Multicultural Impact on Education Addressed at Early Childhood Education Summit
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October 31, 2002 - The Metropolitan Action Commission will address the growing needs of multicultural families in Davidson County at its first of three workshops on Friday, November 1 at 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Banquet Hall of Nashville (2222 Metro Center Boulevard).
“The numbers of Hispanic and Kurdish families we serve have increased dramatically within the Head Start program. We have determined that there are special needs that we must address with these families to ensure they are receiving the extra assistance they need to succeed in education,” said Cynthia Croom, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Action Commission.
This session is open to the public and specifically targets pre-school and pre-kindergarten educators and parents.
Panelists representing educators, child care providers, and early childhood researchers and project leaders will discuss language barriers, the mental stress issues of immigrants and refugees entering a new country and its impact on their children, and the different resources that are available to children and their families to ease their transition into the public school system.
The panelists are as follows:
- Linda O’Neal, Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth
- Dinah Gregory, Metropolitan Social Services
- Gladys Montess & Luis Hernandez, Western Kentucky University
- Cathy Dodd, Woodbine Community Center
- Eileen Humphreys, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
- Lisa Henderson, Outlook Nashville
- Gwendolyn Chambliss, Metropolitan Action Commission-Head Start Program
- Lourdes Kaplan, Project FLAME University of Illinois at Chicago
Tahir Hussain, program director of the Kurdish Human Rights Watch will serve as the Honorary Chairperson.