Thursday, June 6 – Friday, June 7, 2019
LPA Irvine Studio, California
Building for Better Minds
An interactive event focused on new ideas to engage and stimulate young learners.
The developmental experience of early childhood is one of active engagement and assertiveness as children explore their world and their ability to impact it. Join us as leading industry experts gather to discuss the unique challenges of developing young learners. This workshop will examine early childhood learning through the lens of the built environment, as participants consider the ways in which school design can support both developmental and academic goals.
Speakers will offer insights from the fields of youth development, mind brain education and play-based learning. Practitioner and industry leaders will connect theory to on-the-ground practice, with activities designed to leverage the collective knowledge of participants to consider design solutions. The event will include a tour of a groundbreaking pK-12 campus with innovative early childhood learning environments to offer inspiration for design and ideas for future schools.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the essential needs of early childhood from a youth development and brain-based perspective.
- Explore connections between the needs of early childhood and the design features of a child-centered learning environment.
- Examine the implications for the design process, including stakeholder outreach involving young children, families, and the community.
- Learn about design applications to create spaces for future projects that promote the goals of early childhood development.
Agenda
Moderators
Kate Mraw
Dr. Julie Z. Cramer
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Workshop Facilitation
Jomay Liao
Emily Koch
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Bios
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Linda Hunter, MA, MFT
Director with Pretend City Children's Museum
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Linda earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Development and Master's Degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Therapy from the prestigious Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena. Linda has over 40 years of experience working with children and families in the fields of early childhood education, family therapy and children's museums.
Career Highlights include:
Designing, creating developmentally appropriate programs for, and managing corporate childcare centers for such major companies as Apple Computer, Union Bank, FHP, and PG&E.
Developing a curriculum for Regional Center to address the unique parenting challenges that face parents of children with special needs.
Developing and directing a wide range of therapeutic programs for adults and children.
Acting as the Child Development Consultant for the Family Rooms at The Getty Center and The Getty Villa. In that capacity, Linda has been instrumental in helping the institution develop and design educational spaces for children and their families.
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Dr. Julie Z. Cramer
Vice President Wayfind Education
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Dr. Julie Zoellin Cramer is the founder and vice-president of Wayfind
Education. As an education research consultant. She is dedicated to
the development of deeper learning environments to help all
students find their place of impact in the world. Dr. Cramer earned a
PhD and MA in K-12 public/private school leadership from the
School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of
San Diego. Her dissertation focused on stakeholder empowerment
in the K-12 system and was nominated for the William P. Foster
Outstanding Dissertation Award.
Dr. Cramer is an experienced research administrator and was the
founding Deputy Director for the Institute for Entrepreneurship in
Education (IEE). As the senior research associate for the IEE's
Center for Education Policy and Law, her work focused on K-16
education policy as well as the role of innovative pedagogies in both
new school development and school redesign. Launching the IEE's
Learning Space Design Project, she was involved in the design of e3
Civic High, a public charter school on the 6th and 7th floor of the
new San Diego Central Library. The school has been nationally
recognized for its co-location strategy and intentional alignment of
pedagogy and learning spaces.
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Dr. Robert Dillon
Author of The Space: A Guide for Educators
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Dr. Robert Dillon is an author, speaker, educator, and lifelong learner.
His twenty plus years in education has seen him serve kids and
families as a teacher, principal, technology director, and innovation
leader. His primary focus is working to bring synergy to instructional
design, technology infusion, and learning space design. He believes
that in this synergy is the educational gold that students need to be
successful citizens in a modern world. He works through an equity
lens and looks to bring excellence to every classroom. For this work,
he has been honored by Common Sense Media, The Center for
Green Schools, the dSchool at Stanford University, the Buck Institute
for Education, and Future Ready Schools. Dr. Dillon has had the
opportunity to work with teachers and leaders throughout the
country, and he continues to speak at local, regional, and national
conferences. Dr. Dillon is the co-founder of ConnectED Learning, a
Saint Louis non-profit dedicated to affordable, quality professional
learning for teachers. He is the author of five books. He is supported
in his work by his wife and two amazing daughters.
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David A Stubbs II
Designer of Shift+ and Author of P.B. Disrupts School
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David has been recognized as one of the most important industry
leaders in establishing solutions for the next generation of
educational environments. His company, Cultural Shift has been the
honored recipient of the A4LE Industry Partner Award as well as the
EdSpaces/llDA Excellence in Innovation Award in his partnership
with VS America with the creation of the line of furniture known as
Shift+.
David supports private and public schools, colleges and universities
as well as architectural firms by assisting them in programming,
professional development as well as design conversations
surrounding the disruptive approach to facility design. This
approach emphasizes the understanding that this bottom up
approach enables opportunities to bridge disconnects that exist
within the traditional approaches to facility design.
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Dr. Rigo Rodriguez
Vice President, Board of Education, SAUSD
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Dr. Rodriguez has been an active Santa Ana community member for
over 20 years and was elected as a Governing Board Member of the
Santa Ana Unified School District in November 2016. He is now a
member of the Board of Directors for the Delhi Center, and has also
served on the City of Santa Ana's Community Redevelopment and
Housing Commission and Planning Commission.
Dr. Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of Latina/o Public Policy in
the Department of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at California
State University, Long Beach. He teaches courses on Latina/o
immigration and integration, Latina/o wealth and poverty, and
Latina/o social policy and community development. A nationally
recognized expert in community planning, action research, and
grassroots leadership development.
Dr. Rodriguez graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Comparative
Literature and Spanish Literature from the University of California,
Irvine. He went on to earn his Master's Degree in Urban and
Regional Planning from the University of California, Irvine, and his
Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Southern California.
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Dr. Alfonso Jimenez
Deputy Superintendent, Educational Services SAUSD
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The Board of Education recently appointed Alfonso Jimenez,
Ed.D. as Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services. He
graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Science from California
Statue University, Long Beach. He went on to earn his Master's
Degree in Administration from Pepperdine University along with his
Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Administration from the
University of Southern California.
Dr. Jimenez has over 21 years of experience in K-12 education. He
began his educational career as an Elementary Teacher for Long
Beach Unified School District; then became Assistant Principal for
Bellflower Unified School District; K-12 Principal for Fullerton School
District; Director of Curriculum & Instruction for Anaheim City
School District; and Director of Elementary Education K-8/Director
of Instructional Services K-12 for Lynwood Unified School District. In
2016, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Superintendent,
Teaching and Learning for SAUSD.
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Kathie Kanavel
Assistant Superintendent,
Educational Services, SCUSD
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Aaron Jetzer
Principal at Eastwood Elementary School, IUSD
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Jetzer has 16 years of education experience and is recognized as an
outstanding leader in IUSD. He was named the Principal at
Eastwood Elementary school for its 2017 opening. Before leading
Eastwood Elementary, he served as Principal of Culverdale
Elementary, where for six years he has developed an excellent
reputation as a site leader who works collaboratively with students,
staff, and the parent community. Innovation and continuous
improvement were and still are the hallmarks of Mr. Jetzer's
leadership, including the piloting of math and reading programs at
Culverdale before they became standardized across the District.
Mr. Jetzer focuses on developing an environment that personalizes
learning to ensure that all students develop the knowledge, skills
and abilities to connect to the world around them. He is
experienced at working with diverse student populations, has high
expectations for academic achievement, and offers a broad range of
extracurricular programs.
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Miakje Kamstra
Principal at Central Park Elementary School, SCUSD
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Miakje Kamstra is the Principle at Central Park Elementary in Santa
Clara, California. She is in her 28th year as an educator. Kamstra
graduated with a Bachelor's in Psychology along with a teaching
credential from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She went on
to receive her Masters and Administrative credential in Educational
Leadership from San Jose State, California.
Over the years she has held numerous educational positions. Some
of these include: teacher (K-5), literacy specialist, professional
developer, Literacy Coordinator for the Santa Cruz County Office of
Education, and Director of Mentor Development for the New
Teacher Center at UCSC. In 2016, Team Chameleon opened Central
Park Elementary. In 2018, Kamstra was honored by the Santa Clara
Unified School District as Administrator of the Year.
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Ed Hildago
Chief Innovation & Engagement Officer, Cajon Valley USD
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Ed Hidalgo is the Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer for the
Cajon Valley Union School District. His focus is the design and
implementation of a research-based and integrated model of career
development for every child in every grade across the 27 school and
17,000 student district to prepare every child for the future world of
work.
Why Should We Start Talking to Kids about Careers in Kindergarten?
The Cajon Valley Union School District is providing career
exploration starting in kindergarten classrooms and is leading this
effort in the highest poverty school district in San Diego, CA. The
district is designing and integrating a systemic, research based,
career development framework across 27 schools, 17,000 students
and 10 partnering districts to prepare all students for a path to
gainful employment.
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