• Wednesday (evening), September 29 – The Radisson Hotel, Second Floor
• Thursday, September 30 – The Radisson Hotel, Second Floor
• Friday, October 1 – Austin Convention Center (Outside the Exhibit Hall)
• Saturday, October 2 – Austin Convention Center (Outside the Exhibit Hall)

Onsite Registration will take place in these areas as well!  We look forward to seeing you at the Conference!

Date:  Thursday, September 30th
Time:  1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Cost:  $15

Many organizations are focused on their mission and serving the children in their program.  But, if they forget to operate within their legal structure — things can and will be disastrous.  If you are a volunteer leader for your local affiliate or any local nonprofit—-come to this session and understand your responsibility as a volunteer board member as well.

 This session will explore and define some of the most important dynamics of a nonprofit organization: the role, responsibilities and expectations of, and between, the Board of Directors, Officers, volunteers, the Executive Director, and Staff.  How these key organizational players interrelate and work together, individually and within groups (such as committees) defines and determines much of a nonprofit organization’s effectiveness and ability to safely navigate the complexities of organizational management and governance.

 About Candyss Bryant

Candyss Bryant has more than ten years of experience in nonprofit development and management as both a professional and volunteer. Currently, she serves as the coordinator of Austin Community College’s Center for Community-Based and Nonprofit Organizations (ACC CCBNO) and the President of Georgia’s ROCA Resources, Inc. Bryant recently found her way to Austin, Texas, from Columbus, Georgia, with her husband Rodney and daughter Jasmin. She is a Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations consultant (TANO c3) and remains an active consultant in the state of Georgia.

Bryant began her professional career in Columbus, Georgia, as a marketing director for a start-up Women’s Professional Fastpitch Softball League. While working full-time positions with the National Infantry Association, Columbus State University and Goodwill Industries, she began independently consulting in 1999 and later developed ROCA Resources in 2001. It was during this time that she began training and instruction for hospitality classes and nonprofit training classes with an emphasis in strategic planning, board governance and special event planning. Bryant is the original founder and coordinator of Columbus, Georgia’s Nonprofit Academy.

Candyss is committed to nonprofit excellence through capacity building efforts through strategic thought and planning. She has facilitated and or provided assistance to leadership gatherings, coalitions, boards of directors, planning committees, resource developers, nonprofit professional groups, conference organizers, event managers and many others.

Bryant has had the honor and opportunity to serve many businesses and organizations with her impeccable organizational skills and broad knowledge of various business services. Currently, Bryant works extensively with the United States Army RANGERS to produce the Best Ranger Competition as seen on ESPN, OLN, the Discovery channel and in publications such a Sports Illustrated. Bryant’s event experience includes collegiate athletics at Ohio University and varying professional sports arenas. With Bryant’s leadership and guidance, ROCA Resources, Inc. developed the Chattahoochee Valley Adventure Challenge that debuted in Columbus, Georgia, March 19, 2005.

Although Bryant is new to the Austin community, her dedication to civic responsibility is noted through various community service projects and initiatives. She is a past chairman of the Columbus Children, Youth and Family Coalition (a Family Connection collaborative) and the Community Assets and Critical Issues steering committee for a collaborative effort spearheaded by United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley and the Columbus Children, Youth and Family Coalition. Bryant has also served on the executive committee of the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation. Other recent community service projects include: Committee assignments for Covering Kids and Families and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Please find Thursday’s sessions below:

Radisson – Treaty Oak
8:30-10:30 a.m.
Teacher Professional Development and Transformation Practices
Marcela Clark, Mitzi, and Kathy Greenway

An interactive presentation discussing a teacher training approach which holds the following values to be true:  teachers deserve time for reflection and study, individual support and opportunities for collaboration, learning communities that challenge them to take intellectual and emotional risks in order to deepen their own learning and improve their daily practices with children and families.  This model is based on the United Way Bright Beginnings teacher training model.

Radisson – Lone Star
9:00 -10.30
Classroom Management
Lajuana Williams

Learn techniques to manage your classroom and produce a peaceful learning environment. Different kinds and causes of misbehaviors will be discussed. Strategies for the young and the restless will be considered. Terrific transitions, calming and alerting sensory activities will be explored.

Radisson – Lakeview
9:00-11:00.
TEACH Early Childhood Texas Update
Kris Curtis, M.Ed.

This session will provide you with an overview of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood scholarship program and how it can benefit your staff plus update you on the latest developments of bringing T.E.A.C.H. to Texas.

Radisson – The Skyline
9:00 -12:00
The Impact of Social Development-Attachment on Language
Cindy Rojas Rodriguez, M.Ed.

This session will draw on the PITC philosophy that good infant/toddler care is neither baby-sitting nor preschool care. It is a special kind of care that resembles no other! The focus will be on social development-attachment and its impact on language development.  Social development focuses on relationships and their establishment

Radisson – Lone Star
11:00 -12:00
So Many Guidelines, So Little Time: Condensing Math Resources for PreK
Susan Armstrong, M. Ed.

Did you ever wish that you had the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines and Instructional Planning Guides in one handy document? Have you ever needed a quick idea to present basic concepts to students without shuffling through mountains of materials?  Here’s your chance! Activities are written that may be accessed to match the interests and needs of general and special education (PPCD) students.

Radisson – Treaty Oak
11:00 -12:00
Use the Power of Technology to Enhance Your Teaching in the Classroom
Josephina Hughes, M.Ed.

Transform your pre-K students into photographers, videographers, and digital authors to enhance their learning, with the use of a digital camera! In addition, come see how Web 2.0 tools can easily be used to create slideshows, books, and visual aids to support classroom instruction and to increase parental communication.

Radisson – Lakeview
11:15 – 12:15
Publishing in Early Years
Cindy Simpson

Do you have a great teaching idea that you want to share with others? Have you been thinking about writing an article for Early Years, but don’t know where to begin? This session is for you. The session will focus on effective manuscript submission practices that will assist new authors in developing articles for publication in Early Years.

Radisson – Treaty Oak
1:00 -3:00.
The way I feel: Emotional Intelligence through the eyes of a child
Sugandha Jain, M.S.

The self-awareness of participants will increase as they help children recognize, label and understand feelings in self and others. The session includes a self –rating exercise that identifies one’s EQ.  

Radisson – Lakeview
1:00 -3:00
Mindfully We Can
Keith Pentz, Kaplan Early Learning Co.

Mindful leadership provides the thoughtfulness and attentiveness to guide success. By being mindful, we can discover how to attain expected goals and results, learn to be personally aware, use simple, effective techniques in everyday endeavors, transform our workplace, be positive, and enjoy more of life’s journey.

Radisson – Lone Star
1:00 -3:00
It’s Math Time! Let’s Play!
Brian Mowry, M.Ed.

In the aftermath of No Child Left Behind, play is quickly disappearing from the schedules and lesson plans of Kindergarten and Pre-K classrooms. This workshop addresses this critical issue head-on by reviewing and discussing research that supports the validity of play in the academic development of young children. After a brief overview of the research, the presenter will provide examples and instructional strategies and materials that support young children’s play and exploration of complex mathematical ideas.

Radisson – Austin III
1:00-4:00
There Are No Bees on the Playground: Looking at Project Work with Children
Joan Moreita, M.A. Early Childhood

Project work complements in every way, not only our standards, but also what we know about how young children develop and learn. This training will give you hands-on practice with information about how to plan projects in your classroom. You will find this to be the most exciting and interesting planning process you have ever used!  

Radisson – The Skyline
1:00 – 4:00
Preparing Developmentally Appropriate Infant/ Toddler Lesson Plans
Pat Hillman

A practical, easy to use model based on the WestEd Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC): Principles for Young Infants, Mobile Infants and Older Toddlers. This training is designed to enhance Infant Toddler planning skills that support any research based curriculum that programs have selected. There will be an online demonstration on how to tailor and adapt plans to meet individualized needs of children. Sample lesson plans and strategies will be reviewed during the training session.

Radisson—Lone Star
3:15-4:15
SECA and its profile of High Quality Programs for Children
Janie H. Humphries, Ed

This session will explore the current research elements that are used to determine if an early childhood program is of high quality. Time also will be spent in discussing how to convey these research elements to legislators, school officials, colleagues, and parents.

SOLD OUT – FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE WAITING LIST!

About Dr. Joe Frost

About Joe McDermott

Joe McDermott has been obsessed with music ever since he was a little kid growing up in Chicago, the youngest of eight children.

“It all started out with a coffee can and a couple of drumsticks my dad gave to me. I think he was sorry he got them.” His first gig was when he and his brother performed at a Harlem Globetrotters show. Five year old Joe played drums and sang “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” with his older brother. This amazing debut was arranged by their aunt who was organizing a hospital benefit. “We had medallions and everything – I wore the Sagittarius,” Joe remembers.

All he wanted to do from that point on was make music and make people smile. His next big show was in the 4th grade, when he played drums in his brother’s rock band.

As he grew, Joe’s creative endeavors shifted for awhile to fine art and painting. While he learned to play guitar and played in rock bands, he moved to Austin and earned a Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas. Hoping to make it in the art world, he took a job as an art teacher at Athena Montessori. Five years later, he opened his own preschool, The Phoenix School, in Central Austin. Little did he know how this melding of creativity and immersion in early childhood education would lead to his future career as one of the nation’s top children’s music recording artists. “It’s amazing how it all evolved so organically. I’m not sure about fate, but it seemed there has been a guiding hand in this,” Joe says.

In a rambling old Austin house, Joe and his wife ran the preschool in the front two rooms, and on the weekends played music in the back room studio with friends. Joe realized that children were an unending source of inspiration for songwriting. One year, he recorded a tape with the school children recorded as a Christmas gift for the parents. It was just a dabble into the world of children’s music, but the response was so positive, and his own experiences as a parent made songwriting for children an irresistible force.

Joe’s first nationally distributed CD, I Am Baby, won a Parents’ Choice Recommended Honor in 1998; and both Great Big World (2001) and Everywhere You Go (2003) won the esteemed Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award. Joe was honored with his first NAPPA Gold Award for Everywhere You Go, which includes the Children’s Music Web Award winning song, “Baby Kangaroo.” This song also captured a second place prize in the International Song Writing Contest, Children’s Division in 2005. In 2007, Joe released his fourth family music CD, Everybody Plays Air Guitar, which received a Parents’ Choice Recommended Honor. Many songs from all four releases are in regular rotation on XMKids Radio.

McDermott’s proficient songwriting abilities enabled him to compose music for children’s video games (Zombies Ate My Neighbors) and educational software. One project teamed Joe with Stan and Jan Berenstain, authors of the classic Berenstain Bears books. Impressed by Joe’s work, author Stan Berenstain enlisted him to adapt ten of their books to song. After working with Joe, Stan Berenstain said, “Joe McDermott is not only a magnificent songwriter, he’s also an absolute wizard at communicating with children through music.” Many of Joe’s catchy songs have been arranged for orchestral performance, allowing him to perform with the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the Allen Philharmonic Symphony.

Children’s music is a full-time focus for Joe McDermott. “What I love about this genre is how open it is to expression.” His artistic training helps him create visually rich songs that evoke emotions in “people of all sizes.” He’s been called “The maestro of imagination” for his creative approach and appeal.

When: Friday, October 1, 2010
Where: Radisson Hotel Poolside
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Cost: Free!

Hors d’oeuvres will be served, cash bar will be available

Join the Texas AEYC Board and conference participants as we enter into a night of fun! The President’s Reception will deviate from standard practice and relocate to the pool area for networking and the presentation of the annual awards followed by an evening of music performed by The Eggmen! Don’t miss out on this event – it will be talked about for YEARS!

About the Biscuit Brothers

The Biscuit Brothers television program was created by Damon Brown, Allen Robertson, and Jerome Schoolar. It’s an EMMY® Award winning television program produced in Austin, Texas (the “Live Music Capital of the World”) and broadcast on PBS stations around the nation. It’s also a successful Live Show, touring and performing at events like the Austin City Limits Music Festival and Texas State Fair. Finally, the Biscuit Brothers is a mission driven project, dedicated to providing educational materials and programming designed to introduce arts related content in a way that touches children’s hearts, engages their parents, and empowers families to learn together. 

Download the Biscuit Brothers Press/Media kit (PDF)

 • Location photography takes place at Scottish Rite Theatre and Pioneer Farms in Austin and the show is wholly produced in Austin, Texas.

• The television program airs on KLRU-TV PBS Austin, and in a number of other PBS markets across the United States. The TV Show is made available to almost every PBS market in the US and always free of charge to the stations!

• We’ve received 2 LONE STAR EMMY® Awards for excellence in Children’s programming.

• We’ve received a National Parenting Publication Award (NAPPA Gold)
 

The Biscuit Brothers cast members are:

Allen Robertson: Buford Biscuit

Jerome Schoolar: Dusty Biscuit

Damon Brown: Tiny Scarecrow

Jill Leberknight: Buttermilk Biscuit

Click here to read biographies of the cast and crew. 

Scott and White Health Care has underwritten a portion of production of the television show since its premiere season. Our sponsors have also included the companies you see recognized at the top of this page as well as generous families and individuals who are committed to our mission. Those of us who produce the show do so at significantly reduced rates to keep our operating expenses as low as possible. In kind support for production has also come from Pioneer Farms, Scottish Rite Children’s Theatre, and Gibson / Baldwin Music Education. KLRU (PBS) provides airtime and promotional support but dollars raised through PBS pledge campaigns do not directly support the Biscuit Brothers production expenses.

The Biscuit Brothers Television Fund is a non-profit fund of the Austin Community Foundation (KLRU special projects.)

We endeavor to use music to offer children an opportunity to explore values, and to think critically about the world around them. To learn more about our fundraising efforts, Click to email our team.

The Biscuit Brothers also perform live, often in locations around Austin but also across Texas and the nation. To see the Biscuit Brothers’ schedule of appearances, click here

About Mark Strama

About Kaplan Early Learning Company

Your Only Full Service Early Childhood Provider…Products – Services – Training

The philosophy behind Kaplan Early Learning Company is simple – we care about children. Early education prepares children for lifelong learning and we provide products and services that help educators and caregivers lay the foundation for success. As a leader in the field of early care and education, we bring to market innovative curriculums, cutting edge assessments, teacher resource materials and valuable professional development opportunities to early childhood and elementary school educators, caregivers and parents around the world.

With average employee tenure exceeding ten years, your will always find warm and knowledgeable individuals ready to serve your from our corporate headquarters in North Carolina. Our campus includes a 350,000 square foot, state-of-the-art distribution center, a 160,000 square foot warehouse, and two office buildings. 

We are pleased to support TAEYC and the children and families they serve.  By being the only full service early childhood provider we can provide TAEYC members with products for children birth – 5th Grade, exclusive curriculum and assessment products, playgrounds, delivery and classroom set-up, and professional development training for your staff. We are an authorized SMART™ Table reseller and any SMART™ Table purchased from Kaplan comes with Kaplan Puzzle Maker, Kaplan Letter Hunt, and 8 cross-curricular themed activity sets containing over 100 activities…all developed by leading educators and children! 

Thank you for allowing us to serve your early childhood care and education needs. Visit us at www.kaplanco.com. 

Formerly Associate Executive Director and Senior Consultant with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC),  Marilou contributed to the development of many position statements on issues including early learning standards, professional preparation standards, early childhood mathematics, and curriculum/assessment/program evaluation.

Find out more about Marilou here!

We’ve got thousands of reasons why but check out the TOP 10 reasons why you and your colleagues should attend the 2010 Texas AEYC Annual Conference.  Come on down to Austin and see what we have in store for you!

#10.   There’s nothing like watching 1 million bats fly out from under the Ann Richards bridge from your room at the Radisson Hotel!

#9.  Sunset at the Oasis….

#8.  To really find out why we “Keep Austin WIERD”

#7.  It’s the live music Capital of the World

#6.  Watch Early Childhood Educators “Take Over the City!”

#5.  Network with other ECE professionals

#4.  We have a TON of amazing vendors that will be there!

#3.  The 2010 Awards winners will be recognized!  It’s bigger than the Oscars!

#2.  AMAZING keynotes, general speakers, exhibitors and sponsors!

#1.  IT WON’T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU!