Skyline Community College’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) Department, with the co-sponsoring support of Bright Horizons Child Care and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) Early Childhood Education Organizing Project, held a half-day Conference entitled  “Early Intervention Revisited” on Saturday, May 15.

Over 150 participants heard Community College Personnel Preparation Project (CCPPP) Grant representative Paul Chesler and keynote speaker Dr. Marci Hanson, Special Education Graduate Program Chair at SFSU open the morning session. Breakout workshops were on topics such as dealing with challenging behavior, working with parents, understanding the referral process, and fully including young children with special needs into ECE programs.

Photo: Elaine Francisco with Dr. Marci Hanson, Director of the Early Childhood Special Education Graduate Program at SFSU; Kathy Small, Autism Specialist for the Contra Costa School District and Assistant Professor at SFSU; and Kathryn Browne, Coordinator of the Early Childhood Education Program at Skyline College and ECE Professor.

Elaine Francisco is an adjunct faculty member in the Skyline ECE Department and is a member of the CFT ECE Committee. She facilitated CFT outreach to conference participants including providing folders with information about the CFT/AFT and our long standing commitment to getting ECE staff recognized as professionals in the field of teaching. Francisco also encouraged those working in centers without union representation to contact the ECEOP for more information.