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ULM, Children’s Coalition partner to host conference Friday

Published December 8, 2016

MONROE, La. — ULM’s School of Education, in partnership with the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana, will host the “What Works Conference: Breaking the Cycle,” at the ULM Student Union Building from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 9.

This year, the conference welcomes as keynote speaker Dr. Kathleen Budge along with local experts to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in northeast Louisiana.

Budge is the co-author of the award-winning book Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools. She speaks nationally for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) on how schools can work with community partners to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

The conference will cover the adverse effects poverty can have on children’s lives and learning abilities. “Local folks have to decide: ‘We’re not going to let the noise detract us, and we are going to move forward with what we can do in our sphere of influence.’ They will be amazed at what they can do. It often ends up being about the basic things, such as helping teachers to build relationships with every single student and their family,” Budge said. “I’m hopeful, but it’s a matter of people deciding that it is possible.”

“All have a right to quality care and education, but poverty imposes social, cognitive, health-related, and stress-related challenges on students every day, and all these factors affect students’ ability to learn.” said Dr. Lynn Clark, Instructor in the ULM School of Education and Executive Director of the Children’s Coalition.

Conference discounts are available for teachers, students, and Children’s Coalition members. 

In addition to the conference, a meet-and-greet event with Budge takes place on Thursday, Dec. 8th at Walker Hall 2-101 from 4-5 p.m. The public is invited to attend and light refreshments will be served. 

For more information, contact Arely Castillo at castillo@ulm.edu or 318-816-2278 or The Children’s Coalition at 318-323-8775.


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