Opening Convocation
Early Learning Sensory Support 2017 Convocation
Our Special Day Is Coming Soon...
August 10th, 8:30am-4:30pm: Day 1 of Opening Convocation for all ELSSP (Mandatory) at Holiday Inn Downtown Raleigh 320 Hillsborough St.
August 11th, 8:30am-4:30pm: Day 2 of Opening Convocation for all ELSSP (Mandatory) at Holiday Inn Downtown Raleigh 320 Hillsborough St.
ELSSP Staff 2016 Convocation
Opening Convocation Day 1
Thursday, Aug 10, 2017, 08:30 AM
Holiday Inn Raleigh Downtown, 320 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC, United States
Opening Convocation Day 1 Agenda for August 10, 2017
8:00-8:30 Arrival, Sign In and Materials Pick Up
8:30-9:00 Welcome and Introductions, Vivian James, Ph.D
9:00-9:30 Department Updates, John Pruette, Executive Director, Office of Early Learning
9:30-10:30 Keynote Speaker, Dr. Dudley Flood “Mission Possible-Educating ALL Children”
10:30-11:15 Program Updates and Celebrations-Bethany Mayo and Ruth Anne Everett
11:15 Group Pictures
11:45-1:00 Lunch (on your own-HI/VI teams break out following lunch)
1:00-2:30 HI Team “Executive Functioning in Infants and Toddlers with Hearing Impairments”-Neena Malosky and Chris Czajkowski
1:00-2:30 VI Team “Cortical Visual Impairment in Young Children” - Paula Roten, NA, NBCT, TVI
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-4:30: HI & VI Team “Safety Awareness in Home Visitation”-Detective Bryce Merold, Raleigh Police Department
4:30-4:45 Wrap Up, Feedback and Plus Delta
Infant Toddler Credits and CEU Credits Available
Meet Our Presenters...
Keynote Speaker, Dr. Dudley Flood
Dudley E. Flood was born and reared in Winton, North Carolina. Since 1970, Dr. Flood has lived in Raleigh, North Carolina .
He began his career as a teacher of math, science and English at the eighth grade level. He later taught high school social studies and coached high school basketball and football. He served for three years as principal of a school covering grades 1 - 12 before joining the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as a specialist in school desegregation and race relations.
During his 21 years of service with the Department of Public Instruction, he earned promotions first to Assistant and then Associate State Superintendent. After retiring from Public Instruction on December 31, 1990, he served for 5 years and 3 months as Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators. Since April 1996, he has been a lecturer and consultant to groups throughout the country and abroad.
He has been a Visiting Professor at Meredith College and at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and has taught in the Principals Executive Program at the University of North Carolina.
He earned the bachelors degree from North Carolina Central University, the master's degree in educational administration from East Carolina University and the doctorate degree in the same field from Duke University. He has studied further at Elizabeth City State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Hampton University.
Dr. Flood has spoken in all 100 of North Carolina's counties. Also, he has spoken or conducted workshops in 48 of the 50 United States, in Bermuda, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Germany. His writings have been published in more than 25 journals and he has authored three books.
He has received more than 350 awards for civic service. He has been presented the Order of the Longleaf Pine Award (North Carolina's highest civic award), by three different Governors; Governor James G. Martin, Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., and Governor Mike Easley. He has received the Outstanding Alumni Award from both North Carolina Central University and East Carolina University, and has received the Doctorate of Humane Letters from both North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina in Asheville.
He served for twelve years on the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina. He currently serves on the N. C. Minority Cancer Awareness Action Team; the Public School Forum of North Carolina Board; the Wake Education Partnership Leadership Council; the UNC Press Advancement Council and on several other boards and committees. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. He is also a member of Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh where he serves as Sunday School Teacher. For fifty-five years, he was married to the late Barbara Thomas Flood whose inspiration he credits with any success that he has experienced.
"Executive Functioning in Infants and Toddlers with Hearing Impairments" Neena Malosky
"Executive Functioning in Infants and Toddlers with Hearing Impairments" Chris Czajkowski
Chris Czajkowski is a licensed Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She received her degree in Auditory-Oral Deaf Education at UNCG. She is also Nationally Board Certified and has her Infant-Toddler Family Specialist certification. She has worked with the Early Learning Sensory Support Program for Children With Hearing Impairments (ELSSP-HI) for 13 years serving families with children birth to 3 years old with hearing loss. The first 7 years of her career she served children and their families in their homes providing direct instruction and coaching. For the last 6 years she has served as a Lead Teacher, providing guidance, support and leadership to teachers in ELSSP-HI.
"Cortical Visual Impairment in Young Children" Paula Roten
Paula is a licensed teacher of the visually impaired. She has worked with the ELSSP-VI program for 20 years. She received her undergraduate and masters degrees in Birth to Kindergarten Education from Appalachian State University. She received her VI certification from NCCU. She is a National Board Certified teacher and has her Infant Toddler Family Specialist certification. In the past, she has served as an adjunct instructor for Wilkes Community College and Appalachian State University. In 2017 she obtained the Perkins-Roman CVI Range Endorsement becoming the first TVI in NC to be listed in the directory of CVI Specialists.
"Safety Awareness in Home Visitation" Detective Bryce Merold
Bryce Merold is a Detective assigned to personal and property crime in Northern Raleigh. Bryce has been with the Department since 2005 and has been assigned to numerous units including Field Operations, Crash Reconstruction, and Driving While Impaired Task Force. During his 12 years at the Department, Bryce has served as a training officer to 13 recruits and served the county as a Drug Recognition Expert. This unique set of experiences has provided him insight and an understanding of the home lives of the city's youth.
Opening Convocation Day 2
Friday, Aug 11, 2017, 08:30 AM
Holiday Inn Raleigh Downtown, 320 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC, United States
Opening Convocation Day 2 Agenda for August 11, 2017
8:00-8:30 am Arrival, Sign In, Materials Pick Up
8:30-9:00 Icebreaker
9:00-10:00 HI Team “Assistive Technology” Brian Deese, Human Services Planner/Evaluator III, Division of Public Heath, Early Intervention Branch
9:00-10:00 VI Team “Taptilo Braille Learning Device” - Heather Lister, M.Ed., CTVI & Lori Blaney Persinger, M.Ed./NBCT
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:30 HI Team & VI Team “How to Effectively Utilize Interpreters to Maximize Success in Sessions with Families” Gilbert Medina, Nancy Collado, Maria Cobeo, and Maria Bonilla-Cooksey.
11:30-1:00 Lunch on your own
1:00-2:45 HI Team- “Technology Support for Effective Video Recording of Sessions with Infants and Toddlers and Families in Natural Learning Environments, and Instruction on the Use of Tablets in Working With Infants and Toddlers”-Sara Gibson and Anna Ownbey
1:00-2:00 VI Team "Children Learn Through Play" - Heather Bradford, M.Ed., CTVI
2:00-2:45 VI Team “Reducing Stress in a Stressful World” - Karen Beijer, M.Ed., NBCT, CTVI
2:45-3:00 Wrap Up, Feedback and Plus Delta
* Infant Toddler Credits and CEU Credits Available
"Assistive Technology" Brian Deese
Brian Deese has worked in the N.C. Infant Toddler Program for 14 years. During this time, he has served in various roles including: Early Intervention Service Coordinator in Robeson, Wake (Raleigh CDSA), and Durham County (Durham CDSA), Program Supervisor at the Durham CDSA and Human Service Planner/Evaluator for the North Carolina Early Intervention Branch (currently). In his current position with NCEIB, Brian wears many hats. He is a Data Team Member, Monitoring Team Member, and the CDSA Liaison for the Greenville, Elizabeth City and Morganton CDSAs. Brian is also part of the Continuous Quality Improvement Team and serves as the Hearing Link Referral Contact and thee Assistive Technology Contact.
"Taptilo Braille Learning Device" Heather Lister
"Taptilo Braille Learning Device" Lori Blaney Persinger
"How to Effectively Utilize Interpreters to Maximize Success in Sessions with Families" Gilbert Medina
"How to Effectively Utilize Interpreters to Maximize Success in Sessions with Families" Nancy Collado
"How to Effectively Utilize Interpreters to Maximize Success in Sessions with Families" Maria Cobeo
Maria Cobeo came to education after seven years as a bilingual medical insurance adjuster and six years in graphic arts with the Jewish Journal and Sun-Sentinel newspapers. During the ten years as a Spanish Language Facilitator for the Palm Beach County School District in Florida, Maria gained valuable interpreter and translator experience in the classroom, as well as learning to deal effectively with the students and their families. Maria would spend her summers co-directing and teaching art to middle school students and teaching ESL classes at Lynn University. In August of 1987 Maria’s family relocated to Florida, and again in May 2004 to North Carolina. She then began working with English as a Second Language learners for the Wake County School District, Raleigh Parks and Recreation, and then went on to work for the Governor Morehead School of the Blind. Maria now works for Early Learning Sensory Support as an Interpreter.
"How to effectively utilize interpreters to maximize sessions with families" Maria Bonilla-Cooksey
María Bonilla-Cooksey is originally from Costa Rica and made the U.S. her home 17 years ago. She has 12 years’ experience as an Interpreter and Translator in various areas including medical, early childhood development, parent education, legal, social services, and early intervention services. In 2012 she started the process of becoming a Certified Court Interpreter through the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, and acquired the certification in 2013. She has completed the Modules for Medical Interpreter training through North West AHEC, Wake Forest. As well as the Modules for Health and Human Services Interpreter through the Mountain AHEC, Asheville. She has provided Interpreter and Translator training for other State Agencies and created an online training for the CDSAs (Department of Public Health/Early Intervention Branch). She provides Cultural Sensitivity trainings for various community agencies. María is currently working as the staff Foreign Language Interpreter and Translator for the Morganton/Hickory Children’s Developmental Services Agency since 2014.
“Technology Support for Effective Video Recording of Sessions with Infants and Toddlers and Families in Natural Learning; Environments, and Instruction on the Use of Tablets in Working With Infants and Toddlers" Sara Gibson
“Technology Support for Effective Video Recording of Sessions with Infants and Toddlers and Families in Natural Learning; Environments, and Instruction on the Use of Tablets in Working With Infants and Toddlers" Anna Ownbey
Anna graduated from UNC-Greensboro in 2008 with a degree in Deaf Education K-12 with an add-on license of Regular Education K-6. She worked in the public-school system as a self-contained teacher for 3 years in Concord, NC and then as an itinerant teacher for 4 years in Hendersonville, NC. She is married to her husband of five years, Krew, and together, they have a little boy, Knox, who is 3. They currently live in Flat Rock, but are originally from Brevard. Anna loves spending time with her family and enjoys gardening in her spare time. Anna has been a teacher with the Early Learning Sensory Support program for 2 years now and is grateful for the opportunity to work with such skilled colleagues.
"Children Learn Through Play" Heather Bradford
Heather Bradford came to North Carolina from Ohio with her family in 2000. She has a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education K-6 and a Masters degree in Reading K-12 from Ohio State University. After spending 18 years as a classroom teacher and Title One Reading Specialist, Heather became certified with an add-on license of Special Education Mild to Moderate and began working with exceptional children with self contained, inclusive and homebound placement. Heather then received licensure as a Teacher for Students with Visual Impairment from North Carolina Central University. She served as a TVI in the public school system for a short time before joining the Early Leaning Sensory Support Program in January of 2016. Heather is delighted and excited with the opportunity and adventure of early intervention.
"Reducing Stress in a Stressful World" Karen Beijer
Karen Beijer is a certified Teacher for the visually impaired. She received her certification through NCCU. She became nationally board certified in 2009. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from SUNY at Cortland. In 1996 before moving from New York (born and raised) with her husband, she received her Master’s degree in Special Education from Binghamton University. She obtained her Birth through kindergarten certification once she moved to NC.
She has worked for ELSSP/VI, formerly GMP, for 14 years and was brought to this decision because her second son, Luke, was born with a genetic x-linked eye disorder which has never shown up in her family, called Ocular Albinism. Her oldest son Jack is not affected. He will be heading to Western Carolina University this August. She will be an emotional mess at convocation due to this latest milestone. Please bring tissues and offer them to her if needed.
ELSSP/HI
THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU ARRIVE.......
1. All ELSSP Bring Baby Pictures
All ELSSP staff please bring one of your baby pictures (we will be using them for an Ice Breaker activity).
2. Download PADLET onto your phone, laptop, and/or iPad and bring with you on Day 1 and Day 2.
We will be using an online tool called Padlet this year during our Opening Convocation. You will need to bring with you a device to the meeting in which you can access the internet. The device may be a lap top, tablet, or just your smart phone. Prior to the meeting please sign up for Padlet by following the instructions below:
- Go to https://padlet.com/
- Click Sign up
- Enter your DPI email address and create a password.
- Click Sign up
Padlet is the easiest way to create and collaborate in the ...
padlet.com
From your hobby to your career, your class notes to your final exam, your mood board to your runway show, padlets help you organize your life.
3. ELSSP-HI Bring your Tablets and Cameras
Please make sure your tablets and cameras are fully charged.
Please bring your chargers as well; we will be using the devices during our training.Early Learning Sensory Support Program T-Shirts are on sale NOW!
Online ordering for Early Learning Sensory Support Program Apparel ends on Tuesday July 25th, 2017 (11:59pm EDT)
The shirts can be mailed directly to your home or Cindy Boyd (ELSSP/HI) can deliver them to you during Convocation on August 10th.
Order using the link below:
https://elssp2017.itemorder.com/Ladie's Silk Touch Polo
Men's Silk Touch Polo
Ladies Crew Neck T-Shirt
Crew Neck T-Shirt
ACCOMMODATIONS!!!
320 Hillsborough St.,
Raleigh, NC 27603
919-832-0501
A reservation is already made in your name in the group block "Department of Public Instruction." You do not need to call the hotel to make reservations. The room costs will be billed to DPI and your credit card will not be charged for the room. Your credit card will only be billed for any incidentals you purchase during your stay.
There is a $5 parking fee per day to park at the Hotel. Holiday Inn will direct bill DPI for parking fees as well. If you are not staying overnight (coming and going each day) parking is free.
A travel form has already been sent in and approved for you on your behalf for the entire convocation. You will need to submit the Travel Reimbursement Form after the convocation for Meal/Subsistence reimbursement.
FOOD!
Centro Mexican del Corazon
Raleigh, NC 27601
NC Legislature Cafeteria
Raleigh, NC 27601
SKYE Tower Restaurant and Bar
320 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC 27603
The Acro Cafe
4th Floor of the Natural Exploration Center
11 W. Jones St.Raleigh, NC 27601
The Daily Planet Cafe
Raleigh, NC 27601
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Office of Early Learning, Early Learning Sensory Support Program
Website: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/
Location: 301 N Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC, United States
Phone: 919-733-0533