The Partnership for Early Education Research (PEER) is pleased to announce that its first Early Childhood Education Conference will take place on Tuesday, May 24, 2016 and feature a keynote address by Dr. Michael López, a leader in policy-relevant, early childhood research with an emphasis on low-income populations and culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Currently a Principal Associate at Abt Associates, Dr. López is Co-Principal Investigator for the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families, a national research center that conducts and disseminates research to help inform programs and policies of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), Administration for Children & Families (ACF) that support Hispanic children and families. Dr. López is also Principal Investigator for the Reducing Early Childhood Obesity (RECO) Evaluation, Co-Principal Investigator for the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Study, and Co-Principal Investigator for The Market for Quality Child Care: Supply, Demand and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). Before joining Abt, Dr. López was Executive Director of the National Center for Latino Child & Family Research and previously, Dr. López directed the Child Outcomes Research and Evaluation team in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, where he developed and directed large-scale, national evaluation studies, including the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (HS FACES) and the National Head Start Impact Study (HSIS), the largest, nationally-representative, randomized study examining the impact of Head Start on children’s school readiness. Dr. López completed his undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and his graduate degrees in child clinical psychology at Michigan State University.
PEER’s Early Childhood Education Conference will be held in Bridgeport, CT. The conference will convene researchers and practitioners to discuss early childhood research and policy, as well as sharing information about the development and future research aims of PEER. This event is open to:
- early childhood educators and administrators from school-based, center-based and home-based programs;
- early childhood researchers;
- early childhood advocates from foundations and community, health, and policy organizations; and
- higher education stakeholders, including representatives from teacher preparation programs.
While individuals from the communities of Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford are especially encouraged to attend, participants from all over Connecticut are welcome. In addition to the keynote address by Dr. López, the conference will feature a panel presentation and concurrent sessions focused on early childhood education in the region. Finally, PEER will present its long-term research agenda, which has been developed collaboratively with regional early childhood education stakeholders. Registration for the conference will open in March.