Laurel Bongiorno, director of Champlain College’s Masters of Education Program, recently attended “The Association for the Study of Play” (TASP) Conference in Albuquerque, NM Feb. 15-18 and presented a paper on parents’ perceptions of preschool children’s learning through play, the topic of her dissertation.
She will attend the Massachusetts AEYC (Association for Education of Young Children) Conference in Westford, Mass., on March 16-17 (www.massaeyc.com/events.html) with Champlain College M.Ed. student ambassador, Charlene Chillson. In mid-April, Bongiorno will present at the New Hampshire AEYC Conference in Plymouth, N.H. (www.nhaeyc.org), accompanied by Champlain College M.Ed. student ambassador, Amy Brooks.
Bongiorno was named Program Director of the new Masters of Education program at Champlain College in 2011. The M.Ed program at Champlain is a project-based approach to learning, designed to apply coursework to one’s career in education. It addresses a need for professional administration of Early Childhood programs, opens doors to moving up in education administration, and is geared to connect students with the early childhood community in their area, she explained. “This degree makes graduates better educators, helping the youngest students at the most formative time in their lives learn to love learning,” Bongiorno added.
The M.Ed program became the eighth graduate program offered at Champlain, combining the convenience of 24/7 online courses and face-to-face learning during a residency experience.
The program has shown great success in the past term, receiving great reviews from members of the first cohort. There will be a graduate school reception for all graduate program students on March 26, followed by a Summit May 12. On May 16, Champlain College Early Childhood Education Program with the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC) is hosting a guest speaker, Joan Almon, Director of the Alliance for Childhood.
The spring speaker, Joan Almon, is the founding director of the nonprofit Alliance for Childhood, whose mission statement advocates to “bring to light both the promise and the vulnerability of childhood.” She is the co-author of the reports “Crisis in Early Education” (presented from 2-5 p.m. in Champlain’s Hauke Conference Room, $35) and “Crisis in the Kindergarten” (presented from 6-8 p.m. in Champlain’s Alumni Auditorium, $25). Her research proposes play-based education as a way to promote learning, reduce stress and support healthier children. Interested educators, parents, students, and community members must register for this event in advance. For more information, visit www.allianceforchildren.org and register today at: http://vaeyc.org/conferences/2012-spring-speaker/
This term, Champlain offered three scholarships to the course GEE 501: Early Childhood and Play: From Theory to Practice course to the local Stepping Stones Children’s Center, Williston Child Care Center, and the Greater Burlington YMCA programs. The individuals selected to receive the scholarship are Siobhan Henry-Hooker, Andrea Viets, and Kristen Hakey.
The Master of Early Childhood Education program’s second spring term begins March 5. The program has three entry points per year with starting terms beginning in September, January and May. The next entry point is the summer term, which begins May 14. Graduation requires 36 credit hours and a residency, usually being completed in one and a half years. This summer’s residency will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana from June 9-12 in conjunction with the NAEYC Professional Development Institute (PDI). “Having that time to connect and bond in person has brought our class even closer. Going to sessions and spending time together outside the conference really meant a lot to me. I have made lifelong friends from this residency experience,” said Pamela Fontaine of Vermont, who specializes in teaching young children.
Laurel Bongiorno, a veteran of Champlain College’s Education program studied business as an undergrad at Gordon College, then got her Master’s in Teaching Young Children from Wheelock College Graduate School. This combination of majors was no mistake; Bongiorno’s intended goal was to direct an early childhood program, which she did. Her prior experience includes teaching preschool, directing a parent education program as well as an employer-sponsored early childhood program in Burlington for twelve years before making the move to higher education.
During her career, Bongiorno has served as the Chair of the Child Care Resource board of directors in Williston, Vt., as President of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC), as Champlain’s Faculty Senate President, and as a member of several organizational boards including the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Affiliate Council, Vermont’s STARS Oversight Committee, and the Governor’s Advisory Committee.
She co-coordinates VAEYC’s bi-monthly publication, eConnections, and has written for NAEYC’s Young Children and has an article pending publication with NAEYC’s Teaching Young Children (TYC). She consults with local early childhood programs presenting quality early childhood professional development opportunities, and offers workshops and keynotes on the topics of play, process art, blocks as math, leadership and mentoring, and curriculum development.
She is currently completing her PhD in Education with a Specialization in Early Childhood and is writing her dissertation that focuses on preschool parents’ perceptions of the connection between play and learning. She is passionate about play as learning and about the M.Ed program at Champlain College.