10:30-10:40am - Stretch Break

(You will be automatically sent to your assigned break out session during the break. Simply click "join" when it appears on your screen)

10:40-11:45am: Jennifer Rountree (Option 1 - Break Out Session)

Jennifer Rountree is a trainer and consultant with the Early Childhood Investment Corporation

(ECIC). She has been with ECIC since 2015 and supports both the Great Start to Quality team

and Equity and Leadership team with training development, facilitation, and consultation.

Jennifer is a certified CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) trainer, Champion of

HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences), Strengthening Families trainer, and

reliable in the ERS (Environment Rating Scale) observation tools. In her role at ECIC she is

passionate about supporting equity within the early childhood field. She serves on ECIC’s

READI (Racial Equity Action Diversity and Inclusion) committee and looks for opportunities to

promote equitable access and inclusive environments in her work to those she is supporting.



She has been in the early childhood field for over 25 years in various roles from teaching

preschool to adjunct faculty. Jennifer is deeply committed to advocating for children and families

to thrive within their communities and feel empowered by the systems that support them.

Understanding CLASS: An Overview of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System within

Great Start to Quality

Are you curious about the CLASS On-Site Observation tool and want to learn more about how it

will be used within Great Start to Quality? Come join a certified CLASS trainer to gain insight on

the infant and toddler CLASS tools that will be an option for On-Site Observation. This session

will provider a brief overview of each tool, allow time for your questions, and provide support on

how an On-Site Observation using CLASS will be conducted.

10:40-11:45am- Kim Miller & Megan Lowe (Option 3 - Break Out Session)

START- Behavior Support Strategies

This presentation will provide a brief overview of behavior support strategies to prevent, teach, reinforce, and respond to the challenging behavior of young children. Participants will be exposed to strategies including, antecedent and universal supports planning, visual supports development and implementation, as well as the importance of pairing/building rapport as a foundation for improved outcomes for children with autism.

Kim Miller began her career in education in 1994 as a Teacher for Students with ASD in Clarkston, MI. She has had the privilege of delivering instruction in a variety of settings, including center based, cross-categorical, resource, and general education classrooms in Michigan, Louisiana, and Indiana. Kim became a Teacher Consultant for Students with ASD for the Saginaw ISD in 2014 and an EPLI Trainer of START (Statewide Autism Resources and Training) Content that same year. She has been active with the START Peer to Peer Community of Practice as well as the ASD and Sexual Health Community of Practice. Kim enjoys the opportunities that this work provides in integrating her passions for ASD, teaching, teaming, and solution oriented thinking to further develop resources and systems that lead to improved outcomes for Students with ASD and their families.

Megan Lowe received her Bachelor's Degree from Northern Michigan University in 1987, earning her teaching endorsement in the area of Cognitive Impairment, and moved to South Carolina to start her career. Her relocation back to Michigan led her to teaching for Saginaw ISD, at the Millet Learning Center, a center based school for students with moderate to complicated disabilities. In 1993, an opportunity arrived for Megan to develop her ‘calling’ for students with Autism, earning her Master’s Degree in Special Education from Oakland University in 2001.. The following year, she became a Teacher Consultant for Students with Autism and has been teaching and advocating for autistic individuals ever since.

Megan values the collaboration with students, families, educators, and community members in fostering successful inclusive school, employment, and community experiences.

12:00-12:55pm- Closing Keynote- Anne O'Rourke Bean

Anne O’Rourke-Bean came to MSU after a 20-plus-year career in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) profession. Anne has served as a lead teacher and director of an educational site. She also was the assistant area manager for a national charter school’s ECE program. She received a Montessori Primary Teaching certification in 2006. She was a representative for USDA’s Adult Child Food Program throughout the mid -Michigan region. She was a Head Start Lead Teacher during the Flint water crisis and saw how the lead water permanently changed some of her young students’ lives. She is a Community Champion through the Michigan ACE Initiative / MAHP Foundation program and has recently completed a Trauma Informed Certification. Personal she is a mother of two grown children and a grandmother of 4.

Reducing Challenging Behaviors in Toddlers

This session is an in-depth look at the second half of Understanding a Toddler’s World. Toddlerhood

can be a difficult time to navigate. From tantrums to biting, this program will focus on the process of

emotion coaching to help you decode what’s going on in a toddler’s world to help make the “terrible

twos” the “terrific twos”.

Funding from the Office of Great Start within the Michigan Department of Education supports the implementation of Great Start.