2025 Educare Network Meeting

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The registration fee for the Network Meeting is $350 and will be applied at the time of registration. If you are provided with a discount code for free registration, please enter it during the registration process.

Registration Fee
The following audiences will receive a discount code for free registration. Please consult with your school leadership on code distribution. If you are unsure if you are eligible for a code, please contact us at support@educarenetwork.org.

• 3-school staff
• 1-parent/caregiver
• 1-active Network Meeting planning committee member per school
• 2-speakers per approved learn shop session
• Schools are required to pay for travel and hotel for all learn shop speakers.
• Approved Data Brief & Data Dialogue contributors
• Local Evaluation Partners will receive one discount code for free registration per school

Credit Card Payment
Credit card payment is the preferred method of payment for the registration fee. A payment receipt will be included in your confirmation email. If you cannot complete payment with a credit card at registration, please select the offline payment option and reach out to support@educarenetwork.org for next steps. If you plan to pay via credit card post-registration, you can log back in with your email address and confirmation number to complete payment. If payments cannot be made before the event, they should be submitted no later than 30 days after the Network Meeting concludes.

Cancellation & Substitution Policy
Registrants can cancel or substitute their registration at any time. Credit card payments made will be refunded using the original payment method. Please contact us at support@educarenetwork.org for support with cancellations or registration substitutions.

Educare School Subgrants
To support school budgeting and maximize resources, each school will receive a Network Meeting subgrant before the meeting to pay directly for all travel expenses for approved attendees, including lodging. Information was provided directly to school leaders but can also be found here on EducareShare.

All Network Meeting registrants will be responsible for booking and paying for their hotel stay. Hotel reservations are first come, first served; the Educare National Office will not hold rooms at hotels on behalf of registrants.

Educare schools will receive funds to support booking hotel accommodations with their sub-grant package. Funds for accommodation must be used at one of the 3 Network Meeting hotels with contracted room blocks.

Confirmation emails will come directly from the hotel after booking. A credit card is require at the time of booking.

Please be sure to confirm that your check-in and out dates are accurate when booking your reservations.

The deadline to book at all hotels is Monday, April 14, 2025.

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We have rooming blocks reserved at the following locations:

Hilton Garden Inn Flint Downtown (next to the Conference Center)
110 W. Kearsley St., Flint, MI 4850

Rate: $159 per night plus taxes
Phone (reference Educare Meeting): 810.233.9110

Holiday Inn Express Flint-Campus
1150 Robert T Longway Blvd, Flint, MI 48503

Rate: $139 per night plus taxes
Phone (reference Educare Meeting): 877.666.3243

Hyatt Place Flint / Grand Blanc
5481 Hill 23 Dr, Flint, MI 48507

Rate $119 per night plus taxes
Phone (reference Educare Meeting): 810.424.9000

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Please reach out to us at support@educarenetwork.org for accommodation support.

The Educare National Office will be providing shuttle transportations services from meeting hotels to/from the venue each day.

The Educare National Office will not issue reimbursement for air or ground transit, including local travel and parking.

Educare schools will receive funds to support travel for the rest of their staff within their sub-grant package. We strongly encourage flights to be booked at least 30 days before the travel date and in economy class.

Local Transportation Options

There are very limited taxis and rideshare services available to/from local airports to/from the hotels. Availability and fees will vary depending on the time of day and distance.

For a full list of ground transportation options from the Flint Bishop Airport, visit their website:

• Rental Cars
• Taxi Services

For a full list of ground transportation options from the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, visit their website:

• Ground Transit Services

Detroit Airport Shuttle Services

There are limited flights in and out of the local Flint, MI airport (Bishop Airport). Attendees may consider traveling through Detroit, MI (Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport). The Educare National Office may coordinate shuttle services to and from the Detroit Airport to Network Meeting hotels based on interest. A schedule and formal sign-up will be provided in the coming months.

Flint, MI Transportation
We also encourage you to price out rental car options as local transportation via ride share is not readily available in the Flint area including to and from the local airport. There will be no coordinated shuttle services from/to Bishop International Airport.

The Educare National Office will be providing shuttle transportations services from meeting hotels to/from the venue each day. Schedule will be posted prior to the meeting.

All sessions for the Network Meeting will be held at the:

Riverfront Conference Center
University of Michigan-Flint
1 Riverfront Plaza, Flint, MI 48502

Parking at the Conference Center is free at the University Pavilion Parking Ramp Entrance. Address: 300 Harrison St., Flint, MI 48502

The entrance to the University Pavilion Parking Ramp is located off of Harrison St. (one way street). After parking, take the elevator down to the ground level and exit out the pedestrian walkway which faces the State of Michigan office building. Make a left out of the parking structure and take the walking path towards the University Pavilion. Walk between the University Pavilion and Rink, towards Riverfront. Make a right on Saginaw St., use the pedestrian crosswalk near the bridge to cross over Saginaw St. After crossing Saginaw St., Riverfront will be on the right.

An interactive campus map can be viewed at http://www.umflint.edu/campus-map/.

The 2025 Network Meeting is an in-person experience.

The schedule-at-a-glance will be available soon.

Meals provided at the meeting:

• Wednesday, May 7: Breakfast, lunch & refreshments at the evening reception
• Thursday, May 8: Breakfast, lunch & refreshments at the Educare Flint Open House
• Friday, May 9: Breakfast

The Educare National Office, in partnership with the Educare Practice Advisory Committee Work Group (EPACWG), is excited to announce the first EPACWG Presents: Educare School Innovation Fair that will take place at the 2025 Network Meeting. The Innovation Fair will be an opportunity for each Educare school to create one poster that displays the exciting, practice-based innovative work they are doing at their schools.

Posters will be displayed:

10:00am on May 7 through 4:00pm on May 8 in the conference center atrium, with school teams staffing their posters from 1:00-2:00pm during the 2-hour lunch break on May 8.

Schools who want to have a poster at the Network Meeting must turn in a digital version of their poster by April 11 via this form.

For more information on the Innovation Fair, please reference this overview document.

Start Early is an Accredited Provider by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). The Educare National Office will offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for the plenary session, data dialogues and learn shop sessions. As the official standard for continuing education and training, IACET (CEUs) are recognized by a wide range of organizations, including professional associations, regulatory boards, corporations and universities. Start Early is unable to seek state-by-state early childhood workforce registry approval for the Network Meeting. However, as a current IACET-approved provider, all content sessions at the Network Meeting include CEU provision options for learners (learners must complete and pass associated evaluations to obtain CEUs). We encourage individuals to directly contact their state registry to find out if CEUs may be accepted and count toward clock hour requirements.

Credit for each plenary session attended: TBD

Credit for each learn shop session attended: 75 minutes = 0.1 CEU

Credit for each data dialogue session attended: 75 minutes = 0.1 CEU

To receive credit, you must participate in the entirety of the session and complete the end-of-session evaluation. The Educare National Office will issue CEUs throughout the month of May in the form of certificates via email. Please be patient as we process your certificate.

The Educare Network Meeting is informed by the work of the Planning Committee, comprised of members of the Network and contributing partners, who work collaboratively with the NCO to design an engaging and inclusive annual meeting that is representative of the diverse needs of the Network. Membership from all roles within the Network – including parents/caregivers of children currently enrolled with Educare – is encouraged. Planning Committee membership runs from the Fall to late Spring; responsibilities include:

• Guiding the direction of the theme/content
• Speaker selection and session development
• Elevating innovations in practice, policy and research to the broader Educare Network
• Informing planning by leveraging and utilizing learning group and work group participation
• Engaging in monthly planning meetings
• Promoting the Call for Proposal process and reviewing session proposals
• Serving as a liaison between Educare schools and the Planning Committee to inform content and logistics planning
• Serving as a meeting ambassador for first-time attendees and parents/caregivers
• Developing networking and engagement opportunities
• Moderating or introducing sessions
• Supporting on-site logistics as needed

We would like to thank the following Network members who volunteered to be part of the committee this year:

• Sarah Baird, Educare Omaha and Winnebago, Assistant Project Director/LEP
• Angie Belisle, Educare New Orleans, School Director
• Tamisa Brooks, Educare Washington, D.C., Family Engagement Manger
• Nikki Burnett, Educare Springfield, Executive Director
• Evandra Catherine, Educare Arizona, Director Disability and Mental Health Policy/LEP
• Linwood Cole, Educare Washington, D.C., Family Engagement Manger
• Kris Damon, Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach, Principal
• Maria Harris, Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach, Director
• Ja’Nel Jamerson, Educare Flint, Chief Executive Officer
• Paula Moujalli, Educare Miami, Vice President
• Keiona Mosley, Educare Flint, Chief Strategy Officer
• Jalen Nunn, Educare Flint, Early Childhood Special Projects Manager
• Erica Palmer, Educare Central Maine, Education Manager
• Jami Pollis, Educare Central Maine, Infant-Toddler Partnership Manager
• LaDonna Stevens, Educare Tulsa at Celia Clinton, Mentor Coach
• Chaika Stribling, Educare Flint, Site Coordinator
• Ealasha Vaughner, Educare Denver, Manager, Policy & Advocacy
• Colleen Walling, Educare Tulsa at MacArthur, Lead Infant/Toddler Teacher
• Felicia Williams, Educare Kansas City, Infant Toddler Mentor Teacher

Our call for proposal process offers an opportunity for Network members to share their most impactful and innovative work that might fall within our areas of focus, creating a collective and engaging experience for all attendees. As we capture and share innovations at Educare schools, we recognize the need to ground ourselves in one definition of what “innovation” means so we can better see how it might look in action.

With input from Network members, we created the following definition. We acknowledge innovation as a constant work in progress; therefore, the description below will remain a “working” definition that can be revised as our needs and priorities change across the Network.

At the Educare Learning Network, we define innovation as intentional, solution-focused creative problem-solving that fills an untapped need or addresses a challenge or question (whether new or ongoing).

For additional context and examples of innovation, please see the full document on EducareShare.

Areas of focus for this year’s Network Meeting include but are not limited to the following:

1. Workforce Development and Well-Being (i.e., relationship between staff retention and well-being, strategies for promoting staff well-being and morale, innovative workplace health models, creating positive workplace environments, recruitment strategies, human resources.)
2. Promoting Transformational Public Health Innovations within Early Childhood Communities (i.e., specific approaches communities have used to address their own unique public health concerns including, but not limited to: racism and oppression in predominantly Black and Brown communities, tribal communities, and places with a large migrant population; high rates of crime, domestic violence, unaddressed mental health challenges, Black maternal health, environmental disruptions, etc.
3. Cultivating Reflective Practice (i.e., reflective supervision as an approach for teacher growth and support, innovative approaches to implementing reflective practice within schools, using reflective practice to promote family and staff wellness)
4. The Continuum Between Family Engagement, Partnerships and Leadership (i.e., beliefs, practices, and supports that go beyond family engagement, how to empower families to take on leadership roles within schools and communities, anti-bias/anti-racist approaches to family engagement in schools, innovative family engagement and leadership approaches in schools)
5. Educare Sustainability (i.e., best practices and innovations in organizational and infrastructure functions that help to strengthen and sustain Educare schools including fundraising, board development and philanthropic engagement, strategic planning and visioning, leadership succession planning, finance/budgeting, etc.)

The Educare Network aims to provide high-quality learning experiences at the annual Network Meeting. Our call for proposal process offers an opportunity for Network members to share their most impactful and innovative work, creating a collective and engaging experience for all attendees.

We invite proposals from Educare school staff, Educare operating organization staff, parents/caregivers, and local/national evaluation partners.

• Open Call: TBD
• Deadline to submit proposal: February 7, 2025
• Decisions made by: February 2025 (notifications will be sent to all submitting groups)

Learn Shop Format

Length: 75 minutes

Explore topics of common interest using innovative, thought-provoking content blended with audience participation. Presenters act as content leaders, presenting short content segments and then leading engaging activities, group discussions, and participant reflection on how to apply knowledge to practice.

The Educare National Office will offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for the plenary session, data dialogues and learn shop sessions. CEUs will be issued via standards set up by Start Early as an accredited organization via the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).

To meet the necessary standard to issue CEUs all learn shop proposals must include measurable learning outcomes and specific engagement strategies grounded in adult learning principles and relevance for the Network Meeting audience. The Educare National Office is available to support authors during the submission process. For support email support@educarenetwork.org.

We strongly encourage you to review the following resources before starting your proposal.

Proprietary Interests

If facilitators have a vested interest in any product, instrument, device, or materials that may be used during the learning event, they must disclose this interest. Further, if the facilitator receives any share of the royalties or profits from product promotion or endorsement, the interest must be disclosed to the learner prior to the learning event. Please contact professionaldevelopment@startearly.org with any questions or concerns.

• We invite proposals from Educare school staff, Educare operating organization staff, parents/caregivers, and local/national evaluation partners.
• Speakers must commit to presenting live during the scheduled meeting dates May 7-9, 2025. The exact presentation time will be confirmed after the proposals are accepted. There are no virtual presentation options; all speakers must be in-person.
• Prior to submitting a proposal, obtain permission from your supervisor to travel to and attend the meeting if your proposal is accepted.
• Teams are encouraged to limit the number of total speakers to 3-4. To reduce travel costs, consider Network members already attending the meeting as potential speakers.
• All accepted speakers are required to complete a speaker agreement form.
• All speakers must participate in a planning meeting with the National Coordinating Office (NCO) to review logistics and content, ensure CEU alignment, and field questions.
• The NCO will waive the Network Meeting registration fee for two speakers per learn shop session. Discount codes will be provided upon session acceptance.
• Airfare and hotel accommodations are not reimbursable expenses for learn shop speakers. For further details, please read the 2025 reimbursement and grant policy.

We encourage speakers to consider the narratives and modes of thinking they want to amplify about the individuals, families, and communities they partner with. We encourage presenters to view each component of their presentation as an opportunity to demonstrate respect for individuals, families and communities to help eliminate implicit biases related to gender identity, sexual orientation, race, disability, mental health, age or religion.

We recognize that language is evolving and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging commitments are a lifelong journey. We invite discussion, reflection and feedback in preparation for, during and after the Network Meeting.

We recommend the following resources for repositioning language to center equity and intersectionality:

• Advancing Language for Equity & Inclusion-Berkeley Haas
• American Psychological Association (APA) Style – Bias-Free Language
• Content Creator and DEIB Facilitator Toolkit
• CDC – Health Equity Guiding Principle for Inclusive Communication
• University of Washington Equitable Language Guide

Speakers should also incorporate accessibility best practices as relevant when preparing and delivering their presentations and session materials. Accessibility is the practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful, and usable for as many people as possible. We ask that all PowerPoint and print-ready materials be prepared in consideration of those with visual limitations. Consideration of color contrast between text and background, font size, use of alternative text for images shared are all important. Tips on creating more accessible presentations can be found at Section508.gov.

We also encourage teams to review these resources from the Web Accessibility Initiative on preparing slides and materials. The meeting organizers will offer a branded PowerPoint template that includes accessible formatting as a resource for presenting teams.

For best practices that include presenting live you can find support here.

The submission process utilizes an abstract management website powered by Cvent. The submitting author will create a username and password for the website, upload speaker bios/headshots and answer the proposal questions for the speaking team. The website allows you to save your progress and return to the website to complete/edit your proposal up until the deadline. You will receive a confirmation email after submitting your proposal.

To view the questions and information requested during the submission process, please click here (for reference only).

Bios & Headshots: We request that all speakers provide bios and headshots at the time of submission to streamline the process. Information provided during the proposal submission will be used for the agenda and mobile app content for the session.

We are eager to support you during the submission process. Please email your questions to us at support@educarenetwork.org 

The Network Meeting Planning Committee, members of the Educare Practice Advisory Committee Work Group (EPACWG), Sustainability Work Group (SWG) and National Coordinating Office staff will collaborate to review and score proposals and will use the following criteria as the framework for selecting proposals.

• Applicants should consider each of the Educare roles as session attendees when creating your proposal.
• Provide relevant and innovative content. Preference is given to presentations that align with the meeting theme or focus areas.
• Focus on inter-disciplinary, innovative and/or field-advancing practice, and creative/unique collaborations, problem-solving and partnerships.
• Align with one or more of the Educare Network member requirements.
• Engage attendees in learning and discovery by actively facilitating attendee engagement during the live meeting. Presenters are expected to provide perspective and insight on critical issues facing the field through dialogue, storytelling, case studies, lessons learned, etc.
• Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) within the context of the presentation and broader early childhood education field. View the DEIB collection on EducareShare for tools and reference.
• Provide multiple strategies that expand thinking and can be applied to practice.
• Include representation of parent/caregiver voice and in speaking roles when possible.
• To create space for all voices to be shared at the Network Meeting, we will limit the number of proposals approved per school/organization.
• Due to space, we are limited to 8 learn shop slots this year.