At this year’s BUILD Initiative #QRIS2019 Conference, we participated in some excellent sessions, delivered three presentations, spread the word about VIVA Goods, caught up with many familiar faces…and, of course, ate more than our share of beignets! Read our recap of #QRIS2019 below.
We Can’t Stop Talking about a Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones sees her work as “forcing us to confront our hypocrisy, forcing us to confront the truth that we would rather ignore.” During her wide-ranging discussion with Build’s Sherri Killins Stewart, Hannah-Jones spoke frankly about race in the United States, challenging the early education leaders in the room to recommit themselves to actively dismantling the structures of racial inequity that exist in our country. The presentation was moving, inspirational, and something that will stay with us for a very long time.
VIVA Presentations
As experts in QRIS systems-building, strategy, and communications, it is always a pleasure to be invited to share our insights with Build Conference attendees. This year, two of our team’s presentations were during the pre-conference, so we recognize many of you would have been unable to attend. Do not worry! We’ve included links to the presentations below and will be happy to set up a conference call to discuss any of the ideas or examples featured in the presentations.
Transformational Leadership: Inspiring, Motivating and Catalyzing Systems Level Change
The required transformation of systems to better serve children and families calls for transformative leadership. Transformative leaders inspire stakeholders throughout the change process and challenge them to take greater ownership for their work and greater collective responsibility for the systems they are changing. This hot topic session discussed the practice of transformative leadership as it applies to leaders of organizations, partnerships and movements whose charge it is to catalyze community level improvements, and lasting systems change.
Don’t Shoot the Messengers—Make Them Effective!
Every interaction that someone has with your QRIS is an opportunity to convert them—or risk losing them (maybe forever!) Yet many QRIS interactions—how coaches engage providers, how providers talk to families, how advocates convince policymakers—are out of your control. Or are they? Take control of your QRIS communications by crafting the right messages for your audiences and identifying the tools your ambassadors need to be effective.
QRIS Communications to Families and Public Policymakers
States participating in the 2019 Think Tank have shared a strong interest in working to ensure that families and public policymakers are strong supporters of their QRIS. In this presentation, we took a deep dive and examined communications approaches to family engagement and advocacy.
VIVA Goods: Good Products for Good Causes
We were proud to sponsor the BUILD conference again this year to highlight our VIVA Goods product line, which lets you easily order low-cost, high-value bundled kits for early childhood educators and coaches. QRIS programs from across the country learned how to use branded kits as a key component of educator and coach outreach across a variety of touchpoints:
- Onboarding: Include onboarding materials and essential information in Welcome Kits given during QRIS orientation
- Rating: Include tips for quality improvement or announce professional development opportunities during rating visits
- Recognition: Honor providers’ hard work by including letters of thanks in Recognition Kits given at a provider celebration
- New! Reward hard-working coaches with useful tools of the trade found in Coaches Kits
Ordering the kits couldn’t be easier! Contact Brittany Hall to learn more.
