Dr. Kimberly Honnick, Ed.D.
HSE LIVE · Speaker spotlight

Dr. Kimberly Honnick, Ed.D.

Founder, CEO & Chief Vision Officer, Bo Knowz Learning, LLC
New Jersey

2 breakout sessions Thursday, Sep 24, 2026 Child Development Track
See session ↓ Register for HSE LIVE
About the speaker

Nationally recognized leader in Social-Emotional Learning, curriculum design, and educator capacity-building

Dr. Kimberly Honnick is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Vision Officer of Bo Knowz Learning, LLC. With more than 30 years of experience in education, her dynamic career spans public school systems and Head Start programs, where she has served as a teacher, administrator, and nationally recognized thought leader.

Dr. Honnick is widely respected for her leadership in curriculum and instructional design, with a strong emphasis on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). She develops innovative units of study and authors books that create impactful learning experiences for both students and educators. Her areas of expertise include Leadership, Special Education, Student Support Services, SEL, Educational Technology, and Personalized and Blended Learning Models.

A passionate advocate for developing future educators and leaders, Dr. Honnick empowers schools and communities through job-embedded professional learning, coaching, and capacity-building leadership. Her work is anchored in equity, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. She received Learning Forward's Principal as Leader of Professional Learning Scholarship, was named one of the nation's Top 100 Innovative Educational Leaders by the Global Forum for Education, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Transformative Leadership Program at Pace University's Lubin School of Business.

What Kimberly is teaching

Two sessions on Thursday — CLASS® 2nd Edition practice in the morning, neurodiversity and psychological safety in the afternoon

Dr. Honnick presents twice on Thursday, September 24: a morning session on practical classroom strategies for neurodivergent learners, and an afternoon workshop on the six high-leverage CLASS® 2nd Edition dimensions that strengthen everyday preschool interactions.

Sep 24 Thursday 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
🎓 Classroom & Curriculum

Safe to Learn: Supporting Neurodiversity in the Preschool Classroom

Every preschool classroom includes children with different nervous systems, communication styles, sensory needs, regulation capacities, developmental profiles, and ways of engaging with the world. When educators understand neurodiversity through a lens of safety, curiosity, and support, they can create classroom environments where more children are able to participate, connect, and learn. In this 90-minute interactive session, participants will explore what neurodiversity is and is not, how neurodivergent traits may show up in preschool settings, and why adult regulation and psychological safety are essential to effective support. Participants will examine common classroom examples, identify environmental and relational supports, consider the overlap between trauma, developmental delays, and behavior challenges, and practice strategies for partnering with families in respectful, strengths-based ways. Participants will leave with practical tools for creating safer, more predictable, more responsive classroom environments that support neurodiverse learners and strengthen home-school connections.

Room Cayuga · 50 cap
Format Interactive Workshop · 90 min
Slot Breakout Session 2
You'll leave able to
  1. Explain neurodiversity in clear, strengths-based, preschool-appropriate language.
  2. Identify common ways neurodivergent traits may appear in preschool classrooms.
  3. Describe the role of psychological safety in supporting regulation, participation, and learning.
  4. Recognize how adult regulation, modeling, and co-regulation influence children's behavior and readiness to learn.
  5. Identify classroom supports that reduce stress and increase access, including visuals, predictable routines, sensory supports, flexible participation, and communication scaffolds.
  6. Reflect on how trauma may overlap with or resemble developmental delays or behavior challenges.
  7. Apply a "behavior as communication" lens to common preschool scenarios.
  8. Select one practical classroom support to strengthen psychological safety and participation.
  9. Draft a family partnership statement or question that supports home-school connection without blame or judgment.
Sep 24 Thursday 2:30 – 4:00 PM
🎓 Child Development & Education

From Interactions to Impact: Practical Preschool Strategies That Strengthen CLASS® 2nd Edition Practice

High-quality interactions do not happen by accident. They are built through intentional adult behaviors, responsive classroom routines, and moment-by-moment decisions that help children feel safe, engaged, capable, and ready to learn. In this 90-minute interactive session, participants will explore practical strategies aligned to the CLASS® Second Edition domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support — focusing on six high-leverage dimensions: Educator Sensitivity, Regard for Child Perspectives, Behavior Management, Instructional Learning Formats, Concept Development, and Quality Feedback. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of what these dimensions look like in preschool classrooms and a practical interaction plan they can use immediately with teachers, children, or coaching teams.

Room Mohawk · 175 cap
Format Interactive Workshop · 90 min
Slot Breakout Session 3
You'll leave able to
  1. Identify six high-leverage CLASS® Second Edition dimensions connected to preschool classroom quality.
  2. Describe what each focus dimension looks and sounds like in everyday preschool interactions.
  3. Apply practical strategies across Educator Sensitivity, Regard for Child Perspectives, Behavior Management, Instructional Learning Formats, Concept Development, and Quality Feedback.
  4. Create a personal action plan for one immediate interaction shift to implement or coach.
See Kimberly live

Join us at HSE LIVE Syracuse

Join Dr. Kimberly Honnick — presenting twice on Thursday — and a full slate of early childhood leaders at Turning Stone, September 23–25, 2026. Register at hsereg.org.

Register for HSE LIVE See Kimberly's session
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