Special education, bilingual teaching, social emotional learning among session topics at annual event hosted by HCDE

Early childhood educators throughout Texas will learn from national speakers and fellow educators at the 32nd Annual R.T. Garcia Early Childhood Winter Conference hosted by Harris County Department of Education. The conference, which typically draws more than 1,000 attendees, will take place on Jan. 27 from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Kingdom Builders’ Center, 6011 W. Orem Dr. in Houston, Texas.

The keynote speaker is international presenter Becky Bailey, founder of Conscious Discipline, a whole-school solution for social-emotional learning and self-regulation. The bilingual keynote speaker is Gilberto Soto, musical motivator, guitar aficionado and music professor at Texas A&M International University.

Traditionally the conference served teachers of grades pre-k through second grade, but this year a new birth-to-age 3 learning track benefits teachers of the earliest learners.

“One of the challenges we face as early childhood educators is finding high-quality conferences,” said Maria Del Socorro Solis, principal at Farias Early Childhood Center in Houston Independent School District. “This conference is perfect for the type of early childhood educator who really wants to grow in his or her profession.  We know we greatly benefit from national speakers at conferences, but we also have teacher (presenters) because we know that teachers learn from other teachers.”

Session topics include:
• special education
• bilingual education
• social emotional learning (SEL) strategies
• how to empower parents in the community
• disability-related needs and inclusion
• behavior and classroom management

Attendees will also have the opportunity to network and experiment with new research-based strategies.

For more information about the conference, go to www.hcde-texas.org/ECWC. Register for the conference at www.hcde-texas.org/register (search by date). Cost is $110 before Jan. 27 and $135 at check-in.