A look back at a year of professional learning
Editor’s Note: This week, NCFL Director of Professional Learning, Andrea Brown, shares some of the highlights of NCFL’s 2024 national webinar series.
NCFL’s national webinar series serves as a platform for sharing best practices, innovative strategies, and inspiring stories that empower families and educators across the country. By bringing together experts, practitioners, and parenting adults, we are sparking important conversations. Enabling these kinds of learning opportunities is a vital part of NCFL’s mission to eradicate poverty through education solutions for families. By facilitating access to current research and helping to build the knowledge and capacity of family-facing practitioners, we’re ensuring that educators have the resources they need to effectively and equitably serve children, families, and communities.
Over nine webinars in 2024, NCFL staff and partners led conversations on key topics around family engagement, family literacy, and family leadership. From tools to create trauma-sensitive environments to best practices for working with multilingual families, each session explored meaningful ways to engage families and drive sustainable change.
In January, we kicked off the series with Dr. Iheoma U. Iruka, research professor at UNC Chapel Hill and founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition. Dr. Iruka shared her extensive expertise on addressing systemic inequities and fostering anti-bias, anti-racist, and culturally grounded practices to ensure all children and families thrive. This webinar, Engaging in Anti-Bias, Culturally Sustaining Family Partnership, highlighted the resilience of Black, Indigenous, and other families of color while addressing systemic barriers. Participants explored the 4Es—Exploration, Expectation, Education, and Empowerment—as tools for creating just systems that honor families’ lived experiences.
When we ask educators and communities about the biggest education challenges they face, student mental health is frequently mentioned. Our February 2024 webinar considered the ways that student mental health and trauma can impact the classroom environment and how to mitigate those impacts. In this session, NCFL Senior Training Specialist Patricia Erwin, Ph.D., provided a deep dive into trauma-informed care and examined the profound impact of trauma on learning and development. Participants gained practical strategies to create trauma-sensitive environments that support both students and families.
Post-pandemic, family engagement practices have been frequently cited as a possible solution to chronic absenteeism. In March, we highlighted NCFL’s recent work around embedding family engagement practices district-wide in Partnering to Support Family Engagement. The webinar explored NCFL’s partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in Kentucky and showcased our three-tiered approach to develop sustainable family engagement practices. This panel included three of our partners from JCPS: Judith Wilson, specialist in parent & family engagement; Dr. Jill Handley, assistant superintendent of multilingual learners; and Sheryl L. Day, family resource coordinator. Together, they discussed evidence-based strategies for fostering family engagement in schools and communities, focusing on partnerships that drive academic and social success.
Our April webinar, Global Multilingual Practices for Adults, Children, and Families, showcased a panel of global scholars, including Dr. Rafael Lomeu Gomes (UiT The Arctic University of Norway), Dr. Yecid Ortega (Queen’s University Belfast), Dr. Kendall King (University of Minnesota), and Dr. Alexis Cherewka (World Education). The panel highlighted the power of multilingualism in creating richer educational experiences, stronger family engagement, and more inclusive communities. The webinar explored innovative research, policies, and practices that promote multilingual learning for all ages. Panelists shared actionable strategies, such as advocating for dual-language programs and incorporating multilingual storytelling, while illustrating how their interconnected work advances equity through linguistic diversity. By celebrating multilingualism as a lifelong asset, this session empowered attendees to support inclusive practices that strengthen families and communities.
Another standout session in May, Leaders are Readers: Fostering Family Success through Literacy, featured Dr. Artika Tyner, 2023 Toyota Family Teacher of the Year runner-up. Dr. Tyner shared how she leveraged her award to spread and scale programming that supports intergenerational literacy through diverse children’s books. Her work demonstrates the transformative power of literacy programs in fostering cultural awareness and leadership development.
Our September and October webinars celebrated the achievements of our Activate! National participants. This collaborative network fosters the leadership skills of parenting adults and early childhood practitioners to transform systems into equitable environments. In four webinars, Activate! National participants addressed critical topics such as neurodiversity in early childhood education, best practices for father engagement, the importance of parent engagement, and the role of government, business, and communities in addressing workforce gaps in early education. Through community-driven solutions and advocacy, each session elevated the importance of centering family voices and highlighted real-world solutions that create lasting impact.
Surveys demonstrate that the national webinar series provides real value for attendees, with over 96% of those surveyed saying that webinar content supports them in their work and improves their practices. One attendee commented, “the entire presentation was a great reminder of what we, as educators, can do to build and maintain the partnerships with parents, students, and families.”
In 2025, NCFL’s national webinar series will dive into education policy, best practices for amplifying the voices of family leaders, and success stories to help drive meaningful change for families. Participants will also gain insights into models of collaboration, literacy strategies, and resources designed to support programs and families from national experts. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your partnerships, deepen your knowledge, or spark new ideas, the 2025 webinar series will give you the tools and inspiration to make a lasting impact for children and families.
We invite you to visit our webinar page to access recordings from all the sessions and learn more about the topics that matter to families and practitioners. Don’t miss the opportunity to sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about upcoming webinars and events this year.
About the Author
As the Director of Professional Learning, Andrea brings years of experience to the NCFL team, including six years as an early childhood classroom teacher and four years at the director level. At NCFL, she provides her early childhood expertise to many initiatives, including Say & Play with Words, NCFL Family Learning, and professional development of school practitioners. Andrea has a Bachelor of Science and Master’s in Early Childhood Education from the University of Dayton.