The 15th NAREA Winter Conference

Transforming Early Childhood Education: What Do We Know About Learning?

We are pleased to welcome you to the 15^th NAREA Winter Conference: “Transforming Early Childhood Education: What Do We Know About Learning?” We know that many of you are new teachers, many are working in new environments, and some of you may be returning to a conference after some time away. Through the years, NAREA has brought professional development opportunities to over 250,000 educators, families, advocates, policymakers, and community members across North America. Conferences, initiatives, and exhibits focus on a variety of topics. So now, NAREA and Reggio Children have partnered to bring you a conference that aims to layer our knowledge and inspire dialogue.

Like you, we stand with children, families, and educators in our mutual efforts to be seen and valued as citizens with agency and intelligence, especially in these times of uncertainty. We enthusiastically join Reggio Emilia in ever-evolving research and action for excellence in education.

We applaud your foresight in recognizing the benefit of adult learning to your school and to your own personal growth. By joining with others in professional formation and embracing a virtual way of being together, you demonstrate your dedication to the children and families that share your daily life. It is with great respect and understanding that we encourage you as you invest in an approach that values the exchange of ideas, ongoing study, research, innovation, and collaboration.

We welcome our colleagues Annalisa Rabotti, Romina D’Antonio, Samanta Gaspari, and interpreters Jane McCall and Alessandro John Prandi from Reggio Emilia, Italy, with great pleasure and gratitude. Through their sharing and exchange, we will continue to construct strong interpretations of the values, principles, and experiences of the municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia. We know we speak for all of us in thanking the community of Reggio Emilia, including Istituzione, Reggio Children, and the Reggio Children – Loris Malaguzzi Foundation, for all they are doing to move education to a position of priority globally.

Please enjoy this time of thinking together about the value, the need, and the creation of innovative, relational, and knowledge-building environments for young children.

March 7–8, 2024 | Livestream