Child Development Center, PBS SoCal meet in person for

BY STEVEN ADAMO Staff Writer

After three years of meeting virtually, the Public Broadcasting Service SoCal Edcamp–along with East Los Angeles College Child Development Center–will meet in-person for the first time Saturday for the PBS SoCal Edcamp.

“An Edcamp is an event where teachers come together to share experiences about different topics in the classroom,” Susie Hicks Education Facilitator for PBS SoCal said.

Hicks said that similarly to previous Edcamps held virtually, participants are encouraged to discuss issues relating to their work life in early childhood education.

As early childhood educators, events like these provide an opportunity for everyone to exchange ideas and better not only the lives of the children at the centers, but to the teacher and staff who work at them.

Among those participating are

150 ELAC Child Development majors, education majors, Child Development professors, staff and teachers. This includes other local colleges and members of the community.

Topics include classroom management and parent engagement aimed at problem solving. At the event, everyone will breakout into multiple groups.

“Literal breakout rooms this time, not Zoom breakout rooms,” Hicks said. This event will also be the first time a breakout room will be in Español.

After the students choose the topics, each groups will have 45 minutes to discuss and troubleshoot as a group. Hicks said that it’s an opportunity to share stories inside the classroom as well as successes.

“I’ve done a bunch of these and some of the examples are social and emotional learning, parent engagement, classroom management and discipline—that’s a big one,” Hicks said.

Topics have shifted over the course of previous events. Hicks said after the pandemic started, virtual resources and digital tools