Symposium spotlights early child education champions

Many can trace a love of learning back to an early education teacher who guided them to a path of lifelong curiosity.

It can be challenging to imagine those educators removed from the classroom in our memories. But on Sept. 22 at The Inn at Virginia Tech, 126 child care professionals in the New River Valley had the opportunity to leave their early care and education programs for a day to connect and learn with their peers.

The Igniting Connections Symposium, led by Virginia Tech, gives early education experts a day of free professional development. It is a part of the university’s ongoing strategy with local stakeholders to support early childhood education professionals, who provide an essential service for Virginia Tech families but routinely struggle with staffing shortages and low starting salaries. The field has only grown more challenging since the COVID-19 pandemic for professionals and families alike.

Virginia Tech is working to change that.

Since the launch of its early childhood education Initiative, the university has built a repository of caregiving resources, partnered with three new child care programs in the New River Valley area and began offering office hours and workshops to assist Virginia Tech families looking for child care options.

Educators are similarly searching for resources, which the Igniting Connections Symposium seeks to provide.

“True quality early care and education isn’t possible without educators having access to continued professional development opportunities. By supporting New River Valley educators with this free symposium, we’re helping to ensure local programs can continue supporting our employees and students by providing quality early care and education to their growing families,” said Kim Thomason, program manager for the initiative.

“It’s also a way of elevating the profession,” said the initiative’s advisory member, Karen Gallagher, who is also the director of Virginia Tech’s Child Development Center for Learning and Research. “Providing this collaborative atmosphere with exhibits and knowledgeable keynote speakers creates a professional learning network for educators.”

In the symposium’s opening remarks, educators heard from state and local leaders working to secure more resources for early childhood care professionals and families as support from the American Rescue Plan ended that month.

“Early childhood educators are so critical to providing a solid foundation for Virginia’s children, and the child care industry plays a critical role in our country’s economy,” said Sen. Tim Kaine in a video address to the room.

Representatives from the Virginia Department of Education and Carilion Clinic spoke on the ripple effect that quality child care can have on a community as parents are given the flexibility to go to work, to school, or pursue employment.

Creating pathways to affordable child care, therefore ,needs community-based solutions, which Virginia Tech and its partners are working to provide as demand for childhood education and care from birth to 5 years old reaches a historical high.

Jess Wirgau, CEO of the Community Foundation of the New River Valley, outlined some of the resources being created for teachers and families alike. Accomplishments in the last year include virtual training on behavioral and mental health and community outreach projects such as last November’s Book Walk at the Duck Pond.

Before entering a full day of professional development sessions – on topics ranging from utilizing music in classrooms to trauma-informed care – symposium attendees heard from one more crucial group of speakers: peers and families from the New River Valley.

The Community Foundation’s First Steps Early Childhood Champion Awards celebrates teachers and teams who have been nominated by members of their community as local leaders making waves in the profession.

This year, attendees heard nominations for 14 educators. All were recognized, while three honorees, a runner-up, and an award winner were named and received cash prizes.

Angie Muncy, owner and director of Milestones Childcare in Floyd, was named the 2023 Early Childhood Campion of the Year. Unable to attend the event in person, she was surprised with the award at her child care center.  

“Milestones Childcare is a warm and nurturing environment where all children feel safe and loved, and this is due to the leadership of Angie Muncy,” said one parent, Jessica Cromer, in her video nomination. “She’s a gem and has made a positive difference in the life of my son and so many children in Floyd County.”

Testimonies about the runner-up, honorees, and other nominees from this year can be found on the Community Foundation’s awards webpage.

While the ceremony highlights leading educators in the community, Wirgau made it clear that the rigor asked of all childcare professionals in their day to day is deserving of recognition, saying, “Every childhood educator is an early childhood champion.”