"I want to commend the quality and caliber of this Pre-K Initiative. It has exceeded my expectations. The guest speakers have been outstanding and are clearly experts in their field. I am a strong advocate of the cohort model. When I was in my doctoral program, we had a similar model, and it was a tremendous networking opportunity and a great way to hear about the work in districts and programs throughout the state. The work has energized me about how I can make our Pre-K model in Plainville even better for our youngest learners."

—Maureen Brummett, Superintendent of Plainville (Conn.) Public Schools

"The combination of top educational leaders working in various Connecticut school districts, leaders from the Connecticut State Department's Office of Early Childhood, professors from UConn, and various well-known guest speakers from around our country combined together in one room is truly amazing! Together, we have learned, collaborated, and applied the most recent research results regarding the academic and social emotional development of young children to today's standards of what we expect children to know and be able to do. The workshop has brought together brilliant minds of educational leaders who have one focus in mind: helping kids learn to preparing them for their futures."

—Cynthia Ritchie, Assistant Superintendent of elementary curriculum, instruction, and assessment, East Hartford (Conn.) Public Schools

"This program has added tremendous value to me professionally. Coming from the secondary world I'm always being challenged by staff and colleagues who have many more years in the field. I can now speak to the latest research, key contributors to the field etc... What I learned is that I'm at an advantage because I know what's expected at the secondary level and this helps me to navigate some of those conversations. Furthermore, it gave me confidence that I'm leading my building in the right direction. I can also support my district to move early childhood forward."

— Sinthia Sone-Moyaho, Principal at Manchester Preschool Center
Manchester (Conn.) Public Schools