News and Events
19th Annual National Training Institute on Effective Practices Hosts over 1,000 Attendees
The keynote address was provided by Dr. Tunette Powell.
Session at NTI 2024
Sponsor Table at NTI 2024
Over one thousand attendees were in Tampa April 16-19, 2024 for the National Training Institute on Effective Practices: Addressing Challenging Behavior conference. The annual conference, which has doubled in size over the last decade and sold out in a record four days this year, is hosted by The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI). NCPMI, funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, works to assist states and programs in developing and improving effective practices and policies supporting the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of young children with, and at risk for, developmental delays or disabilities.
The conference provides professionals with an in-depth, intensive learning experience around the Pyramid Model framework used within early intervention and early education programs. Attendees from across the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, and Jordan included state education administrators, coaches, behavior specialists, higher education faculty, teachers, and child care staff to name a few.
“This year’s theme, Building Pathways to Belonging, highlights that the goal for NCPMI’s training and technical assistance is to strengthen state systems and local programs to ensure that each and every young child has the high-quality early learning experiences that promote belonging and inclusion,” said Lise Fox, PhD, Principal Investigator of the NCPMI. She is also Professor and Chair in the Department of Child and Family Studies at USF. “The word pathways in this year’s theme is plural because there is no one way for everyone. Each child, family, and community is unique and requires unique solutions,” she added.
The keynote address, A Talk to Early Childhood Educators, was provided by Dr. Tunette Powell, Assistant Research Professor and Director of Parent and Family Partnerships, Children’s Equity Project, at Arizona State University. She has published several books and papers on issues of kinship, race, racism, and system-induced collective trauma. Through stories of both challenges and successes, Dr. Powell offered words of encouragement and an urgent call to action to the early childhood educators tasked with the day-to-day duty of defining and implementing equity and inclusion for young children and their families.
The 2025 conference will be held April 21-25 in Tampa and the event website will open Fall 2024.
Additional Information
For more information on NCPMI, visit these resources: