Inaugural Early Childhood UM/MCPS Professional Development School
Intra-Network Conference Hailed a Success

Participants listen intently as Christy Tirrell Corbin (center), director of Undergraduate Early Childhood Education at the College of Education, leads a group session during the PDS Intra-Network Conference held in March at Arcola Elementary School.

COLLEGE PARK, MD (May 2008) – The University of Maryland/Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Early Childhood Professional Development School Network held its first Professional Development School (PDS) Intra-Network Conference in March 2008 under the banner theme, Creating Schools Where All Students Achieve: Honoring Diversity and Promoting Equity.

"The purpose of the conference was to create a professional development opportunity for all network members to share and learn from the collective knowledge and expertise within the network," said Dr. Jeanne Galbraith, Professional Development, Research, and Practicum Coordinator in the College of Education's Department of Human Development. "The focus on diversity and equity was selected by network members as an important topic and area of need for all PDS members, including students, faculty, teachers, and administrators."

Hosted at Arcola Elementary School in Aldie, Va., the conference was a great success with a total of 144 registered participants. Attendees included teachers, specialists, and administrators from the seven MCPS PDS Network Elementary Schools (Arcola, East Silver Spring, Montgomery Knolls, New Hampshire, Takoma Park, Weller Road, Woodlin), teachers from the college's Center for Young Children, junior and senior Early Childhood majors, and members of the Human Development faculty. Participants attended sessions that included a range of high-quality presentations, such as Support Reading Instruction for the Twice Exceptional, Technology that Supports English Language Learners, and Stopping the Perpetuation of Cultural Stereotypes through Critical Literacy. Special Education Assistant Professor Jeanine Staples gave the keynote speech—Linguistic Violence: Multicultural Issues in a Flattening World.

Both participants and presenters had positive evaluations of the overall conference with many participants wanting to attend more of the engaging and informative sessions. Pleased with the success of this initial endeavor, Early Childhood faculty and their PDS network partners are already contemplating the next Early Childhood PDS Intra-network conference.

[View the 2008 PDS Conference brochure (pdf)]