In-depth masterclasses announced for #NCFL24 Learn more

NCFL24’s lineup of featured sessions announced

Get ready for a thought-provoking lineup of featured sessions at this year’s Families Learning Conference, to be held November 18-20! We’ve recruited presenters to speak on a broad variety of topics sure to spark insights and new ways of thinking in the family learning space. From community book gardens, to cutting-edge research on childhood poverty, to a panel of the nation’s leading funders in education, these carefully curated sessions promise to be highlights of our event.

Monday, Nov. 18

Creating Equitable and Thriving Communities Through Family Learning Systems
In March 2023, NCFL launched a bold new vision to coordinate and align family learning systems built with and for families in sixty communities by 2030. This session will highlight the early work of NCFL’s family learning communities. Our panelists will discuss how they collaborate with community partners and NCFL to provide family engagement, family literacy, and family leadership systems of support that lead to more equitable outcomes for families. Successes and lessons learned will be shared, and participants will walk away with ideas for engaging families and the institutions and organizations that serve them in designing family learning systems in their communities.

Presented by:

ALL IN: Generating Access to Adult Literacy Skills
Literacy is critical to greater equity for adults and families. It enables the power to communicate, access resources and opportunities, and make informed decisions about health, children’s education, and civic engagement, for example. Join leaders from the Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network to glean insights from new market research to understand the diverse lived experiences and perspectives of adults who struggle with literacy, generating innovative, cross-sector solutions.

Presented by:
Sarah Cacicio, Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN), Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy

A Conversation With Education Funders: Thoughts on Multigenerational Education, Family Engagement, and Collective Impact
Join Grantmakers for Education along with local, regional, and national funders to hear philanthropic insights on current and future investment trends and focus areas in multigenerational education and family engagement in education. Participants will share their lenses on these subjects based upon their distinctive positions in this funding space. They will also discuss how collective impact and innovation are considered within these education topics. This is a great opportunity for conference attendees to hear diverse funder perspectives as they navigate and respond to old, new, and changing issues within the U.S. education landscape.

Panelists:

Family Math: Building Parent and Caregiver Confidence and Math Positivity to Support Early Math Learning
Uncover the joy of math in everyday experiences at this engaging session presented by PBS SoCal and KET Education. Join us as we introduce Family Math, a bilingual, multiplatform family engagement program that makes math learning at home fun and accessible. We will share practical tools and resources, including parent workshops, hands-on activities, and original videos co-designed with families to support children’s math education at home. In addition, KET Education will showcase its success in integrating Family Math into its outreach efforts as a program grantee.

Presented by:

Tuesday, Nov. 19

Community Book Gardens: Fertile Soil for Community-Based Family Literacy
What can we do for families living in a book desert? Grow a Community Book Garden. This session will explore practical strategies for curating, creating, and sharing picture books that reflect the unique cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the families you serve. The goal is to establish vibrant, community-driven spaces where families can access relevant picture books and actively participate in the book system. This approach empowers families to grow lifelong readers, build a sense of belonging, and strengthen social ties.

Presented by:
Mike McGuffee, Unite for Literacy

Shared Reading: A Strategy to Boost MATH Learning!
We all know shared reading between children and adults fosters language and literacy outcomes. But did you know it can also promote young children’s math skills? In this interactive session, participants will: (1) gain knowledge about why and how children learn math during shared reading, (2) learn about and practice strategies for fostering math talk during shared reading, and (3) leave with resources and a tailored action plan for making math a part of their future storytime repertoire.

Presented by:

PNC EdTalk – Outdoor Play as a Vehicle for Learning and Development
The PNC Foundation’s recent 2024 commitment to supporting learning opportunities through outdoor play promotes nature-based experiences in communities to enhance positive early childhood development. PNC Foundation Chair and President Sally McCrady facilitates an engaging conversation with Louisville-based nonprofits that emphasize and develop innovations in outdoor, play-based learning in community and early childhood settings. Participants will share why they focus on outdoor education in early childhood, their successes in this space, lessons learned and new challenges on the horizon that they seek to address. Conference attendees will learn about the science between outdoor, play-based education, how organizations are implementing strategies in their local community, and ways in which to integrate new outdoor learning experiences into existing initiatives.

Panelists:

This is only a sample of the more than 90 presentations slated for the 2024 Families Learning Conference. Review the schedule to see all the topics covered at conference.familieslearning.org/schedule. And don’t forget to secure your spot!

Register now