Inside Out: The Integrated Approach to Mastering Nutrition, Sleep & Fitness

Descirption: Unlock your potential by optimizing your health from the inside out. Many wellness programs treat nutrition, sleep, and fitness as separate components; however, true vitality requires a holistic, integrated approach. This hands-on session will challenge conventional wisdom and provide you with tools to create a wellness plan.

Presenter: Shawn Jones

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How To Ace Your OHS Monitoring Reviews

Descirption: This training session equips Head Start staff with the knowledge and confidence to navigate the new federal review process successfully. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the review process, key focus areas, and reviewers’ expectations.

Presenter: Mark Davis

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Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE): Building Inclusive Systems

Descirption: This interactive session explores how Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) can strengthen local early childhood systems. Using North Carolina data and national research, participants will examine strategies that expand inclusive opportunities, improve collaboration across agencies, and support families and professionals. This session emphasizes local levers that advance high quality inclusion.

Presenter: Paula Grubbs

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Developing Strong Fathers: Why Father Engagement Is the Missing Link in Early Childhood Success

Descirption: To equip Head Start staff with research-based insights and practical strategies that increase father engagement, strengthen family relationships, and support positive early childhood outcomes.

Presenter: Marcus Meneese

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Individualization for Infants and Toddlers

Descirption: When teachers understand the “why” of individualizing care for infants and toddlers is at the heart of what you do every day, everywhere, all the time. It makes a difference in each child’s well-being and ultimate school readiness success. Join me in this session as we explore those discrete activities.

Presenter: Winona Fabre

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Nurturing the Nurturer: Wellness for Head Start Professionals

Descirption: “Nurturing the Nurturers: Wellness for Head Start Professionals” empowers educators and family advocates with practical self-care strategies to restore balance, reduce stress, and strengthen resilience. This workshop helps staff protect their well-being, sustain compassion, and model healthy practices—ensuring they can continue providing high-quality care to the children and families they

Presenter: Kelly Little

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Empowering Dynamic Dads: Leadership and Growth in an Emerging World

Descirption: “Don’t Be Bent Out Of Shape” explores the importance and purpose of “Knowing whether you and your co-workers are Squares, Rectangles, Circles, Triangles or Squiggles let’s find out who’s, who’s in a fun interactive way. “Don’t Be Bent Out Of Shape” is designed to increase relationships while also strengthening,

Presenter: Kenneth Robinson

Water for the Bricklayers: Supporting the Workforce that Lays the Foundation for Early Childhood Mental Health

Description: The infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) field is multi-disciplinary, including the full continuum of services, supports, and policies necessary to promote healthy development, prevent ongoing problems, treat mental health disorders and lead. Utilizing the Competency Guidelines for Culturally Responsive, Relationship Focused Practice Promoting Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Presenters: Asata Virgo & Ro Lewis

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READY-SET-ELEVATE! Because review readiness is a mindset, not a moment.

Description: READY. SET. ELEVATE.™ is built for today’s Head Start landscape where expectations are rising, reviews are tightening, and programs must level up. This dynamic, forward-moving workshop takes teams beyond basic compliance to mindset elevation, strengthening systems, staff confidence, and readiness to meet the moment with excellence.

Presenter: Sylvia Hubbard

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Monitoring Development in Your Classroom: Standards, Tips, and Resources to Engage Families

Description: This presentation will focus on the importance of early detection of developmental concerns in early childhood. Participants will learn about the prevalence of developmental disability conditions, best care standards for developmental monitoring and screening practices, and tips to help early educators engage families in monitoring their children’s developmental journey.

Presenters: Dr. Chandler Knott & Laura Hiruma

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Support Men After Prison

Description: Supporting men after prison means meeting them with dignity, structure, and opportunity. Provide mentoring, trauma-informed counseling, job readiness, housing navigation, and brotherhood circles. Teach emotional regulation, identity, and accountability. Partner with employers and families. Celebrate small wins, remove barriers, and keep consistent support through setbacks. Let them lead their future.

Presenter: Lester Young

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Crosswalk – PreK CLASS 2008 Ed. and PreK CLASS 2nd Edition

Description: Crosswalk – Pre-K CLASS® 2008 Edition to Pre-K CLASS® 2nd Edition
This session provides a practical crosswalk between the Pre-K CLASS® 2008 Edition and the Pre-K CLASS® 2nd Edition. Participants will explore what has remained consistent, what has shifted, and what is new within each domain and dimension.

Presenter: Dr. Deirdre Manley

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Together We Grow: Strengthening Family Connections

Description: When families feel welcome and excited to be part of the classroom, amazing things happen! In this upbeat session, I’ll share fun, practical ways to build strong family partnerships through meaningful communication, classroom involvement, and authentic relationship-building. You’ll leave with simple, ready-to-use ideas that spark engagement, strengthen trust, and create a joyful community where children feel supported, confident, and ready to shine!

Presenter: Sam Black

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Public Speaking: Overcoming the Fear

Description: This session explores practical strategies for overcoming the fear of public speaking. Participants will learn why this fear is common, how to shift their mindset, and proven techniques to reduce anxiety before and during a presentation. The session also covers skill-building practices to increase confidence over time and become a great speaker.

Presenter: Brenda Workman

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Stronger Together: Effective Cross-Program Collaboration for Vulnerable Young Learners

Description: Participants will gain an understanding of the McKinney-Vento Act including the requirement to collaborate with Head Start to ensure that children experiencing homelessness have access to early education programs. We will highlight several successful collaborations between local homeless liaisons and their Head Start partners.

Presenter: Beth Branagan

Beyond the Classroom Walls: Creating a program-wide behavior support system for classroom staff, students and families

Description: Transforming program practices to equip staff with evidence-research based tools to meet the behavioral needs of our youngest learners and their families. This session will help programs reflect on current teacher support systems for challenging behaviors. Learn how Cleveland County Schools Head Start improved their support systems.

Presenters: Pam Sigmon & Paula Peeler

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Let your Data do the Talking: End the Year Strong

Description: Have you heard “that’s the way we’ve always done it”? Yes, me too. But how it’s “always been done” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the way the performance standards intend. In this session, participants will have a round table discussion about what they do and is it right.

Presenter: Wanda Becton

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Family Advocacy; Building Relations

Description: This workshop will focus on building strong positive relationships between families and program staff to help identify family strengths, needs, and interests regarding advocacy and leadership. We will explore strategies to strengthen relationships between staff and families. Provide strategies opportunities for open communication and validate parental concerns.

Presenter: Jerome Thompson

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The Sound of Safety: Building Secure Bonds Through Shared Music Making

Description: This session highlights how shared music-making strengthens caregiver–child bonds while supporting cognitive, social, and emotional development. Participants will explore interactive, research-based music activities that build secure connections, boost early brain development, and provide practical, ready-to-use strategies for creating positive, supportive early childhood experiences.

Presenter: Melanie Kennedy

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Beyond Tantrums: Understanding Challenging Behaviors in Infants and Toddlers Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Description: Challenging behaviors in infants and toddlers are messages, not misbehavior. This session explores the “why” behind behavior through a trauma-informed lens, examining stress, attachment, and environment. Participants will learn developmentally appropriate strategies to support co-regulation, build safety and trust, and strengthen caregiver-child relationships.

Presenter: Deirdre Manley

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Self-Regulated Leadership with Emotional Intelligence

Description: Leading with emotional intelligence provides the firm foundation for relationships, trust, and high-functioning organizational cultures and climates of teamwork, communication and mutual support. Learn how leaders can utilize emotional intelligence and executive function to process challenging situations, minimize reaction and stress, and respond constructively with vision, humility, and compassion.

Presenter: Paul Behrman

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Ready or Not – Here they come. Building your teacher tool box to be prepared for all types of student behavior

Description: Discover practical strategies for supporting social-emotional skill acquisition while reducing challenging behaviors using child-friendly tools. Ignite interest and enthusiasm for learning self-regulation, problem solving skills and becoming a super friend. Aligning implementation of the Preschool Pyramid Model throughout the school year with CLASS to support quality classroom interactions and instruction.

Presenters: Pam Sigmon & Paula Peeler