EDS preschool educators, Karen Meacham and Carla Englebright, have been selected as featured presenters at the upcoming annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  Mrs. Meacham and Mrs.Englebright will present "Not Your Mother's Apron" to conference attendees.  The two speakers summarize their presentation as follows:

"All too often, teachers struggle with balance. We always strive to do all that is asked of us. However, in the process of paperwork, family meetings, assessments, emergency drills, and more, we may lose focus on what really matters, making connections with children. Join us, and hear how we prepare to be present. We will share how using multiple educational philosophies helps us prepare our classroom and outdoor environments, what strategies we employ when dealing with classroom management, and what simple tools we keep in our teachers' aprons that allow us to embrace teachable moments. When we are truly present, sharing with children not only what we can teach, but also who we are, the classroom becomes a family environment, authentic connections are made, and learning becomes more meaningful." 

Karen Meacham has been in the field of ECE for more than 20 years. She has an undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from Wake Forest University and a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she studied with Dr. Lillian Katz. She has worked at independent schools in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Indiana, a Head Start program, public schools, Catholic schools, and a Montessori school. She has also visited and studied a variety of schools that employ alternative teaching methods including The Project Approach, Montessori and Waldorf philosophies, and the teachings of forest schools. She has completed class instruction for both the Master Gardener and Master Naturalist of Indiana programs. She is currently teaching in a PreKindergarten classroom at an independent school where she has been for the past 4 years. There she is fortunate to have a supportive and innovative cohort of teachers and administrators. This allows her and her partner to adjust and improve their curriculum and classroom environment each year, to best suit the needs of individual students and class groups. 

Carla Englebright has been in Early Childhood Education for more than 10 years. She received her Bachelor in Science in Family Life and Child Development for the University of the Philippines, in 2000. She has worked in Private Catholic schools and progressive schools in the Philippines. She is currently teaching in a PreKindergarten classroom at an independent school in Indiana where she has been for the last 7 years. She strongly believes that children learn best by hands on experiences and play. She works in a preschool setting that highly encourages play and is surrounded by incredible teachers that has the same beliefs.

Evansville Day School, the students, and families are very fortunate to have educators of this calibre as members of the community.