Join us for a half-day of professional development at the Palmetto Pre-K Jamboree, Friday, September 5, 12 – 3:45 p.m. Discover fresh, innovative ways to engage young learners through dynamic speakers and engaging sessions. Gain practical strategies to boost your teaching and connect with fellow early childhood educators. Don’t miss this chance to grow your skills and be inspired—register now! Since 2019, South Carolina’s early childhood educators have gathered twice a year for the Palmetto Pre-K Jamboree, hosted by First Steps 4K, SC Head Start Collaboration Office, SC Department of Education, and SC Department of Social Services. Learn from top experts and enhance your professional growth!
After a warm welcome from First Steps 4K State Director Martha Strickland, co-authors of the #justachicken book series Langston Moore and Preston Thorne will share their inspirational story and message to support families for daily attendance.
Following their presentation, Ms. Strickland will lead a Teacher Town Hall when attendees will have an opportunity to some honest feedback on the topic.
Keynote presentation:
Skills Pay the Bills
If we want our students to W.I.N., we need to focus on fundamentals and prioritize the basics. The #Justachicken team is here to provide attendees with drills and tips for the essential skills of reading, writing, and speaking. Remember, winning both in the classroom and on the field starts and ends with the FUNdamentals. This session will take the boring out of the basics and bring the FUN to the fundamentals of daily class attendance and support for families. Attendees will leave with practical and applicable techniques by focusing on play-based learning and increasing environmental awareness that they can implement immediately. We will intentionally dedicate time to the Fundamentals while keeping the FUN in the process!
Langston Moore
#Justachicken
Preston Thorne
#Justachicken
After a brief welcome, First Steps State 4K Director Martha Strickland will introduce keynoter speaker Gerry Brooks. Following the keynote presentation, Ms. Strickland will close out the Jamboree.
Keynote presentation:
Personal Climate and Culture … It’s Up to You
The focus on student achievement should always start with climate and culture. When a school has a positive climate and culture, student achievement goes hand in hand with those characteristics. Test scores do not change climate and culture. Climate and culture changes test scores.
Gerry uses his videos to develop a strategy for making the workplace a pleasant place where faculty, administrators, and support staff all maintain mutual respect, regardless of personal differences, resulting in more efficient and fulfilled workers. He will share policies that he has incorporated that promote a healthy respectful working relationship even when opinions differ. Gerry will also share ideas that maximize opportunities to get to know staff members and create camaraderie, taking advantage of 15 seconds here and there throughout the day. He will inspire educators with personal stories to remind them of the reason they endure the trials of working in education today. Attendees will leave refreshed and encouraged.
Gerry Brooks
Gerry Brooks
Yes, this event is completely free to attend. We encourage you to login and have a look around at your convenience. The Jamboree is intended for SC teachers of 4-year-olds in publicly funded programs, but all of the state’s 4K teachers are welcome.
Yes, you’ll need to fill out our registration form to gain access to the event. Please fill in the registration form with some basic information to get started.
To receive SCDSS Endeavors credit for a session, you must:
Attendance certificates are available for sessions of which you attended least 80%. If you need a certificate, please email your name and the sessions you attended to Jamboree@scfirststeps.org.
Go to the Registry Login on SCEndeavors.org and enter your information. The system will look for your account and guide you through the steps to connect with it.
The information provided at registration will establish you as a user on the platform to create your login credentials and to receive continuing education credit. It will not be used for any other purposes.
Yes, the vFairs platform is compatible with any computer or mobile device and any browser.
The event will be on demand indefinitely, and presenters may allow some sessions to be available to watch later; however, updates and changes to the platform are made periodically and the availability of this feature may change. Please note that continuing education credit is only awarded for attendance of the LIVE sessions.
A planning committee with representatives from the four agencies that provide publicly funded preschool in South Carolina (Department of Education, First Steps 4K, Department of Social Services, and Head Start Collaboration Office) collaborate to plan the day.
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The project described was supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDG B-5), from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.