Online education prof to present

Sherry Vanderploeg, online lecturer in education for Northwestern College’s Graduate School and Adult Learning, will present at the 2015 Early Care and Education Fall Institute conference Sept. 18–19 in Altoona, Iowa.

Vanderploeg will present a workshop, “Leading Your Workplace Through Family Involvement,” that will provide participants with strategies to establish productive relationships with families. The session, created for program administrators and preschool center directors, will help attendees create an inclusive environment for families, with benefits projected to have long-term effects on children, staff and stakeholders within an early childhood setting.

“The workshop allows me an opportunity to share about the exponential return rate for centers and schools when they partner with families,” says Vanderploeg. “The session will allow time for collaboration, brainstorming and strategic planning. I am especially pleased this year to have the workshop approved for national administrator credential renewal.”

The conference is hosted by the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children (Iowa AEYC), which represents over 1,100 early education professionals. The association supports efforts to improve teaching and learning, promote leadership and professional development, support accreditation and excellence in early childhood programming, and build public awareness through advocacy and outreach.

Vanderploeg, a 1981 graduate of Northwestern College, directs Church of the Cross Preschool in Altoona, Iowa. A recipient of the 2011 Leadership Fellowship Award from the Iowa AEYC, she also has experience as a public and private school music teacher and as a public school early learning coordinator.