Momentum’s Early Head Start Shares Knowledge on National Stage

We had the honor of both attending and presenting at the “Family Engagement and Cultural Effectiveness Conference” held in Kailua Kona, Hawaii earlier this month. Six Momentum team members, including our Board Chair Dr. JJ Levenstein, traveled to present a workshop entitled “Enhancing Your Program’s Inclusive Practices.”

With over 500 providers attending, we were thrilled to present our approaches and launch our consultation services while also learning from the experiences of other program administrators who are working hard for their own communities.

Our team spoke about innovative concepts of universal design in curriculum and creating an environment that supports diverse learning approaches and sensory processing. This included a resource unique to our team — Board Chair, Dr. JJ Levenstein provided guidance on ways to navigate diagnoses and advocate with doctors and the medical community on behalf of families. Dr. Levenstein provided much-needed encouragement and empowerment to our audience of providers and parents, while establishing connections to other programs that will continue far beyond our conference experience.

Fellowship, idea sharing, and connections were plentiful as we met colleagues and worked together to address challenges faced by families and providers around the country. We are also grateful have to spend time with leaders from the Office of Head Start, who continue to guide our understanding of new opportunities for federal funding that may expand the impact of our current services and pave the way for new ones. It was an extraordinary honor to represent Momentum, as well as the families and children of our community.