Academic Explorers founder Danielle Paige says the first-ever Stronger Together Summit on Oct. 1 was an eye-opener for her. She found various new ways to connect families to resources they may not know exist.
Held at the Long Island Marriott, the summit drew more than 180 participants, including educators, childcare providers and families, for workshops and panels focused on improving access to resources and early education. The two-day event aimed at strengthening Long Island’s early childhood systems.
The conference Dr. Dina Leiser, as the keynote speaker. Leiser is the program director and team lead of early childhood systems at Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau in the division of Home Visiting and Early Childhood Systems.
Academic Explorers, a child day care center with locations in Uniondale, Merrick, Roosevelt and Old Westbury, values the importance of community, and Paige attended not knowing what to expect, but left feeling inspired after meeting new people and learning from one another.
“One of the breakout sessions we were discussing ways that we can bring more awareness of what resources are available to families of children,” Paige said. “There is not a lot of that going on right now – it was a great brainstorming session of thinking of different ideas that we can try to push.”
She cited “Help Me Grow,” a statewide initiative that connects parents to early-intervention services, as one example. Academic Explorers already uses developmental screenings like Ages and Stages Questionnaires to identify concerns and refer families to the program — something she wishes more centers would adopt.
“While we might not be experts in early intervention services or therapists that’s not where our expertise usually lies as child care providers – that’s not what we do,” she added. “But we can have partnerships with other agencies who are those experts like Help Me Grow.
Organized by a coalition of regional organizations — including Docs for Tots, Choice for All, the Child Care Councils of Nassau and Suffolk, and Help Me Grow NYS — the event combines three former major conferences into one. This is the first time leaders across health, education and child development convened under one roof for early childhood systems-building on Long Island.
“The Stronger Together Summit creates a huge opportunity to meet families where they are and ask, ‘What can we do better to make sure every child on Long Island can thrive,’” said co-organizer Jacob Dixon prior to the event.
