"Excellent. Inspiring. Motivating. Recharging."
"Well worth giving up a full Saturday"
"I feel valued as a teacher after attending these workshops"
"The conference was GREAT! It was worth a Saturday to get focused and inspired. "
"WOW! This was so awesome and enlightening!"

These quotes came from participants at the January 14 Launching into Literacy and Math professional development for early childhood caregivers and educators.

Over 300 participants, including 25-30 Spanish-speakers using simultaneous translation equipment, participated in the day-long session learning from a nationally recognized keynote presenter and Madison-area experts.

For the past six years MMSD has collaborated with others in the Madison-area early childhood community to provide professional development in early literacy and early math for family child care providers, center-based programs and Head Start teachers and directors, MMSD early childhood special education and kindergarten teachers.

January 14th was the first of three 2006 opportunities for these teachers. The others are on February 19 and March 25.

MMSD is involved in this collaborative project because learning to read, write, and think mathematically begins long before kindergarten. High quality early childhood care and education programs and home environments are key to supporting our youngest learners.

Caregivers and educators who are knowledgeable in developmentally appropriate practices are crucial to children's future learning.

For more information, check out a web site by clicking here.

Related MMSD Links

• Launching into Literacy and Math Web Site