For Diana Barrios, the best thing about being a new mother is [click to hear audio] “seeing him smile. He’s such a happy baby. Knowing that he’s happy, makes me happy.”
Now 6-months old, Matteo is almost crawling and sitting up by himself, and Diana has enjoyed watching him grow. “He’s really strong,” she says. “I’m just amazed with him.”
Diana says Patricia has been her main support over the past year. In the months leading up to her birth, they would talk about prenatal care, fetal development and how Diana could best advocate for herself and her child. When Illinois’ stay-at-home order was implemented in March, Patricia continued to support Diana through video chats, phone calls and text messages.
Then, just weeks before her due date, Diana and her husband each tested positive for COVID-19. She recalls crying as she called Patricia, who helped connect her with a therapist and walked her though what would happen at the hospital if she were still positive on the day of the birth. Thankfully, her symptoms were mild and she tested negative before her delivery after self-quarantining.
Due to the hospital’s COVID-19 restrictions, Diana was only allowed to have one person with her in the delivery room: her husband. But even though Patricia wasn’t physically in the room, she constantly checked in with Diana to guide her through the birthing process and ensure it was going as planned. [click to hear audio] “She was always making sure, ‘Oh, you should ask for this.’ It was like she was there,” Diana recalls.
The strong doula-parent relationship that Diana and Patricia have built has been a lifeline for Diana. [click to hear audio] “I’m alone here. My mom just passed away two months ago, and she was my guidance.” Not having her mother to talk to has been difficult, but Diana is comforted knowing her mom knew she had support here in Chicago. [click to hear audio] “Because she knew, ‘Oh no, she’s not all alone because Patricia’s there, she’s going to help her.’”
To Diana, early learning and care is important because there isn’t a parenting manual and like every parent, she wants what is best for her son. She knows the resources and supports she’s received from her doula and home visitors are laying the foundation for her son’s future success.
This knowledge has empowered her to take the lead in being Matteo’s advocate and best teacher. While she learned many of the basics of parenting watching her brother raise two children — like changing a diaper — she wasn’t aware of the developmental milestones for infants and toddlers or activities that helped babies reach them.
[click to hear audio] “I didn’t have any idea about the milestones and all the things that I’m learning now,” she says “But I would say that I know them now because of Patricia.”
As she looks ahead to the future, Diana has many dreams for her family. Although English will be Matteo’s first language, Diana believes it is important that he be able to speak, read and write in Spanish. She looks forward to deepening their bond by teaching him in the coming years.
In the meantime, she’s helping her son continue to meet his developmental milestone by sitting on the floor each day, talking and singing with him. [click to hear audio] “I talk to him. He’s going to be a talker, because of me,” she says proudly.
Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap and ensure every child has a chance to reach their full potential.
As champions for early learning, we each have a personal story about the power of quality early education that connects us to our cause.
Learn more about how we are supporting children, families and early childhood professionals as we improve the state of early learning in America.
Our Starting Early Begins With… three-part speaker series kicked off with a panel discussion between early childhood experts who shared the true power of advocacy in today’s world. One of the biggest takeaways? As one panelist stated, “… we are all advocates every day for various things, whether it’s for our children, or for some issue in our neighborhood.”
Panelists shared promising examples of advocacy efforts, encouraging individuals from all professional backgrounds and motivating interests to use their voice to influence change at local and large-scale levels. And, by centering and amplifying voices of those most directly and disproportionately affected by inequality, we can collectively inspire systematic change.
At Start Early, we know that federal support is necessary for early education programs and services to not only operate, but also to reach our children and families living in under-resourced communities. One panelist noted that the current pandemic has demonstrated how truly essential child care is and its influence on every American – whether it be through the workplace or in a community. That said, in order to ensure our child care system can rebuild back better, we need to share these diverse stories and perspectives with local, state and federal leaders.
The discussion was filled with tidbits of information, thoughts and viewpoints that proved advocacy works, and that anyone can be an advocate on behalf of someone or something they care about.
Thank you to our wonderful panelists:
Early Childhood Advocacy. Prenatal & Maternal Health Care. Economic & Workforce Stability.
Decades of research have proven that quality early learning and care programs can have positive multi-generation impact, lifting families out of poverty and setting a foundation for success. Start Early invites you to a three-part discussion series with experts who will offer critical solutions to make equal opportunity to these programs a reality. While each virtual event offers a different perspective and topic, this series comprehensively covers concrete and evidence-based solutions for combating one of society’s most complex problems – generational poverty.
We work at local, state and federal levels to create effective, equitable and interconnected educational opportunities for our youngest learners.
Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap and ensure every child has a chance to reach their full potential.
Learn more about how we are supporting children, families and early childhood professionals as we improve the state of early learning in America.
In this blog, Amanda Stein, Start Early director of research and evaluation, shares findings and takeaways from our latest research study of pre-K access and enrollment policies in Chicago which aimed to remove obstacles and drive engagement for children and families in underserved neighborhoods.
Equity-Focused Research and Policymaking
At this poignant time, a public health crisis is both holding a magnifying glass to and further exacerbating racial and economic disparities and systemic injustices for young children and their families. The need for equity-focused policy making and research has never been more pronounced. And the field of early care and education (ECE) is no exception.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), in their 2019 position statement on advancing equity in ECE, defines equity as “the state that would be achieved if individuals fared the same way in society regardless of race, gender, class, language, disability, or any other social or cultural characteristic.” This means eliminating “differences in educational outcomes as a result of who children are, where they live, and what resources their families have.”
The Value of Early Care and Education
Given the well-established body of research evidence, there is no doubt that the type and quality of ECE experiences children receive both inside and outside of the home have an impact on their short-term learning and development and later life success. Furthermore, public investments in early education and intervention programs generate savings that benefit the economy long-term.
Yet children, their families, and the broader society are unable to reap the benefits of high-quality ECE programs if children and families are not able to access them. Existing research evidence shows that differential access is an important contributing factor to inequities in enrollment. The long-term benefits associated with strong care and education in the early years make these disparities particularly concerning.
A Focus on Pre-K Access and Enrollment in Chicago
Recently, Start Early partnered with a group of researchers from NORC at the University of Chicago, UChicago Consortium on School Research and policymakers in Chicago to explore whether and how policy efforts in the city helped to create more equity within the district’s early education system for high priority students. We examined access and enrollment to school-based pre-K in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), before and after significant policy changes that began in 2013-14, with a focus on re-allocating pre-K classrooms to schools throughout the city and increasing the number of full-day pre-K classrooms.
The overall goal was to improve access and enrollment for high-priority groups to help them better prepare for success in kindergarten and beyond – including students of color, students speaking a language other than English and students living in neighborhoods with lower income and higher unemployment.
Adopting A Neighborhood-Centered Approach in Chicago
In addition to examining changes in pre-K access and enrollment, we used a “neighborhood-centered” method to explore patterns of access and enrollment based on the neighborhood where students resided.
Our methodology resulted in a concise set of five neighborhoods groupings focused on the characteristics of residents and variations within communities, which is critical to informing policy decisions about how to most equitably allocate services, supports, and resources.
What We Learned: Evidence of Greater Equity
Prior to Chicago’s policy changes in 2013-14, White students and students living in the highest-income neighborhoods had the greatest number of full-day pre-K classrooms nearby and were most likely to enroll in full-day pre-K.
We found evidence of improvements following the policy changes:
To further explore what we learned, check out the recording of our webinar, Advancing Equity in Pre-K Access and Enrollment in Chicago: A Conversation with Researchers, Policymakers and Parent Leaders.
Key Learnings for Future Policy and Research
Although the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Chicago’s post-policy progress and resulted in decreased enrollment rates, our study illustrates how increasing access to school-based, full-day pre-K may be an effective policy strategy for increasing enrollment among high-priority students and making pre-K opportunities more equitable. It is a prime example of research informing policy and vice versa.
However, to truly address equity in ECE we need to rethink our systems, advance research and policy agendas that ensure sociodemographic characteristics do not predict a child’s outcomes, and integrate these efforts into the comprehensive services and supports we provide young children and families.
Continue the Conversation
Join the Early Childhood Connector to learn from and collaborate with peers and experts in the ECE field, as we continue our work to improve access for our youngest learners.
Music plays a huge role in our culture and our lives from theatre, to television, movies and important ceremonies. But did you know that it can also play a big part in your child’s development?
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Lullabies, sing-a-longs, and nursery rhymes help build an intimate connection with your child, while also enhancing their fine and large motor skills and impacting their overall happiness. But don’t stop there, music and movement have so many benefits for your little one:
Here are some play-based activity ideas you can use to get musical with your toddler or preschooler:
So until we can all get back outside and to our normal routines, we hope you’ll enjoy these activities and learning with your child through music and movement. Whether it’s hitting pots and pans with a spoon or singing silly songs, your child is learning through play and strengthening their bond with you.
Raise your voice and encourage lawmakers to prioritize early learning and care at the local, state and federal level.
Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap and ensure every child has a chance to reach their full potential.
Discover educational activities and resources from Start Early experts to provide easy and engaging educational experiences with your child.
In this blog, Kristin Bernhard, Start Early senior vice president of policy and advocacy, identifies measures voters overwhelmingly approved to improve access to early childhood education at community and state levels.
While large questions remain about the results of yesterday’s presidential election, we are proud and thankful for the overwhelming approval of measures that improve access to early childhood education at community and state levels. Across the country, voters expanded the reach of core early childhood development programs and supports, from paid family leave to universal pre-K. These election results are worth celebrating, as state and community systems are closest to families with young children and play a critical role in building an ecosystem that fosters their well-being.
Voters in Colorado approved a ballot measure that creates a statewide paid family and medical leave program, joining eight other states that offer this imperative benefit. Colorado is the first to accomplish it at the ballot box rather than through the legislature. With this new program, workers can take up to 12 weeks of paid time off to care for a new baby or adopted child, recover from an illness or care for a seriously ill relative. Increasing paid family leave is a positive step toward reducing infant mortality, improving maternal health outcomes and allowing more individuals to stay in the workforce.
Voters also approved new funding mechanisms to help finance the creation and expansion of high-quality pre-K programs. In San Antonio, Texas, voters approved Proposition A, renewing a one-eighth-cent sales tax that will continue funding pre-K programs in the city for the next eight years. Additional investments were approved for workforce development and infrastructure. Colorado voters approved a nicotine tax measure that will fund universal free preschool for children of age 4 statewide beginning fall 2023. In Multnomah County, Oregon, which includes Portland, voters approved Measure 26-214, known as Preschool for All. Through a tax on high-income residents, the county will provide tuition-free preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds, while also raising the pay of preschool teachers to parity with those of kindergarten teachers. Assistant preschool teachers will be guaranteed a minimum wage of $18 per hour.
In St. Louis, Missouri, voters endorsed a property tax that will raise an estimated $2.3 million annually for birth to age 5 programs and services through the St. Louis Mental Health Board’s Community Children’s Services Fund. This successfully passed measure builds on a collective focus of establishing the city and county of St. Louis as a regional leader in early childhood education.
While we await answers on control of the Senate and the presidency, we applaud these states and communities who have come together to build strong, inclusive and equitable places where families with young children can flourish – from before birth through kindergarten. While the need remains for a more robust national system of early care and education, these victories demonstrate that progress on early childhood can and will continue regardless of what happens at the federal level. We are encouraged by this broad community level engagement to grow support and investment for young children and their families.
Stay up-to-date on early childhood policy issues to ensure more children have access to quality early learning.
From interactive courses to engaging events, we support educators in building powerful practices that transform teaching and learning.
In 2020, Start Early was selected to lead the implementation of the National Center for Parent, Family and Community Engagement (NCPFCE), one of four National Centers that develop evidence-based best practices for Early Head Start and Head Start programs across the country.
The NCPFCE identifies, develops and disseminates evidence-based best practices to support the growth and development of young children and strengthen families and communities.
Start Early will focus on creating high-quality responsive training and technical assistance, rooted in equity and cultural and linguistic responsiveness, to support staff, families and communities nationwide.
We are honored to work with an incredible group of partners as we further bring family engagement, parent voice and community engagement to the forefront of early childhood education.
Diana Rauner, President, Start Early
Our belief that all change happens through relationships will shape the project activities, training, technical assistance, and resources produced by the NCPFCE.
Working with a consortium of partners, Start Early will lead the NCPFCE to support family well-being, effective family and community engagement, and children’s school readiness, including transitions to kindergarten. These partnerships will integrate the research-practice knowledge of family and community engagement, human services, early childhood, social work, mental health, parenting, leadership, and family economic mobility into the NCPFCE content and activities.
The NCPFCE will have a strong equity focus and seeks to bring program, family and community voice to the forefront of early childhood education. Throughout the project, schools in the Educare Learning Network and other Early Head Start and Head Start grantees will serve as on-the-ground labs for piloting and field-testing innovations in parent, family and community engagement.
The National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (NCPFCE) is jointly administered by the Office of Head Start and the Office of Child Care.
Although NCPFCE resources and materials are developed specifically for Early Head Start, Head Start and child care programs, the information and strategies are applicable across all early childhood education settings.
Access all NCPFCE resources and materials via the Office of Head Start’s Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center.
Our comprehensive approach applies our deep expertise in program, policy and research so that children, families and educators can thrive.
Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap and ensure every child has a chance to reach their full potential.
Through training and partnerships, we bring quality early learning and care to under-resourced communities across the country.
Head Start offers a critical opportunity to improve the quality of home-based child care and bolster the sustainability of providers, while enabling Head Start to meet its mission to meet the comprehensive needs of young children and families facing the greatest adversity.
Start Early and its partners supported Home Grown, a national collaborative of funders committed to improving the quality of and access to home- based child care, to organize and deliver resources and technical assistance opportunities to potential Round 4 Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP) applicants to increase the number of high-quality EHS-CCP applications supporting family child care home (FCC) providers.
Individuals from 40 states took advantage of the technical assistance opportunities offered to support new and existing Head Start grantees to include family child care in their EHS-CCP proposals. These included well-attended webinars; an online resource library housed on Home Grown’s website; and technical assistance through group and one-on-one peer learning calls.
Bolstered by recent data demonstrating that more parents are seeking smaller home-based child care settings during the pandemic, partnerships between Head Start and home-based child care providers offer promise for dramatically expanding access to high-quality, comprehensive early care and education services in home-based settings and establishing family child care network models that provide critical supports to sustain home-based providers.
Stay up-to-date on early childhood policy issues to ensure more children have access to quality early learning.
From interactive courses to engaging events, we support educators in building powerful practices that transform teaching and learning.
Diana Rauner, president of Start Early and Dr. James Heckman, the Nobel prize-winning professor of economics at the University of Chicago kicked off last month’s ASU-GSV Digital Summit with a discussion on the state of innovation in early childhood.
Their discussion ranged from Heckman’s work on long-term impacts of early childhood investments, new ways of measuring social and emotional outcomes, and the importance of investing in parents during these unprecedented times. A video of the discussion and key takeaways are below.
Rauner and Heckman spoke at length about his research and the importance of investing in parents. While we typically think of education as programs that are delivered directly to a child, Rauner noted that programs such as prenatal services, universal newborn supports and home visits should be considered education initiatives given their profound connection to children’s education outcomes.
The discussion also touched on how increased parental engagement is one of the most interesting findings of the Perry Preschool Project. In addition to being more likely to be employed, have completed more education and to have stayed married, the Perry participants turned out to be better parents. In an upcoming study of Perry participants through age 55, Heckman shared that he expects to see returns on investment of more than 10 percent, given the additional health benefits and impacts on the children of participants.
Turning the conversation to the present, Rauner and Heckman discussed our nation’s current circumstances and the tremendous stress families are under, especially those living in communities that are under-resourced. Rauner noted that the most important supports for families during the COVID-19 pandemic have been to support family functioning — helping parents be able to be emotionally present and reducing the level of trauma and stress in the home existing from issues like food or housing insecurity.
The discussion also touched on how technology can be used to help coach parents, including virtual cohort groups and telehealth home visits that provide a lifeline of community and mental health supports for parents who might otherwise be completely isolated.
As early childhood development continues to evolve, particularly in response to the current environment, one key question is how to effectively measure readiness and incorporate social and emotional skills into every stage of assessment. Heckman shared that grades are often used to measure knowledge and cognition, but social and emotional skills have a significant impact on children’s grades — as evidenced by his findings of Perry Preschool participants who had improved grades because they were more engaged in school. In addition to broadening how we evaluate children’s progress, Heckman emphasized the importance of longitudinal studies, given their unique ability to demonstrate the long-term impact of early childhood interventions. The discussion concluded with the importance of continued collaboration among economists, early childhood education researchers, investors, philanthropists and psychologists to continue advancing the field.
Raise your voice and encourage lawmakers to prioritize early learning and care at the local, state and federal level.
Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap and ensure every child has a chance to reach their full potential.
Our comprehensive approach applies our deep expertise in program, policy and research so that children, families and educators can thrive.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the ground beneath us. It has illuminated the injustices that have existed in our communities for generations, from access to health care to affordable housing. And it has magnified stressors for our youngest children and families — disproportionately families of color — who are experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, lack of child care or financial instability.
The first five years of life are crucial in shaping lifelong success. This is a critical window to change a child’s future. Act now to ensure children have the best start in life through quality early learning.
We know quality early childhood experiences are critical to overcoming many of these inequities, helping to level the playing field and allowing children to thrive. Yet, many programs and supports for young children and families are in jeopardy. Providers of early childhood education and care have been devastated by the challenges and dire circumstances created by this health crisis. Now, the pandemic has exposed the long-standing need to invest more in our early learning and care systems.
Our new name, Start Early, along with our new logo and tagline, Champions for Early Learning, focuses on the idea that starting early and nurturing the attachments between children and adults build strong foundations and are essential to a child’s present and future well-being. While this belief always has and always will be part of our DNA, the need for equitable, quality early learning and care is more urgent than ever before. Our new brand can serve as a rallying cry, helping elevate the issue in public conversations and reaching new audiences.
For nearly 40 years, we have delivered best-in-class doula, home visiting and Early Head Start and Head Start programs and advocated for thoughtful policies and adequate funding at the local, state, and federal levels. From our roots directly serving families and children on Chicago’s South Side and in rural Illinois, we have expanded to impact programs and policies nationwide. Our role as on-the-ground practitioners is the bedrock of our expertise and our source of innovation and leadership in the field.
While our look may be changing, our work remains the same and the urgency has never been greater. We will continue to have a substantial presence in Illinois, focused on doula and home visiting services, early learning programs, and the research and policy efforts needed to validate and scale our impact. We will also continue to expand our reach across the country, provide professional development, and consult with early childhood leaders, partners and advocates to deliver and fight for our youngest learners.
As we enter this new chapter for our organization, we are excited about the future. Thank you to our partners and generous supporters for their long-standing dedication to advancing our mission. We are champions for early learning, and together, we transform lives.
Raise your voice and encourage lawmakers to prioritize early learning and care at the local, state and federal level.
Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap and ensure every child has a chance to reach their full potential.
Our comprehensive approach applies our deep expertise in program, policy and research so that children, families and educators can thrive.
ShaLaya was seeking a more enriching learning environment for her daughter, but she ended up finding her calling. Just two months after enrolling her daughter at Educare Milwaukee, a school in the Educare Learning Network — a partnership between Start Early and early learning champions across the country, ShaLaya joined the staff as a teaching assistant. Once hired, she quickly wanted to do more. She wanted to give her students the same services that the teachers were giving to her child. Her goal was to become an Educare teacher and provide a better life for her family through education and a higher salary. In 2016, she achieved her goal by earning her bachelor’s degree, a teaching requirement at the center. Today, she loves seeing her children grow and looks forward to impacting many more children and their families down the road. She could not be prouder of her daughter, who is currently thriving in her local elementary school, or herself.
Together, when we start early, we can close the opportunity gap and ensure every child has a chance to reach their full potential.
As champions for early learning, we each have a personal story about the power of quality early education that connects us to our cause.
Learn more about how we are supporting children, families and early childhood professionals as we improve the state of early learning in America.
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