Anchorage Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference

I was thrilled to be a part of the Anchorage Association for the Education of Young Children's recent early childhood conference. I have been an Anchorage AEYC board member for 9 years so when the time for the statewide early childhood conference came, there was no question I would be involved as always. This year, as Mrs. Alaska, I was invited to deliver a speech during one of our morning general sessions to our conference attendees. It was quite an honor to be following our school district superintendent on the morning's program.


The Anchorage Association for the Education of Young Children is an Alaskan affiliate formed under the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).Anchorage AEYC promotes quality care and education for young children and their families by offering professional development opportunities to early childhood educators and by supporting families and those who have a vested interested in the young children of our community. In addition, Anchorage AEYC participates in the development of standards which strive to ensure high quality programs for young children. Anchorage AEYC supports advocacy by disseminating information about public policies and pending legislation and interpreting issues and alternatives at the local, state, and national level. Anchorage AEYC collaborates with community members, organizations and agencies to meet the needs of young children and their families.

In addition to providing training and resources for conference attendees, networking with colleagues is also a huge part of this three day event. The networking is one of my favorite aspects of the conference. It's so great to have an opportunity to meet new folks in the early childhood field, to learn what other programs are doing, to catch up with friends you haven't seen in a year and to just feel generally encouraged in your work with young children and their families.

For more information about AAEYC, our mission or the conference you can visit our website at : www.anchorageaeyc.org