receive equitable and comprehensive services to ensure lifelong success.
This project was made possible by grant number 90TP0059. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
