21 QUALITYstarsNY Staff and over 200 of our participants traveled to Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY, for the New York Association for the Education of Young Children (NYAEYC) 2026 Annual Conference. Every year, the NYAEYC Annual Conference presents a unique opportunity to join early childhood educators from across the state for three days of sharing knowledge, connecting with our statewide partners, and celebrating the professionals who work day in and day out to improve early learning outcomes for New York’s children and their families.
The Exhibit Hall
Located next to our partners at The Aspire Registry and the Career Development Center, who join us as initiatives within the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, our team spoke with hundreds of early childhood professionals from across New York State at our vendor table. This year, the exhibitors were placed inside the main auditorium at Turning Stone, which made it easy to navigate and interact with as many vendors as possible. Our conversations ranged from discussing the state of the early childhood field in New York to explaining to those unaware what we do as the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for early childhood programs.
QUALITYstarNY participants get a special lanyard, a ribbon for their conference badges, and a participating program magnet, just for stopping by and saying “hello” to our staff! Another staple of our NYAEYC vendor table is our golden stars. These stars are for participants to write a special shout-out to the Quality Improvement Specialists (QI Specialists) who work with their programs. Our team always loves receiving these messages from the early childhood staff they work with so closely, and our appreciation goes out to the many people who came by to leave their Specialist a note of recognition.
Senior Communications Associate Nneoma Agunwa on her first time at the NYAEYC Annual Conference:
“As a QUALITYstarsNY team member who mainly works behind the scenes at our central office, it was a treat to be in the same space as colleagues from across the state at the 2026 NYAEYC conference, along with participants and state partners I don’t usually get to connect with face-to-face. The experience gave me a closer look at how our partners and the early childhood community learn from each other not only through formal workshops, but also through everyday conversations. The work continues to move forward, thanks to early childhood professionals who show up ready to both teach and grow while building skills that make a positive difference for children and families.”
The Workshops
The main attraction of each NYAEYC conference are the workshops, where early childhood experts from across the state provide opportunitites for conference-goers to learn new practices, business strategies, and activities to introduce to their programs. Our QI Specialists hosted a variety of sessions that covered a range of early childhood topics, including strategies on creating developmentally-approptiate curriculum, how to best engage families and transition them into your care, and how developing and using a handbook can help communicate existing policies.
These sessions included:
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From Rules to Relationships: Why a Handbook Matters
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The Secret to Enrollment Practices to Successfully Transition Families Into Care
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Embracing the Whole Family: Exploring Culture and Resilience Throughout Your Program
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You’re a STAR – Supporting Transitions and Resources to Kindergarten
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An Introduction to QUALITYstarsNY: Getting Recognition and Support for Program Quality
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Thinking Outside the BLOCKS!
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Developmentally Appropriate Planning in Multi-age Environments
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Infant/Toddler Curriculum in Everyday Moments
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The Power of Partnership: Family Engagement in Action
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Using the Environment Rating Scales to Create Your Best Circle Times
Champions for Children
Finally, we would like to recognize Leigha Graves, from QUALITYstarsNY participating program Campus Pre-school & Early Childhood Center at Binghamton University, who was honored as the Student/New Professional Leader at the Champions for Children awards dinner! Leigha has inspired many others on their journey to become early childhood professionals and continues to deliver high-quality care and education to the children and families in their community.
Congrats to Leigha and to fellow award recipients Robin Beller and Kathleen Kiblin!
