For many children, the transition to a traditional elementary school setting, whether it be from home or a pre-school environment, represents a radical discontinuity - not just in terms of their physical environment, but on multiple levels, including values, behavioral and learning expectations, teacher attitudes, emotional support, etc. 

What if, in line with the latest neuroscientific discoveries about brain maturation, we were to re-envision early childhood education as commencing at birth and forming a learning and developmental continuum through the commencement of primary school? That is the question posed by the 2nd International Congress focused on childhood, hosted by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in Paris this coming June 14-15. 

While trauma and ACES is not an explicit focus of the congress, those members and readers of the ACES Connection website involved in early childhood education will recognize in the goal of this congress an important aspect of ACES prevention - that of formulating and promulgating the results of cutting edge research about brain development and conceiving and implementing educational theories and structures that build resilience into the early childhood educational experience.

The congress is open to all interested participants - Paris beckons!