Parents, pediatricians and policy leaders will gather in Uniondale this month for a first-of-its-kind summit to tackle one of Long Island’s toughest challenges: how to better support children from birth to age 5.
The Stronger Together Summit, set for Oct. 17–18 at the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale, brings together over 180 participants, including health professionals, educators, child care providers and parents, for two days of discussion and action around early childhood care.
Uniondale was chosen as the location for its centrality and its role as a hub for many of the organizations already engaged in this work, said Jacob Dixon, chief executive of Choice for All and co-director of the Long Island Regional Technical Assistance Center for Pre-K and Early Childhood Education known as LI-RTAC.
“Uniondale is a perfect location,” Dixon said. “It’s accessible and reflects the diversity and energy of the communities we aim to support.”
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 will convene 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,’” Dixon co-organizer said.
Families with young children from prenatal through age five will have easy access to services they need. By coming together across sectors, the organizers are creating a pathway for the youngest residents of Long Island.
“This summit represents us being able to come across those silos, outside of education, outside of health, outside of social services — and all be in one place together,” said Dr. Liz Isakson a pediatrician by training and co-organizer.
Isakson is founder of small nonprofit called Docs for Tots, and one of the major programs on Long Island, Help Me Grow Long Island a model that tries to improve families access to services through connecting them directly to community-based programs.
The conference is split into two themed days:
• Lead Together Friday will feature interactive panels, visioning sessions and leadership workshops for professionals focused on policy, systems, and equity.
• Learn Together Saturday will offer tailored sessions for families and caregivers, with practical tools for navigating early intervention services, developmental milestones and Universal Pre-K.
Families, physicians and educators will be eligible to earn continuing education credits — including CTLE hours, CME credits and OCFS training hours — provided through Northwell Health, Healthfirst, Nassau BOCES and the Child Care Council of Suffolk.
A key issue on the agenda is access to Universal Pre-K. While more than 90 of Long Island’s 126 school districts offer some form of pre-K, many families must enter lotteries or navigate inconsistent application processes.
“From a pediatrician standpoint, if you’re having a practice, you probably see kids from 10 different school districts,” Isakson said. “Even if might want to help guide a family through that process, you’re not going to know all 10 systems.”
“In comparison to New York City, virtually every child has access to a seat,” Dixon explained. “On Long Island we only have 90 school districts that have it.”
Dixon continued to explain that from a push behind advocacy and having conversations about making universal Pre-K achievable in all schools has increased from under 50 five years ago.
“Now this summit, creating more of an opportunity for us to connect these people together, to say, what else can we do to enhance opportunities with you,” he continued.
Dr. Allen Mendelsohn, a nationally recognized developmental pediatrician, and Pamela Hollingsworth, a family leadership and equity expert from the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade, will headline the event.
“We sent invites to across multiple folks on the local, state and federal levels,” Dixon said. “We’ve extended invitations from our local legislators that are within the area, at Nassau and Suffolk County.
Not a politician, put parent advocate at Choice For All Sara Morrison recieved, the invite as well and says she is excited about those working with early learners.
“Across roles - parents, physicians, childcare providers, educators and more,” Morrison said in a press release.
Coming together to brainstorm, learn with each other how to solve these challenges.”
The weekend will also include a community baby shower and a resource expo featuring dozens of local organizations.
Organizers hope to make the Stronger Together Summit an annual event that expands its reach and builds lasting collaboration between professionals and families.
“We’re building the sandcastle together now,” Isakson said. “We’re trying to model playing together in a sandbox. And how can we build that sand castle together in the sandbox”
For more information, visit strongertogetherny.com.
