In This Together: Film Screening & Conversation featuring No Small Matter

Please join the Deal Center for Language and Literacy, the Georgia Department of Education, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, and the Get Georgia Reading Campaign for a free virtual film screening of “No Small Matter,” a talk by Early Education Specialist featured in the film, Rachel Giannini, and a panel discussion with Georgia’s leaders in early education.

2020 is a challenging year, but families, caregivers, and educators are all In This Together, working collaboratively to ensure young children get the best experiences they can. Since so much teaching and learning is happening in new environments, parents and educators both can learn from and support one another. After all, the first five years are critical to a child’s healthy development.

Rachel Giannini and a panel of Georgia’s early childhood leaders, will share strategies, resources, and opportunities that can help us all care for our youngest learners this year. We will learn from one another, ask questions during the Q&A, and leave inspired to take action on behalf of our smallest Georgians.

View the Film in Advance:

Soon after you sign up for In This Together, you will receive a link to view the documentary film “No Small Matter,” which you will be able to view any time you choose between October 4th – October 6th. You will also be provided with a link to our live event featuring a keynote address from Rachel, a panel discussion from local leaders, and audience Q&A from 5:30PM – 7:00PM on October 5, 2020.

Click here to register.

Panelists:

Nicole Wilson Infant-Toddler Manager, Georgia Department of Early Care & Learning (DECAL)

Nicole Wilson is the Infant-Toddler Manager for the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL). She manages a team of Infant Toddler Specialists who provide technical assistance and training to child care providers across the state, which includes overseeing Project LITTLE (Lifting Infants and Toddlers through Language-rich Environments.) Prior to joining DECAL, she served as the Early Intervention Coordinator for the Babies Can’t Wait program in Clayton County, GA, among other positions in early intervention.

Johnathon Hines 2019 Georgia Pre-K Teacher of the Year, DeKalb County Schools

Mr. Hines recently made history as the first African- American male to be named the 2019-2020 Public School Pre-K Teacher of the year for the entire State of Georgia. He is so honored to be chosen for this recognition and plans to use this platform to inspire other men to teach on the elementary level, where there are very few males in the ranks. In his spare time, Mr. Hines enjoys spending time with his daughter, listening to music, traveling, coaching football and basketball, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Meghan Welch, Ph.D. Program Specialist, Literacy for Georgia (L4GA) Georgia Department of Education

Meghan Welch is a Program Specialist focusing on literacy and digital integration in the Curriculum and Instruction division at the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE). She has been on the Literacy for Learning, Living, and Leading (L4GA) Grant team at GaDOE since 2018. She received her Ph.D. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Georgia State University in 2015, and her research focus was digital literacies in the Pre-K classroom. She also taught Pre-K in Chicago while studying for an MS in Child Development from Erikson Institute. She and her husband have four boys and live in Decatur, GA.

 

This event is brought to you by a partnership of the Deal Center for Language and Literacy, the Georgia Department of EducationGEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, and the Get Georgia Reading Campaign. We can’t wait to see you!

 

About the Film:

No Small Matter is the first feature documentary to explore the most overlooked, underestimated, and powerful force for good in America today: early childhood education. Through poignant stories and surprising humor, the film lays out the overwhelming evidence for the importance of the first five years, and reveals how our failure to act on that evidence has resulted in an everyday crisis for American families, and a slow-motion catastrophe for the country.

Click here to watch the official trailer. 

Visit: www.nosmallmatter.com 

 

 

Click here to watch the official trailer. 

Visit: www.nosmallmatter.com