The entire community has the responsibility to raise children, Maureen Moorehead told about 350 early childhood educators from day care centers, Head Start, and private preschools who attended the 16th annual Best Beginnings conference Tuesday and Wednesday at Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino.
Moorehead, the district coordinator of Special Education, was keynote speaker Wednesday at the conference, which had "It Takes a Village" as its theme.
“Our parents and grandparents had the support of the community,” Moorehead said. “They depended on their village to help raise children. Adults could advise and guide children. Times have changed, it’s now every man for himself.”
She said family and community involvement make a greater impact with partnerships. She added when schools and families work together, children succeed.
“We all have a moral responsibility to our children,” Moorehead said.
Preparing children for kindergarten, through community partnership, is the focus of Best Beginnings.
Organizers set up a resource center, called "The Village," in the Dolphin and Palm rooms. There, early childhood professionals from 16 agencies met with attendees and discussed resources available to families and children and answered questions.
Participants chose four agencies to get information from. Groups of about a dozen people gathered around presenters for 15 minutes and then moved on to the next table.
At the Women Infants and Children table, breast feeding and nutritional needs of pregnant women and children were discussed. The professionals from the Disability Rights Center talked about the legal definition of disabilities and how to advocate for basic rights. Head Start representatives told what agencies serve preschoolers. Bullying and "good touch – bad touch" were the topics discussed at the Women’s Coalition table.
Adelida Castillo, a teacher at Zion Church Academy, said she was glad she got information from Women’s Coalition on how to identify children involved in domestic violence.
Dorsett Bailey, owner of Life Line Montessori School in Frederiksted has attended several of Best Beginnings conferences, and said she really liked the way conference village was set up. She added she got a lot of really good information.
“I was glad I found out about our eligibility to take part in the USDA school lunch program,” Bailey said.
Brocklin Qualls, director of partnerships for the Council for Professional Recognition, was the guest speaker. Qualls, a parent of a child with special needs, spoke about the inclusion of special needs children in all aspects of life from sports to the classroom. He knows firsthand what parents go through when they parent a child with disabilities. He also gave general information on the Child Development Associate national credentialing program for early childhood educators.
Educators and directors from Lutheran Social Services, Head Start parents, Kids Can Do It Daycare, Community Methodist Preschool, Word of Life Preschool, Boys and Girls Club, Free Will Baptist School and more attended the conference.
Best Beginnings was co-sponsored by University of the Virgin Islands VIUCEDD, the Family Connection, Lutheran Social Services of the V.I. Early Head Start Program, Department of Health Infants and Toddlers program Maternal Child Health/CSHCNM, the V.I. Partners for Healthy Communities, Department of Education Division of Special Education, and the Children and Families Council.
