Early Childhood Literacy Summit

The Early Childhood Literacy Summit took place on May 29, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington. The purpose of the Summit was to bring together early care and education professionals across the Commonwealth to hear the latest research from the National Early Learning Panel (NELP) and how the research could be applied to practice in early childhood classrooms. The NELP research was conducted by the National Center for Family Literacy. First Lady Jane Beshear gave the Summit Address and Helen Mountjoy, Secretary of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, provided opening remarks.

Two of the authors of the NELP report were keynote speakers at the Summit. Dr. Christopher Lonigan of Florida State University gave the first presentation entitled "Building a Strong Foundation for Preschool Children's Success in Literacy: Evidence and Evidence-Based Practices."  A panel discussion followed in which three Kentucky panelists representing pre-school, Head Start, and child care talked about the implications of the national research for Kentucky. The second presentation was given by Dr. Dorothy Strickland of Rutgers University entitled "When DAP Meets GAP: Promoting Peaceful Coexistence between Developmentally Appropriate Practice & the Need to Address the Achievement Gap." Two videos highlighting best practices in early childhood education were also shown.

The culminating event of the Summit featured the attendees creating an Action Plan for their particular community. In developing the Action Plan, they were asked to answer these two questions:

  • How can you integrate the findings of the research into your community?
  • What are practical solutions or applications that could be used in your community?

CCLD will compile the action steps of each Action Plan to determine how the attendees to the Summit plan to apply the research findings in their communities. Dr. Janice Almasi of the University of Kentucky concluded the day with remarks that synthesized the events of the Summit.