GRAND RAPIDS – Dr. Susan Landry, a nationally recognized expert in parenting and early childhood education, will be in Grand Rapids June 16 and 17 to discuss best practices for preparing babies, toddlers and preschoolers for kindergarten.
Each year, 1,400 babies are born in Grand Rapids’ urban neighborhoods.
Eight out of ten children from the neighborhoods shown on the map above come to kindergarten unprepared. Some never catch up. Experts say babies from some neighborhoods start kindergarten with a vocabulary of just 500 words, while others start kindergarten with nearly 3,000. This is where the achievement gap starts, and this is where it can first be addressed. Starting to teach them early, even at birth, makes a difference.
With support from Believe 2 Become, a connected, concerted effort that includes local early childhood practitioners, nonprofits, congregations and parents is working to make sure every child 0-5 in city neighborhoods is on track toward kindergarten readiness. Practitioners will participate in an early learning symposium with Dr. Susan Landry, a nationally recognized expert in parenting and early childhood education, on Thursday, June 16. Business and community leaders, clergy and parents will attend a breakfast on Friday, June 17.
Raising Baby Scholars: Best Practices, Real Results
Thursday, June 16, 11:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.
GVSU Eberhard Center
For practitioners working with parents and families with children 0-5 years old.
Lunch will be served.
Stronger Parents, Smarter Babies
Friday, June 17, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Location: GVSU Eberhard Center
Audience: Business leaders, Community leaders, Clergy, Parents
Breakfast will be served.
Dr. Landry is the Founder and Director of the Children’s Learning Institute at University of Texas Health Science Center. Her research includes the equipping of parents to have a profound impact on their child’s language development through the Play and Learn Strategy (PALS) model. A look into environmental factors that promote early cognitive growth and development led to her development of the framework for the Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education (CIRCLE), which led to the implementation of the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM) in pre-kindergarten classrooms across Texas.
Dr. Landry’s numerous research programs have generated a large research database on early childhood. More than 70 peer-reviewed publications and over a dozen chapters describe the findings of these research studies. She is currently involved in using the knowledge gained from years of studying young children to help promote the national goals of early childhood literacy initiatives.
Believe 2 Become is a collaborative partnership of hundreds of organizations and individuals who believe in the unlimited potential of Grand Rapids children, and expect them to succeed. Believe 2 Become is creating real opportunities for children and youth to become the people they aspire to be.
