Conference brings together North Dakota early childhood educators More than 400 early childhood educators from across the state will gather in Grand Forks Oct. 6 and 7 for the North Dakota Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NDAEYC) two-day professional development conference. It will focus on positive guidance for preventing behavior problems. On Saturday over 40 breakout sessions will be offered with such topics as early signs of autism, fitness for children and early literacy. The keynote speaker for all day Friday and Saturday morning, Dan Gartrell, is known nationally for his expertise on guidance techniques with young children. He is the director of the Child Development Training Program and professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. Gartrell brings with him extensive experience with young children and teacher education, including Head Start on the Red Lake Reservation and numerous workshops around the United States. He is currently authoring a series of articles for the national early childhood journal Young Children titled “Guidance Matters.” He received his doctorate in education from UND. For more information and to register for the NDAEYC conference visit www.ndaeyc.org or contact Dawnita Nilles at 701-787-8562. -- Sue Offutt, assistant professor, UND Center for Rural Health, souffutt@medicine.nodak.edu, 701-777-6084