November 2021 – Welcome to the November edition of the Inside Erikson newsletter!
The leaves are falling, the air is cooling, and whether we like it or not, fall is here!
October was a busy month at Erikson as we celebrated LGBTQ+ Pride and brought awareness to National Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, Cybersecurity Awareness Month and National Bullying Prevention Month. President Mariana Souto-Manning also announced that Erikson Institute will now honor Indigenous Peoples Day as a paid holiday in her October Mission Moment communication.
Erikson faculty and staff were also active this past month presenting at various conferences, including Zero to Three, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAYEC).
Keep reading to learn more about our latest announcements and events and thank you for being a committed member of the Erikson community!
Along with our hardworking Enrollment team, we can all be ambassadors for Erikson. Please share this information widely within your networks:
Remember, you can win prizes for referring people who complete an application. Learn more about our staff and student referral program here.
Please spread the word on this opportunity too: Erikson Institute’s TEC Center is now offering a new IMLS-funded professional development program, Media Literacy in Early Childhood for Youth Library Staff who work with young children birth through age 8 and families, or who supervise those staff. Recruitment is open for this four-month professional development series, in which participants will spend approximately 10 to 12 hours total in entirely online synchronous and asynchronous learning. Cohorts will be made up of 20-25 youth library staff from across the U.S. All participants will receive a certificate and a $400 honorarium for their library to compensate for their time.
Learn more about the program and apply today at here.
Check out our new blog article about the Illinois Risk and Reach Report. Printed copies of the report were delivered to the desks of all 177 Illinois legislators. We also encourage all faculty, staff and students to visit the Risk and Reach webpage to explore this easy-to-use data tool. A limited number of print copies are available, please email us.
Mariana Souto-Manning invites the Erikson faculty and staff to attend a virtual conversation hosted by the Centre for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development on Wednesday, November 10 from 4-5 p.m. EST (3-4 p.m. CT). The conversation, led by Dr. Tia C. Madkins, (Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Austin) is titled “Beyond the ‘Week’ on Diversity: Expanding Teacher Candidates’ Justice-Oriented Approaches.” This aligns well with Erikson’s DEIBJ goals and commitment to being an anti-racist organization. To join the Zoom, call use meeting ID 98116467111. Centre for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development Session
Join the entire Erikson community on December 9 at 12pm CT for a virtual event celebrating our history and imagining the future of the field. We’ll preview the history podcast that Erikson’s developing with Barbara Bowman and WBEZ’s Natalie Moore and hear a keynote address from Mariana about her vision of justice in the field of early care and education. Visit erikson.edu/podcast to learn more.
Andria Goss and Amanda Moreno were interviewed by Susie An of WBEZ and featured in this article on how the pandemic has impacted children’s social skills.
Aracelis Sanchez co-authored an article with Moises Orozco Villicaña, Ph.D for NAGAP Perspectives. The article titled “Reversing the Stymieing Impact of COVID on Efforts to Diversify Graduate Programs” uses data from Dominican University and University of Illinois to show how COVID has stifled enrollment and diversity efforts across graduate programs amid the ongoing pandemic. It will be published early November 2021.
Kasia Kaim-Goncalves, (Class of ’22) a student in Erikson’s Online MSECE program, Leadership and Advocacy concentration, was featured in this Quality Stars NY article on the impact of COVID-19 on her group family childcare program.
Donna Johnson, Assistant Director, Early Math Collaborative, discussed how parents can help kids in math — without worksheets– in this Chalkbeat article.
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Recognized for our groundbreaking work in the field of early childhood, Erikson specializes in preparing child development, education, and social work leaders to improve the lives of young children, families, and their communities. For more information on our degree and certificate programs, visit our website or email our admissions team.
As we adapt to these unexpected and challenging times due to COVID-19, Erikson’s Center for Children and Families is offering virtual mental health services to parents, caregivers, and children, as well as crisis counseling and consultation to support first responders and early childcare providers and teachers. Services can be provided in both English and Spanish, and are available to families regardless of their ability to pay.
We have also re-opened our River North clinic for services that require in-person assessments, including Early Intervention Medical and Neurodevelopmental Diagnostic Evaluations.
Erikson’s Policy and Leadership department engages leaders in government, business, and nonprofit sectors to inform effective policies that benefit children and families. They offer unique programming that equips decision-makers and influencers with the resources, skills, and deep knowledge about early childhood development that will support their efforts to make lasting change. Learn more about our Policy and Leadership.
The first 1,100 days of life set the stage for a child’s long-term physical and emotional health, socioeconomic trajectory, life expectancy, happiness, and well-being. Can we count on you to make a gift to strengthen our ability to serve children and families, as well as our students, faculty, and staff, during this time? Your support for Erikson prepares the heroes in young children’s lives—teachers, social workers, civic leaders, parents and caregivers—to get them safely through this crisis so they can soar into promising futures. Please donate here.
Learn more about Erikson’s Early Math Collaborative and TEC Center.
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Embark on your early childhood graduate program path at Erikson Institute and start changing lives.
