Way to Grow Executive Director Carolyn Smallwood and Way to Grow Director of Early Childhood Education, Carrie Johnson will share the presentation, Innovative Strategies in Home Visiting, at the 16th annual Beyond School Hours Conference on February 20-23, 2013 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Beyond School Hours Conference is the nation’s premier gathering of education practitioners and thought leaders from across the country, which offers the latest tools and insights to address the national grade level reading and literacy crisis to improve the outcomes of young people after the school day ends.
The presentation, Innovative Strategies in Home Visiting, will focus on Way to Grow’s statistically proven home visiting model, which provides culturally appropriate educational services for over 2,000 families in Minneapolis. Way to Grow Family Educators, collectively fluent in seven languages, engage parents in their children’s education, demonstrating how to teach through everyday interaction. Through over 10,000 home visits annually, Way to Grow Family Educators impact the culture of learning at home by encouraging parent involvement, and model the skills parents need to help support their children beyond school hours.
“We are honored to share our work with our esteemed colleagues at the Beyond School Hours Conference,” Way to Grow Executive Director, Carolyn Smallwood said. “Our work in the Minneapolis community echoes the ongoing research and trends we’re seeing around the country, which shows that extended learning time for families in need can significantly increase the outcomes of students and help close the achievement gap.”
Extended learning time has be in the spotlight in Minnesota recently as Governor Dayton’s proposed 2012-2014 budget includes $40 million for all-day kindergarten and $44 million in scholarships for low to middle-income parents to enroll their kids in quality child care centers and preschools.
“Way to Grow is delighted to see early education and extended learning become a priority for the state of Minnesota,” said Carolyn Smallwood. “We look forward to representing Minnesota’s commitment to educating all students and are excited to share with a national audience the tremendous impact it has on our community.”
