Information and Registration

2024 Conference: “Boundless Beginnings: Liberation in Care for Infants and Toddlers”

The 2024 Infancy Institute will be held in both on-site and online formats. Registration is available for both formats or you can choose the format that works best for you. Both sessions feature a keynote speaker and interactive workshops for professionals who work with infants and toddlers and will focus on curriculum, development, challenging behaviors, working with families, and emotionally responsive practice. Workshops sessions 5, 6, and 7—and the keynote from the online conference—will be recorded and available to participants who are registered for the online conference.

On-Site Conference at Bank Street College:

• Thursday, June 20 from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
• Friday, June 21 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Online Conference:

• June 26 from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM (with an optional networking event from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM)
• June 27 from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Registration:

Individual registration via Bank Street (no fee, coming soon)

Individual registration via Whova (fee applies)

Group registration via Whova (no fee)

2024 Fees:

On-Site Conference Rates (12 CTLE):

• $250 Individual Early Bird Rate ($315 after May 31)
• $215 Group Early Bird Rate per person for a minimum of 5 ($250 per person after May 31)

Online Conference Rates (7 CTLE):

• $220 Individual Early Bird Rate ($295 after May 31)
• $195 Group Early Bird Rate per person for a minimum of 5 ($230 per person after May 31)

On-Site AND Online Conference Rates (19 CTLE):

• $345 Individual Early Bird Rate ($390 after May 31)
• $285 Group Early Bird Rate per person for a minimum of 5 ($335 per person after May 31)

Additional Information:

One (1) graduate credit may be earned by:

• Registering for EDUC 612 “Infancy Institute: Infants, Toddlers, Families: Supporting Their Growth” in the Summer 2 C 2024 term;
• Paying the tuition fee ($1,814);
• Attending the on-site, online, or both sessions of the conference; and
• Completing online coursework after the conference

Participants of the on-site session will receive 12 CTLE hours or 1 CEU if they meet attendance requirements. Participation is required on site at Bank Street College.

Participants of the online session will receive 7 CTLE hours or .7 CEU if they meet attendance requirements by joining live online sessions or watching recorded sessions.

Certificates of participation will be emailed to registered participants who meet attendance criteria approximately 3 weeks after the conference closes.

Questions? Contact Continuing Professional Studies at cps@bankstreet.edu or 212-875-4649.

Schedule for On-Site Conference

Keynote Presentation

“Liberatory Pedagogy in the Early Years: Free to Develop, Free to Learn, Free to Teach”
by Dr. Denisha Jones

Concepts like liberatory, emancipatory, and decolonized pedagogies are often used in the context of working with older students, but rarely are these ideas applied to early childhood educators. In this keynote I outline the need for early childhood education to center liberation and freedom as necessary to foster whole child development. In misguided efforts to prepare children for school, early childhood practices have disrupted optimal development, severed our natural desires to learn, and led to teacher demoralization and demotivation. I offer early childhood liberatory pedagogy as a framework to ensure all children are free to develop and learn and teachers are free to teach.

About Dr. Denisha Jones

Dr. Denisha Jones is the executive director of Defending the Early Years. She is a former kindergarten teacher and preschool director who spent the past 20 years in teacher education. Denisha is an education justice advocate and activist working with various grassroots organizations to dismantle the neoliberal assault on public education. She is a part-time faculty member in the Art of Teaching program at Sarah Lawrence College and the School of Education at Howard University. Since 2017, she served on the steering committee for the national Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Her first co-edited book, Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice, was published in December 2020 by Haymarket Books.

Schedule for Online Conference

Keynote Presentation

“Challenges as Catalysts: A Liberating Journey from Behavior Challenges to Profound Connection”
by Yasmin Dorrian

What if instead of focusing on changing or modifying children’s challenging behaviors we focused on our own internal and external response to these behaviors? What if we didn’t view these behaviors as challenging at all? What if we worked instead to understand why these behaviors were especially challenging for us. 

Rather than merely attempting to alter children’s behaviors, this conversation will challenge participants to introspectively examine their own responses and perceptions. Embrace the notion that these behaviors are not inherently challenging but opportunities for profound understanding.

We will engage in a collective reflection on our attitudes and biases surrounding children’s behavior, seeking to unravel the complexities that shape our responses. By cultivating a nuanced mindset, participants will discover the potential for a substantial shift in responses, empowering children to navigate the world with confidence, agency, and a profound sense of love.

About Yasmin Dorrian

Yasmin Dorrian, MSEd, is the co-director of the Infancy Institute and an advisor and course instructor at Bank Street Graduate School of Education, where she also obtained an MSEd in Infant and Family Development and Early Intervention. Yasmin also owns and operates a consulting company working with parents and early childhood centers in the tri-state area. Her work focuses on meeting her students and clients where they are and guiding them to find their own answers through self-reflection and authentic, candid dialogue. One of Yasmin’s favorite ways to share information and empower caregivers is through workshops using a mix of simple visuals, interactive questions, and curated resources. Yasmin draws on a wide range of experiences to inform her practice; she has worked as a teacher, director, and consultant in a number of early childhood settings across the United States and abroad. Her undergraduate degree is from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, where she focused on Child Development and cultivated her passion at the renowned Early Childhood Center.