Upcoming events
May Conference "Celebrating YOU: Educators Making Connections"
Join NVAEYC and NVCC for our annual May Event for early childhood educators. This year we will be celebrating YOU - the Educators! We want YOU to come and "fill YOUR buckets" - spend some time with educators like YOU, enjoy some yummy food, listen to speakers who care about YOU and what YOU do every day! We will have crafts, music, meditation, and lots of JOY!
A Professional Development Certificate for 4 hours will be provided. This is a FREE Event!!
Conference Agenda:
8:15 am - Doors open - Registration, Light Breakfast, Vendors
9:00 - 11:00 am - Opening Remarks
Speaker: Dr. Christine Pegorraro Schull
Key Note: Joshua Metz, LCSW
11:00-11:30 - Break, Vendors, Networking
11:30-12:00 - NVAEYC 50th Anniversary Celebration!
12:00 - 1:00 - Break out Birthday Bash Sessions to celebrate YOU!!
Beginning Chair Yoga
Create a Vision Board
Line Dancing
Craft station
Vendors
Live DJ music
NVAEYC’s 50th Anniversary Treats
The event’s Platinum Sponsor: LIIF - Low Income Investment Fund - www.liifund.org
Speakers:
Dr. Christine Pegorraro Schull
Christine Pegorraro Schull, PhD is a Professor of Early Childhood Development at Northern Virginia Community College. Curricular areas of expertise include working with families, policy issues affecting children and families, and developing inclusive professional development pathways for early childhood educators. Christine is coauthor of two free online textbooks: Early Childhood Literacy: Engaging and Empowering Emergent Readers and Writers, Birth – Age 5 (2021) and From Compliance to Co-Regulation: Revisioning Guidance and Behavior Management to Support Children’s Social and Emotional Development within Classroom Communities (2025).
Joshua Metz, LCSW
Joshua Metz is a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in working with families of young children. Most recently, Mr. Metz worked at Positive Development as the mental health lead in a transdisciplinary practice serving young children with autism and related differences in development. From 2020-2022, Mr. Metz was at Ashburn Psychological and Psychiatric Services providing family-based developmentally informed therapy for young children. From 2017-2020, Mr. Metz was the Head of School at The Auburn School (Fairfax Campus), a private k-12 school providing a dynamic educational program for intellectually curious students with challenges in the areas of communication, socialization, pragmatic language, and organization. Prior to joining The Auburn School in June 2017, Mr. Metz spent ten years as a licensed clinical social worker and then Program Director of Neurodevelopmental Center for Early Intervention at Family Compass in Reston VA, providing therapy and early intervention to young children with pervasive developmental and autism spectrum challenges and their families.
Mr. Metz received a Master of Social Work degree from the National Catholic School of Social Service, Catholic University of America, concentrating his studies on infant and early childhood development. Mr. Metz is a 2008 graduate of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (LEND) Fellowship program located at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In 2012, Mr. Metz joined the faculty of the National Catholic School of Social Service, serving as a Field Instructor for the Foundation Year Field Education & Integrative Seminar. In 2019 Mr. Metz received certification in Traumatic Stress Studies with the Trauma Center/Trauma Research Foundation. Mr. Metz is currently enrolled at Fielding Graduate University, working towards a Ph.D. in Infant & Early Childhood Development.
"Make A Circle" Film Screening
MAKE A CIRCLE captures the magic early educators create in the classroom, the struggles they endure at home, and their tireless activism for their profession. The result is a promising blueprint for fixing our broken child care system.
Director's Chat - February 2025
Let’s get together to talk about Visitor Policies. Do you have one in place? Are you beginning to think you might need to craft a new one to be responsive to current or possible challenges? Let’s share our ideas to be prepared.
Exploring Meaningful Family Engagement
This three-part series will take a comprehensive look at the facilitation of meaningful family engagement. We will meet on 3 different evenings from 7-8 pm via zoom. (Link will be emailed upon registration).
Session 1: Foundations of Family Engagement in ECE settings
Session 2: Cultivating Relationships with Diverse Families
Session 3: A Preschool’s Experience Fostering Family Engagements
November Director's Chat
Let’s get together to talk about enrollment! What trends have you been seeing? What are your needs for next year? Bring your challenges and successes. Get ready to plan your enrollment strategy 2025.
NVAEYC Game Night
Join NVAEYC and friends for our second game night! Come and take the evening off, meet new people, get competitive and enjoy the evening!
October's Director's Chat
Sarah Vejvoda and Hillary Gile, Pedagogical Team at ECLC JCCNV Fairfax and NVAEYC Advocacy Chairs, will kickstart a conversation about collaboration in early childhood education and care. Join us for an uplifting break and some new ideas for your setting!
NVAEYC Fall Conference
Join NVAEYC at our Fall Conference: Back to Basics: Setting up for a Successful Year!
Doors open at 7:45am, Conference begins at 8:30 am
We will be joined by Dr Bweikia Steen, GMU professor, author for our keynote speaker. Following, we will have 2 break out sessions, vendor tables, Poster sessions and yummy treats!
Our breakout sessions will include topics such as:
*Infant/Toddler
*Classroom Management
*Director's Chat
*Preschool Age Curriculum Ideas
*Special Education
*And more!!!
Network with fellow educators and Earn 4.5 Professional Development Hours!
Take a Hike with NVAEYC
Come and join other educators as we enjoy some self care and the great outdoors! Saturday September 28th, 9am at Mason Neck State Park.
Director's Chat - September 2024
Join special guest Heather Walter, EdD., boy mom, professor, and private school board chair, who will guide our conversation about crafting our well-being and goal-setting strategy for a successful new school year.
September Board Meeting: Main Street Alliance
Please join us for our September Board meeting where we will be joined by Adrian Maldonado, Jr., Senior Campaigns Strategist with Main Street Alliance. MSA champions the voices of small business owners to create a thriving economy. They cultivate a network of entrepreneurs, connecting them with resources to build sustainable enterprises. Their membership drives state and federal policymaking that gives a fair shot to small businesses and strengthens communities nationwide. The early care and education field is largely comprised of small businesses and provides child care for those operating small businesses and those employed by small businesses. Join NVAEYC to learn more about Adrian, the work being done by MSA and their membership, and how you can get involved.
Zoom Link
Early Childhood Education Conference: Building a Pipeline of Male Educators
ECE Conference: Building a Pipeline of Male Early Childhood Educators
June Conversations & Connections
Join other educators for a conversation surrounding relevant topiocs to our field. Each meeting is held via zoom and is a different topic.
Spring Conference & Annual Meeting
Join NVAEYC and NVCC at our FREE Spring Conference and Annual Meeting! We will dive into the world of PLAY and discover it’s importance in the early childhood world!
Location: Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus, room 118 AFA
Director’s Chat
Sheryl Fahey will be joining us for our next Director's Chat. She is looking forward to facilitating a conversation about how administrators and staff can support the Child Find process. Her plan is to guide the discussion by asking open-ended questions including helping folks to consider a systems perspective. Sheryl has deep experience related to Child Find and facilitation.
Conversations & Connections
Join us for “Conversations and Connections,” a monthly online Meetup for education enthusiasts! Engage in meaningful conversations and network with like-minded individuals interested in the latest trends and topics in early childhood education.
