The Source for Learning, Inc. (SFL) is proud to welcome Ms. Kathryn (Katy) Garvey, Social Learning Manager for SFL’s K12 programs. She will be spearheading social learning initiatives, including MySciLife, SFL’s social learning environment for middle school science.

A native of Northern Virginia, Katy grew up in Alexandria and attended the University of Virginia, earning her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in Education. She also holds a postgraduate professional license with an endorsement in Administration and Supervision from George Mason University.

Before joining SFL, Katy was principal at Seneca Ridge Middle School in Loudoun County. She began her education career teaching Spanish in Fairfax County Public Schools before entering administrative roles as assistant principal at Dominion High School and J. Michael Lunsford Middle School. In her free time, Ms. Garvey enjoys exercising, sports, and spending time with her husband and two children.

Commenting on Katy’s arrival, Lynn Rejniak, SFL’s Chief Operating Officer, said, “Katy’s combined experience, energy, and leadership add a unique layer of expertise to our organization. We are excited about her contributions to our mission and her desire to empower teachers to enhance instruction and learning.”

The Source for Learning, Inc. is offering a comprehensive set of professional learning opportunities for K-12 teachers this summer through its TeachersFirst service.

SFL’s Summer 2017 OK2Ask Virtual Workshops kick off the week of July 10. Enjoy six weeks of virtual learning from the comfort of your laptop. Sign up today using the links below.

On Thursday, July 13, SFL’s experienced educators and EdTech coaches, is hosting its second annual Google Mania day. Featured sessions include Turbocharge Chrome, Google Forms, and G Suite. Educators are invited to attend up to five free sessions designed to increase productivity and make formative assessment a breeze.

On Thursday, July 27 from 10AM-5PM EDT, TeachersFirst will host Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Day, a full one-day virtual, professional learning workshop on Explore tools such as OneNote Class Notebooks, Docs.com, Microsoft Forms, and Sway. Teachers will learn ways to extend students’ learning experiences beyond your classroom using Skype in the Classroom and the Microsoft Educator Community platform. Participants can earn a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator badge. SFL is a Microsoft Education Training Partner.

Launched in 2009, OK2Ask has administered more than 235 interactive online workshops; select archives are available from the link below.

For more information about SFL’s 2017 Sweet Summer edTech professional learning offerings and other educational resources:

SFL’s Complete Summer 2017 PD Offerings 

Register for Summer 2017 OK2Ask Sessions 

Learn More About OK2Ask

Join the OK2Ask Email List 

Access 235+ OK2Ask Archived Sessions 

For More Information about SFL’s K12 service offerings, please log on to www.teachersfirst.com or contact Dr. Ruth Okoye, Director of K12 Initiatives, at rokoye@sflinc.org or 703‐860‐9200.

The Source for Learning, Inc.’s early childhood education team, Kamna Seth, Director, ECE Initiatives and Gauri Shirali-Deo, Senior Manager, ECE Initiatives, will co-present at the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) 2017 Professional Development Institute (NAEYC PDI) conference on June 11-14, 2017, in San Francisco, California. The Source for Learning is a Silver Sponsor of this nationally-known event.

Their professional development (PD) presentation, "The Collaborative Model: Engaging with families and the early intervention team (EIT) to support children with developmental delays in early childhood programs to enrich their learning experiences and improve outcomes," will be held on Tuesday, June 13th from 2:00PM-4:00PM at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. Center administrators and lead teachers attending the PD session will walk away with:

• An enhanced awareness of the benefits and challenges of participating actively with the early intervention team.
• Methods to actively engage in team processes and support active family participation early in the process.
• Strategies to incorporate interventions inclusively into daily routines.

As a long-standing NAEYC conference sponsor, SFL is also underwriting two featured sessions:

• Teachers’ Voices: Strategies for creating work environments that support adult learning
  Sunday, June 11th from 10:45AM-12:45PM; Yerba Buena, Ballroom Salons 05/06-RDS 90
   
• The Digital Play Framework: Connecting technology, young children, and educators through play-based experiences
  Sunday, June 11th from 2:00PM-4:00PM; Golden Gate A

Click here for more information about NAEYC’s 2017 Professional Learning Institute.

For more information about SFL’s Early Childhood Initiatives contact Kamna Seth, Director, ECE Initiatives, via email at kseth@sflinc.org or call 703-860-9200 or visit

http://www.SourceForLearning.org/ecei/
http://www.SourceForLearning.org/VAECAP
http://www.PreschoolFirst.com

VCPD Annual Professional Development Summit – Thursday, May 18, 2017.

The Source for Learning, Inc. (SFL) and its Early Childhood Education Initiatives (ECEI) team are proud sponsors of the Virginia Cross-Sector Professional Development Team (VCPD) Northern Regional Summit being held at the George Mason Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, Virginia, on Thursday, May 18, 2017 from 9AM–2PM.

SFL is sponsoring several general sessions throughout the one-day summit to include, for the second consecutive year, underwriting the keynote address - Playing Together: Forward Thinking Approaches to Promoting Sustainable and Impactful Early Learning - by Dr. Christopher Swanson, Senior Director for Quality Care and Education, Center for Technology in Education, at Johns Hopkins University.

As early learning professionals, we understand the power of play, but too often our systems seem to be stuck in solitary, or at best parallel play, when what we really need to maximize benefit for children and families is cooperative efforts.  Dr. Swanson will present the benefits of cross-sector, cross-system, cross-outcome cooperation in and among agencies and organizations, while providing practical suggestions on how each of us, as leaders and influencers, can advocate the importance and need for integrated early learning systems. 

For more information about VCPD’s Early Childhood Summit visit http://www.vcpd.net/northern/summit/

For more information about SFL’s Early Childhood Initiatives visit http://www.sourceforlearning.org/ecei/ or contact Kamna Seth via email at kseth@sflinc.org or call 703-860- 9200.

SFL’s Early Childhood Team to Present Family Engagement Webinar

The Source for Learning, Inc.’s (SFL) Early Childhood division will present a free webinar on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, at 2-3 PM EDT. Carrie Scruggs, a member of SFL’s Early Childhood Education team, will present the one-hour webinar.

Are you prepared to engage families from diverse backgrounds and communities? Do you know how to create an inviting environment for all children and their families? Join us to learn strategies to make all your families feel welcomed and respected.

You will learn:

• Suggestions for engaging families from diverse backgrounds
• Strategies for embracing and sharing different customs
• Approaches to embracing diversity as an integral part of your early childhood program

Ms. Scruggs has extensive experience as a Multi-site Director and Education Manager at a Head Start agency, as Executive Director of a nonprofit center serving underprivileged children and families, and as Center Director of a faith-based early childhood program.

Register for this webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8865646307970782210

For more information about SFL’s Early Childhood Initiatives visit http://www.sourceforlearning.org/ecei/ or contact Kamna Seth via email at kseth@sflinc.org or call 703-860- 9200.

The Source for Learning, Inc.’s Early Childhood division will present a free webinar on Thursday, April 27, 2017, at 7-8:30 PM EDT. SFL is partnering with Marsha Chan, MA, author, and Professor Emerita at Mission College in Santa Clara, CA, and Julaine Rosner, MA TESL, ESL faculty and author, to co-present this one and one-half hour session.

Throughout the United States, an increasing number of nonnative early childhood educators care for young children. This presentation will help you consider the necessary language skills and strategies needed to enable nonnative English speakers to be successful. We will look at where to start and how to build English language skills through continuous and sustained instruction.

You will learn:

• Practical skills needed by nonnative speaking early childhood educators and families to effectively communicate in English.
• Strategies to promote English language proficiency among nonnative speaking early childhood educators and families.
• Curriculum and materials designed to increase the English language proficiency among nonnative speaking early childhood educators.

Register for this webinar here. 

Find more information about SFL’s Early Childhood Initiatives here,  or contact Kamna Seth via email at kseth@sflinc.org or call 703-860-9200.

More than 100 Virginia K12 educators will convene at James Madison University (JMU) on Friday, April 7, 2017 for the Sixth Annual Brainstorm Conference, a joint effort of JMU’s Educational Technology Master of Education Degree Program, the Shenandoah Valley Technology Consortium (SVTC), and the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE).

As a proud VSTE Corporate Partner, The Source for Learning, Inc. (SFL) will present and exhibit at the one-day conference, held at JMU’s College of Education Memorial Hall in Harrisonburg, Virginia from 8AM-3:30PM.

Ruth Okoye, Ed.D., SFL’s Director of K12 Initiatives and Karen Streeter, a member of SFL’s TeachersFirst Team, will present “Fifty in Fifty: 50 Free Device Agnostic EdTech Tools in 50 Minutes” from 2:10-3:00PM.

Teachers looking for great FREE tools to support the 4Cs - Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Creativity - are welcome to attend this fast-paced session to learn about 50 EdTech tools that “play nice” on any device, support sound instruction, and cultivate the skills the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students call for. Dr. Okoye and Ms. Streeter will present each tool, share why it makes their “hot list,” and provide at least two ways to use each in the classroom.

Register for Brainstorm 2017: https://events.vstereg.org/events/brainstorm-2017/

View the conference schedule: https://brainstorm2017.sched.com/

About SFL’s K12 Initiatives

SFL’s K12 Division offers educators a suite of products, resources, and online training to support professional learning and student success. Services include TeachersFirst®, a free online collection of original content and 15K+ educational resource reviews; OK2Ask®—a series of live, hands-on virtual workshops for teacher professional learning; and MySciLife®, a safe, social learning environment in which middle school science students design and participate as their science “identities” to live and learn.

For more information on SFL’s K12 Division, please contact Ruth Okoye, Ed.D, Director of K12 Initiatives, at rokoye@sflinc.org or 703‐860‐9200.

The Source for Learning, Inc.’s (SFL) Early Childhood Division will present Learning Extensions: Collaborating with Community Partners and Families to Enhance Your After-School Program on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, 2-3PM ET. Early Childhood Education Team Member Carrie Scruggs, a CDA Professional Development Specialist, will present the free one-hour session. 

Although school-aged programs in many early childhood centers have the highest enrollment and generate the most revenue, many educators feel overwhelmed when planning for school-aged children. Learn how early childhood educators can work with families and community partners to create after-school programs that are extensions of the school day and provide enrichment opportunities on non-school days.

Participants attending this live, professional development webinar will have the opportunity to:

• Examine and apply the teaching cycle in the school-aged classroom
• Explore methods to collaborate with families and community partners to develop engaging enrichment opportunities
• Discover free and low-cost enrichment ideas for after-school classrooms

Register for this webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6163906544990157570

Click here for more information about SFL’s Early Childhood service offerings, or contact Kamna Seth, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives, at kseth@sflinc.org or 703-860-9200.

The Source for Learning, Inc.’s K12 Team is offering a series of eight, free, virtual, professional learning workshops for K12 educators as part of its Spring 2017 OK2Ask series. 

The Spring 2017 OK2Ask schedule, which kicks off on April 4th, includes sessions on embracing differentiated instruction; learning how to integrate free tech tools from Adobe, Microsoft and Google into your classroom effectively; and deploying student response tools. 

SFL’s OK2Ask virtual workshops, appropriate for teachers of varying technology comfort levels, are held on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM ET. Qualifying participants may earn professional learning certificates. Launched in 2009, OK2Ask has administered more than 235 interactive online workshops; select archives are available at the link below. Registration is now open for SFL’s Spring 2017 OK2Ask Sessions; “seats” are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about OK2Ask:

• Learn More About OK2Ask 
• Register for Spring 2017 OK2Ask Sessions 
• Join the OK2Ask Email List 
• Access 235+ OK2Ask Archived Sessions

Click here for more Information about SFL’s K12 service offerings, or contact Dr. Ruth Okoye, Director of K12 Initiatives, at rokoye@sflinc.org or 703‐860‐9200.

The Source for Learning’s (SFL) Early Childhood Team will exhibit at the Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association (WCCAA) annual conference’s Vendor Day on Thursday, February 23, from 8AM-5PM CT at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

The three–day conference, which attracts administrators, directors, owners, and champions of Wisconsin’s child care community, will give participants an opportunity to reconnect with SFL staff and colleagues, and stay abreast of industry trends. 

Conference attendees are encouraged to stop by SFL’s exhibit for a chance to win NAEYC’s bestseller, Powerful Interactions: How to Connect with Children to Extend Their Learning. 

Register for the Conference: https://wccaa.wildapricot.org/event-2287716

More information on SFL’s Early Childhood Education Initiatives is available at: http://www.sourceforlearning.org/ecei/ or contact Kamna Seth, ECEI Director, at kseth@sflinc.org or 703-860-9200.

The Source for Learning, Inc.’s (SFL) TeachersFirst Team will present at the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) February 12-15, 2017 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  PETE&C is the Pennsylvania affiliate of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

TeachersFirst team members Louise Maine and Melissa Henning will offer three presentations throughout during the three-day conference:

• A Focus on Process and NOT the Product
• Engaging Students with Social Constructivism
• Nifty Fifty Tools for BYOT (1:1) Classrooms

Louise Maine, M.A., is a Punxsutawney area high school science teacher and member of SFL’s TeachersFirst Team. She holds certifications in biology and general science, has more than 20 years of teaching experience in middle and high school settings, and is a Google Certified teacher.

Melissa Henning, M.Ed., is Educational Content Manager for TeachersFirst and has over 17 years of experience as a teacher, gifted educational specialist, and online technology coach. She holds a master’s degree in K12 curriculum development from Pennsylvania State University. 

The Source for Learning, Inc.’s (SFL) early childhood education team will present Di erentiated Instructional Strategies: Meeting the needs of ALL children in early childhood programs at the National Association for the Ed- ucation of Young Children’s (NAEYC) 2016 Annual Conference on Saturday, November 5, 2016, at 12:15-1:45 pm at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Room 518. SFL is a Bronze Sponsor of the conference.

During this interactive session, co-presenters, Kamna Seth, Director, ECE Initiatives, and Gauri Shirali-Deo, Senior Manager, ECE Initiatives, will share how inclusive early childhood settings can e ectively meet the needs of all students, including English language learners, children with developmental delays, and children who need addi- tional enrichment. Participants will leave the session with ready-to-implement strategies for their classrooms and resources to design di erentiated instruction.

Ms. Seth has 20+ years of experience working with young children, in curriculum development, NAEYC Early Childhood Program Accreditation, and training EC educators. She is also a CLASS Pre-K Trainer & Observer and a CDA Professional Development Specialist.

Ms. Shirali-Deo is SFL’s Senior Manager, Early Childhood Initiatives. She has over 20 years of experience work- ing with young children and children with special needs, as well as additional expertise in curriculum develop- ment, individualizing instruction, creating data systems for classroom use, professional development, and autistic spectrum disorders.

About SFL’s Early Childhood Education Division

SFL’s Early Childhood Education Division includes PreschoolFirst--a research-based, online child assessment system that has proven e ective in early childhood classrooms-- as well as a wide range of professional devel- opment and management services for the early childhood community. The Division’s PD webinar series features cutting-edge and trending topics presented in a one-hour format by SFL’s early childhood education team, with guest appearances by ECE industry experts.

For more information on SFL’s Early Childhood Education Division, please contact Kamna Seth, ECEI Director, at kseth@sflinc.org or 703-860-9200.