On November 8th, 500 kindergarten and pre-k teachers on Long Island came together for the first time in a conference organized by the Long Island Pre-K Initiative. The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a grant-funded project that seeks to strengthen partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and to share information about research, policy and best practices for early learning. -k and kindergarten teachers often work and learn in separate arenas, so this was an important day for exploring common ground as early childhood educators. Nancy Carlsson-Paige was their keynote speaker. She talked about the value of play and play-based learning and the need for all of us in the early childhood community to find our common voice as we advocate for the kind of learning all young children need and deserve.
