Plenty of adults have a hard time staying on top of their own dental health and may even dread going to the dentist for care. Some people may even wrongly think that baby teeth aren’t important since little kids are just going to lose those baby teeth anyway. However, it is very important to start building healthy habits early on. Did you know that a child’s dental health can have huge impacts on their school readiness and their ability to learn?
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We know that children must be healthy and ready to learn for school, and good dental health plays a bigger role than you might think. When we think about health and wellness, often dental health doesn’t come to mind; however, poor dental health during a child’s earliest years of life can be connected to poor attendance in school, lower test scores, decreased high school graduation rates and fewer job opportunities. Dental decay is the leading chronic health condition among children in the United States, and it’s 100% preventable!
Taking charge of your little one’s dental health is so important. The earlier you start taking your child to the dentist the easier it will become! They’ll get used to going and are likely to really enjoy it. We recommend taking your little one to a pediatric dentist and always seeing the same provider so they know your family better.
Why a Pediatric Dentist?
- Pediatric dentists have been trained to expertly provide care to young children.
- If treatment is needed, pediatric dentists can often provide care in fewer visits.
- Having a consistent dentist will help both you as a parent and your child build a relationship with someone they know and trust.
- As a parent you will receive quality dental health education on what you need to do to make sure your children are healthy. This includes information on nutrition, bottles, pacifiers, how to brush children’s teeth well, future growth and development and dental health issues associated with conditions like asthma or ADHD.
- In a dental health emergency (fall, chip, pain), you have a trusted place you can take your child to be seen.
Important Reminders:
- Exams and preventive care are important, but a child is not healthy if they have an infection (cavity) in their mouth.
- The sooner tooth decay is treated, the easier it will be for the child and parent. If ignored, it will get worse and may cause a serious problem.
- Children should be seen every 6 months (or more often if a child has a high risk), starting no later than 12 months. Parents shouldn’t leave the dental office without making a follow-up appointment.
Questions to Consider About Your Child’s Dental Health:
- Do you need a referral to find a dentist? Is your dentist in your insurance network?
- Are you happy with your child’s dentist?
- When was the first time your child visited a dentist?
- When was the last time your child visited a dentist?
- Do you brush your child’s teeth daily?
- Do you ever notice your child avoiding hot or cold drinks or hard to chew foods, having tooth pain (especially when chewing food), bleeding from the gums, or any odor from their mouth?
Tips for Infants:
- Start cleaning your child’s mouth with a small soft toothbrush even before teeth come in. This will make it easier for your child to get used to it.
- Do not let your child fall asleep with a bottle or while breastfeeding.
- Never add sugar or honey to a bottle.
- To sooth teething, rub gums with a cold spoon or clean teething ring.
- As soon as the first tooth pops up, (at about 6 months) use a soft bristle brush and small amount of fluoride toothpaste (no more than grain of rice size) to brush.
- Stop use of bottle at 1 year; instead use cup for drinking.
- Visit dentist when teeth appear—experts recommend taking your baby to the dentist by the time their first tooth comes in, and no later than 12 months. It’s never too early to see the dentist!
Tips for Toddlers & Preschoolers:
- Continue to brush your child’s teeth. They don’t have the skills to effectively do on their own until they can tie their shoes (at about 6-8 years).
- When you brush your child’s teeth, lift the lip and look for color changes
Give fruit rather than juice. If you do give juice, give no more than 6 oz. per day, and follow-up with water. - At age 3 begin flossing when two teeth touch.
- Teach child to flush mouth with water after every meal.
- Visit the dentist every 6 months, or more often if your dentist recommends it.
- Cheese makes a good snack swap and is great for teeth!
- Always be positive when you talk to your child about going to the dentist.
Children with a toothache may not know how to tell you they have pain. Be on the lookout for these signs:
- Biting on one side
- Eating only soft foods
- Avoiding eating or drinking hot or cold foods
Moodiness
You have the power to make sure your child is free from tooth decay!
Resources:
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Each year, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to recognize the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture and achievements of the United States.
Our staff members shared how their heritage has shaped their identity and impacted their work, how they maintain their culture and why it’s important to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month.
Can you introduce yourself and share what you do here at Start Early and how your Hispanic heritage influenced your identity?
Nilda Barrett: I’m a financial manager supporting 15 divisions and have been at Start Early for almost two years. I’m Puerto Rican, born and raised in Chicago and I’m the second youngest of seven children. My parents came to the States when they were very young and met here in Chicago. They taught me and my siblings the importance of education and working hard to get the things you need. We lived in mainly Hispanic neighborhoods, so I grew up around Cubans, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and was exposed to a little bit of everything and got to see how hard people worked. The person I am today, my ambition, everything is inspired by my upbringing and due to my culture.
Yáyá Cardenas Torres: I’m a training institute coordinator for the Professional Learning Network and I’ve been with Start Early for 14 years. I’m Mexican American born and raised in Indiana and I’m a proud Hoosier. My mother was born and raised in Texas and my father was born and raised in Michoacán, Mexico. I am the only girl out of five brothers.
With my mother being Tex-Mex and my dad being Mexican, I had two cultures: One uses cheddar and one uses Chihuahua, but together they are perfect on a burrito. My culture has made me who I am. My upbringing, my loyalty, my faith, my passion… it is who I am and I apply it to my professional and personal life.
Alexis Aguilú Hernandez: I’m the assistant director of operations for the Educare Learning Network and have been at Start Early for 14 years as well. I’m one of two and was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I left the island at the age of 20 to attend Marquette University in Wisconsin and stayed here. I have a ton of family in the Midwest.
Puerto Rican is who I am. I live my life as a Puerto Rican and I love my Puerto Rican heritage. I get chills every time that I go home. On the flight home, I always plan to sit by the window so I can see the whole island as we descend. It’s who I am, it’s family and how I grew up. Seeing the flag, it’s who I am and I like to share that with others who may not understand what being Puerto Rican and Latinx is.
How has your Hispanic heritage impacted your daily work to advance our mission and better serve children and families?
Alexis Aguilú Hernandez: I always say that my Hispanic background is not only what identifies me, but what defines me. Being a Hispanic immigrant allows me to better understand the challenges that many of our Hispanic children and families go through and focuses my commitment to do everything I can to help them close that opportunity gap once and for all.
I have been able to use Spanish several times in my role at Start Early. We started sending out text messages to families and I would translate them into Spanish. Most recently, at the Educare Learning Network, I helped review our network requirements and Child Tax Credit communications in Spanish. Knowing languages opens your mind to the world.
Yáyá Cardenas Torres: Being Mexican American and bilingual provides me with cultural sensitivity and enables me to better serve our Spanish-speaking clients. My parents also taught me to have a solid work ethic, ambition and commitment which I use in my daily work.
What do you appreciate most about your Hispanic culture?
This month really helps people recognize the complexities, histories and richness of the different Hispanic cultures. It’s very important to celebrate Hispanic heritage.
Nilda Barrett
How do you preserve your Hispanic culture?
Yáyá Cardenas Torres: I try to preserve our culture with food. Any gathering we host, I’ll cook Mexican dishes. My dad and I both have gardens and I love to make homemade salsa using everything from jalapeños to habaneros and Anaheim chili peppers and share it with everyone. I feel very close to my mom when I make salsa because I remember growing up she would make it and give it away to our neighbors. I also share my culture with my son and foster kids: we celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and Día de los Niños (Day of the Children). I try to incorporate it everywhere I can.
Nilda Barrett: Similar to Yáyá, we are very family oriented. We took a trip to Puerto Rico in 2018 and are looking to go again next year. Everything from la música — salsa, merengue, reggaeton, bachata — to la comida. My mom will come over and make pastelitos (a Puerto Rican pastry filled with guava and cheese) and my four kids love them. I also instill in my kids the importance of learning Spanish because being bilingual is such an asset.
How would you describe the diversity within your family?
Are there any misconceptions about Hispanic culture that you want to dispel?
Why is it important to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and recognize the impact Hispanic people have had within the U.S.?
Nilda Barrett: Hispanic culture has contributed so much to the development of the United States over the years and it just keeps growing. This month really helps people recognize the complexities, histories and richness of the different Hispanic cultures. It’s very important to celebrate Hispanic heritage.
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At first glance, the price tag for the transformative investments in early childhood care and education included in the American Families Plan looks steep: $450 billion. And with the significant federal spending, policy scope and potential for tax increases included in President Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic package, we should be having conversations about whether this is where we want to invest our tax dollars.
This June, economists Jorge Luis García, Frederik H. Bennhoff, Duncan Ermini Leaf and Nobel laureate James Heckman released a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper that demonstrates these investments in early learning and care could produce incredible returns.
The paper returns to the Perry Preschool Project, an intervention in the 1960s where a randomized group of students who received two years of preschool sessions on weekdays and weekly teacher home visits, beginning at age 3. Because the study has followed participants into their 50s, economists can now examine the impacts the program had on the siblings and the children of the original participants, who are now well into their adulthoods.
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Their conclusion: the Perry Preschool Project produced dynastic benefits within the first generation (intragenerational) and across multiple generations (intergenerational). The life-cycle benefits of the program include increases in labor income, reductions in crime and in the cost of the criminal justice system. The program also led to improved health and health behaviors. In addition, because the siblings and children of the original participants had higher incomes, they also were able to focus on health and actually logged higher medical expenditures.
As a result of these dynastic benefits, these economists revised the return on investment of the Perry Preschool Project, now estimating that for every $1 invested in the Perry Preschool Project generates $9 in returns to society.
The research makes the proposed federal investments in quality early childhood and care an even smarter investment. Starting early benefits all of us, as it sets children, families and communities up for success for generations to come.
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As educators and parents of three young children, Kapria Robinson and her husband know starting early shapes not only a child’s kindergarten experience, but their entire educational journey.
“We wanted to make sure we provided early learning programs for our own children that supported their academic, social and emotional skills. And where they got to experience joy every day at school; a place where they were happy, knew that they were loved, and would thrive,” she recalls.
So when Kapria toured Educare Chicago on the recommendation of their foster care agency five years ago, she knew she has found the right program for her family. She enrolled her two eldest children, Alexander and Catalina, who were just 16-months and 6-months at the time.
“Our case manager said families who had their children at Educare Chicago were thriving and that they were supportive of the blended foster-adoptive family dynamic,” Kapria remembers. “With the foster care process, they were very open to things like working with biological parents. Also, the smaller class sizes and the student-to-teacher ratio is amazing. To have three adults, working with kids when they’re younger just makes all the work of difference.”
I strongly believe that all children should attend preschool prior to going to an elementary school, just so that they get those beginning foundational skills in a classroom setting.
Kapria Robinson
An Approach Making a World of Difference
Parent engagement and coaching is at the core of Educare Chicago’s approach, which begins before the first day of school.
“Early on, Educare staff wanted to learn what our kids were interested in and what life was like outside of school. In fact, we met the teachers and had already spoke with the family support specialist in our own home by the time the kids began school,” Kapria reflects.
From Kapria’s perspective, “Educare’s approach is years ahead of most other programs. They make sure to ask a lot of higher order thinking questions. They engage the kids in a lot of discussions, they encourage them to, you know, have their own voice and to have their own throughs — and they positively affirm them.”
“Their team made sure that the kids got what they needed. When my son had challenges with separation anxiety, teachers like Miss Danielle would reach out with different stories we could read with him to make that transition a little easier. It has been a wonderful experience for us,” she continues.
Educare Chicago’s family engagement and parent coaching helped Kapria and her husband stay fully informed about their children’s education and able to reinforce behaviors and learnings at home.
“They would make sure that we understood what our kids were learning. During the parent engagement activities, they really make sure to break down different ways to engage your kids around math, literacy, STEM and art activities,” Kapria shares. “They helped us to truly understand how to engage our children, what questions to ask them, what vocabulary to focus on.
In addition to empowering Kapria and her husband in their role as their children’s first and best teachers, the Educare Chicago community offers a space to meet, engage with and learn from other parents.
“It gave us an opportunity to connect with some of the other parents, which is hugely important in building a community for your children, so that you have other families for them to visit for play dates and that share the same ideas about what is important for their children and their education.”
Ready for Kindergarten and a Lifetime of Learning
Quality early learning and care programs like Educare Chicago help children like Kapria’s enter kindergarten ready to learn. Because early childhood is a time of rapid development in multiple areas — physical, emotional, cognitive and social growth — kindergarten readiness is more than observing a child recite shapes, numbers and colors. A child who is ready for kindergarten is curious, can form relationships and has social interactions with nurturing adults and peers.
Our research has found that more time in Educare programs is associated with higher ratings of social and emotional skills among children, including teacher-rated self-control and initiative. When children leave Educare for elementary school, the majority are academically, socially and emotionally prepared for kindergarten.
Kapria believes Educare Chicago’s approach helped spark an ongoing love for learning within her children that has set them up for a lifetime of success.
“Educare’s approach to involving parents in their children’s education journey and constantly getting feedback has been a huge part of why our children are so successful and driven to keep learning,” she says. “They not only taught the preschool curriculum in ways that were engaging, but they also expanded it to include skills or concepts we were interested in our children learning and based on their assessments of what our kids were ready to learn.”
Today, Kapria’s two oldest children have graduated Educare Chicago and are thriving in Chicago Public Schools. Alexander is in first grade and Catalina is in kindergarten, and both recently tested into gifted and classical programs. Her youngest, a 2-year old, is currently enrolled at Educare Chicago.
“Alexander just completed his first year in a gifted kindergarten program and received straight As, awards for citizenship, being a good friend to his classmates and being helpful. He’s accelerated through the remote learning challenges they provided. I know a lot of that had to do with the competence he had in his skills and the motivation Educare Chicago gave him that if he wanted to do something he could absolutely do it,” Kapria proudly shares.
Given her children’s early education success and her own work in education, Kapria advocates that all children should start early.
“I strongly believe that all children should attend preschool prior to going to an elementary school, just so that they get those beginning foundational skills in a classroom setting. Children just excel when they have the opportunity to interact and communicate with and learn from one another.”
Learn more about Educare Chicago and the Educare Learning Network and their approach to early childhood development and kindergarten readiness.
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In-person conferences are back! This August, Start Early president Diana Rauner and I joined leading minds in technology and education from across the country in San Diego for the 2021 ASU+GSV Summit. With awareness of the importance of early childhood education and the care economy at an all-time high, more than a dozen sessions at this year’s conference explored critical issues facing our field, including kindergarten readiness, equity and workforce development.
Increased Need for Social & Emotional Supports
As we enter the start of another program and school year, children will need continued support and attention, particularly in areas of social and emotional support. We know children will be bringing the trauma that they and their families experienced in the last 18 months to school with them. As one attendee noted, they will be “bringing it in their backpacks and putting it on the table.” We also need to acknowledge the extreme stress and trauma that teachers have experienced and support them through this difficult time.
Start Early president Diana Rauner joined Walter Gilliam (Yale University), Shantel Meek (Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University) and Janice Jackson (Chicago Public Schools) for a discussion examining kindergarten readiness through the lens of disparities in suspensions, expulsions and placement in special education that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and threaten children of color’s access to education.
Meeting the Moment: The Economic Imperative of Early Childhood Education
The pandemic highlighted how essential early learning and care is to help parents return to work and support the economy. Diana joined Barbara Cooper (Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education), Rhian Allvin (National Association for the Education of Young Children), and Jane Swift (LearnLaunch) for a conversation that explored two other themes critical to the economic imperative of early childhood education: the critical need for workforce development for our current early childhood workforce and how early learning and care supports the development of our children, the workforce of the future. Diana stressed that early childhood education has a triple bottom line — it allows people to work, grows small businesses and most importantly, supports the development of children.
Every School & Community Ready to Serve Children & Families
Finally, I was excited to lead a panel on something close to my heart: flipping the narrative of the school readiness conversation. Rather than ask what we are going to do to make sure children are ready — a question that puts the burden on children and families — we need to think about how schools and communities can be ready for children as kindergarten begins.
Joined by Sophie Turnbull Bosmeny (Khan Academy Kids), Kai-lee Berke (Noni Educational Solutions), Henry Wilde (Acelero Learning), Andy Myers (Waterford.org) and James Ruben (Hellosaurus), our panel explored how we can take advantage of the current moment to ensure all children are equally ready for school.
For more content from this year’s ASU+GSV Summit on early childhood education and the care economy, visit the conference’s website or YouTube channel.
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."
Nelson Mandela
As part of Start Early’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), we strive to nurture and embrace racial, cultural and linguistically diverse teaching and learning environments. We know these diverse and inclusive environments unify our field and ensure equitable access to high-quality early childhood experiences. We are embarking on a journey to translate our professional development and research into languages other than English, starting with Spanish. Our goal is to be more inclusive of early childhood educators, parents and leaders that represent the populations we serve and who strive in their own role to support those who need us the most, our youngest children.
Over the past many years, my bilingual colleagues and I translated documents and resources into other languages (including Spanish), to meet the linguistic needs of the participants we support and serve. Nevertheless, the translations themselves, the process and the extra workload were not sustainable and needed to improve. Having multiple experiences with schools, centers and organizations throughout the early childhood field, we know these challenges are not limited to Start Early.
We launched a project to increase the accessibility of our training materials to better serve adult learners and support their professional development. The purpose of our project was to develop a process to translate trainings, materials and resources to increase Start Early’s ability and capacity to serve linguistically diverse customers. In addition, we designed a process to ensure the quality of the translations and the sustainability of the process itself. We kicked off the project with Start Early’s Essentials of Home Visiting – accredited online courses and webinars to support home visiting in any model.
Reach out to our team to get started on your professional development journey today!
We are excited to debut Spanish language translations of two of our most popular webinars within the Essentials of Home Visiting course catalog: “Exploremos los Valores y Las Creencias sobre la Crianza de los Niños y las Niñas” (Exploring Values and Beliefs Around Parenting) and “Estar Presentes para las Familias” (Being Present with Families). The live webinars will be available through our online learning platform on January 12 and February 2, respectively.
Moving forward, we will continue to adapt our professional development portfolio for additional languages and cultures to better represent the populations we serve, in the hopes of closing the opportunity gap. Our mission is to ensure every child can achieve their full potential not only in school, but also in life.
Happy State Fiscal Year 2022!
It is tough to believe it has been nearly three months since the Legislature adjourned Sine Die. With the start of a new state fiscal year and the work underway to implement both the Fair Start for Kids Act and federal COVID-related supports, we thought it would be helpful to resume “Notes from Olympia” periodically during the legislative interim to share updates. Unlike during the legislative session, we will not have a regular cadence of releasing the updates.
Trivia!
OK, OK. I admit this does not meet the definition of trivia, but I am admittedly out of practice.
Is there a place you frequented – so often you took it for granted – and the pandemic kept you from visiting? Maybe it was your office or a favorite neighborhood restaurant. How did it feel when (if?) you returned?
For me, that place was the State Capitol. I was able to take my “first” work trip in late June and thoroughly enjoyed strolling through the Capitol campus. While the buildings were not yet open when I visited, I took in all the beautiful new landscape and wandered through the campus that we quickly left on March 13, 2020. I thought I would share these pictures because it was so lovely (hats off to the landscaping team there). Hopefully, the place will be safely filled with people again for the 2022 legislative session.
State Revenue Update
On June 23rd, the State Economic Revenue and Forecast Council met to get an update on the state’s revenue outlook. Revenue continues to exceed projections, with an additional $838 million expected for the 2019-21 biennium that just concluded on June 30th and an additional $1.798 billion expected for the 2021-23 biennium that we just began on July 1st.
Personal income growth continues to exceed projections, and residential building permits hit a 42 year high in quarter one. Unemployed dropped to 5.3% in May. COVID and the variants continue to be the most significant risk to our revenue forecast, along with high inflation and supply chain issues in some sectors.
Program Updates
Our state agency partners are busy working to implement the significant budget and policy advancements achieved during the 2021 legislative session. Following are updates on the status of some key initiatives:
Early Learning Facility Funding Opportunity to Open Fall 2021. As a reminder, the adopted state budget included a total of $55.7 million for early learning facilities. This includes a total of $32.5 million in grants and loans; $10 million for minor renovations and small capital projects; $8.5 million for renovations related to COVID; and $4.7 million for 9 specific school district projects. Of the $32.5 million for grants and loans, the dollars break down as: $23.911 million in competitive grants, $7.5 million for loans and $1.089 million for 4 specific projects.
The Department of Commerce released a status update about these funds on July 8th. The email reminded that funding could be used for construction, renovation, or purchase of a new facility. Funds must be used to expand the number of early learning spaces, and programs must also commit to reserving spots for families participating in ECEAP or Working Connections Child Care. The email reported the Notice of Funding Availability would be available shortly and interested potential applicants are encouraged to visit the Commerce website for additional information. Further, because the Early Learning Facilities program has a match goal of at least 25% of total costs coming from non-state funds, potential applicants are also encouraged to start looking into match opportunities now. Note the website has an option to sign up for email updates on the lower right of the webpage.
Home Visiting Expansion Funding
The 2021-23 operating budget contains $8.1 million ($2.8 million in FY 22 and $5.3 million in FY 23) to expand home visiting services, enhance data collection and increase supports for home visiting programs.
After consultation with the Home Visiting Advisory Committee, the Department of Children, Youth and Families released their FY 22 expansion funding plans. Twenty-five existing contractors that met performance metrics around enrollment and retention were invited to apply to serve up to 150 new families. Applications are due August 10th, and per budget bill language, contracts must be in place by October 1, 2021.
Additional expansion dollars will be available as of July 1, 2022, and guidance for those dollars will be released in early 2022.
Federal Guidance on One-Time Child Care and Development Funds Released. On June 11th, the federal Administration for Children and Families released guidance on the use of Supplemental Child Care and Development (CCDF) Discretionary Funds appropriated through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.
These supplemental federal dollars are intended to be used over the next three years to help states, territories, and tribes build a stronger child care system and help families afford quality child care. The federal guidance strongly recommends lead agencies prioritize these funds to address provider payment rates and overall workforce compensation. The guidance posits that increasing compensation will increase quality and provide parents more options while also increasing wages and providing supports for child care as businesses.
Lead agencies have until September 30, 2023, to obligate these funds. The Washington State Legislature programmed much of our state’s supplemental CCDF funding in its 2021-23 biennial budget.
DCYF Launches Fair Start Act Webpage. Recently, DCYF launched a section on its website dedicated to Fair Start for Kids Act implementation. The site is a “one-stop-shop” for a summary of the Fair Start Act provisions and updates on DCYF’s implementation efforts. DCYF will regularly update the site.
Welcome, Jess!
Start Early Washington is very excited to welcome Jess Galvez to our team as the Communications and Policy Manager. Jess comes to us from Save the Children Action Network and brings a breadth of experience in early learning, communications, grassroots organizing, and so much more. We are thrilled to have her as a valued member of our team. One of her top priorities is to get Start Early Washington’s social media presence going – so look for us on Twitter soon!
Capital Campus Child Care Center Nearing Completion
On my walking tour, I took in the Capital Campus Child Care Center that is close to opening to serve families of Capitol and state employees. (You can see how close the center is to campus by the proximity of the Capitol dome in the upper left of the picture below).
Start Early is pleased to announce it has been awarded a 5-year grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families Office of Head Start to provide quality early childhood programs and services to more than 2,100 children from birth through age 5 and their families in Chicago.
Start Early will use this award to bring quality early learning and care opportunities to 19 new under-resourced communities in Chicago, doubling the number of young children and families it serves. We will also improve salaries of the early childhood workforce, in each program area, and create career advancement and professional development opportunities, long-standing workforce issues highlighted by the pandemic.
The grant will expand Start Early’s Healthy Parents & Babies doula and home visiting program and work with current partners, SGA Youth Services and Family Focus. It also includes partnerships with four new agencies and organizations: Asian Human Services, El Hogar del Niño, Academy for Global Citizenship and Marillac St. Vincent Family Services.
“We are thrilled to expand our presence here in our hometown and bring new partners and perspectives to our work serving families and communities in need of quality early learning and care,” said Diana Rauner, president of Start Early.
Start Early and each of its partners bring deep community relationships, unique perspectives and strategies to strengthen the early childhood field. Families will have access to a range of program options — center-based, home-based and family child care — each providing a continuum of quality early learning care from birth through age 5 and promoting school readiness. With the addition of two public charter schools to the network, parents and children can engage in a school community for an extended period, with staff participating in professional development across grade levels to support better transitions from one year to the next.
“Working together with our partners and families, the grant offers new opportunities to create seamless experiences for our children and families during the critical early years of their education,” said Claire Dunham, senior vice president of programs and training.
Start Early, as the grantee, will work alongside each partner to provide critical program supports, in key service and system areas, including implementation guidance, training, curricula, screening and assessment tools, data systems, monitoring and research-to-practice continuous quality improvement.
Start Early will also engage leaders, staff, and parents in a robust network of shared learning, innovation, and mutual support and work to identify and advocate for changes to the local, state, and federal policies and systems that impact the families and communities we serve.
Diana McClarien, vice president of the Early/Head Start Network at Start Early will lead the grant. Diana brings over 20 years of experience in early childhood serving as a family advocate, teacher, home visitor, education coordinator, program manager and grantee director.
About Start Early
Start Early (formerly known as the Ounce of Prevention) is a nonprofit public-private partnership advancing quality early learning and care for families with children, before birth through their earliest years, to help close the opportunity gap. For nearly 40 years, Start Early has delivered best-in-class doula, home visiting, and Early Head Start and Head Start programs. Bringing expertise in program delivery, research and evaluation, professional development, and policy and advocacy, Start Early works in partnership with communities and other experts to drive systemic change so millions more children, families and educators can thrive.
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Millions of children will enter kindergarten this fall having never experienced the routines of preschool because of the pandemic. Many will likely have trouble following directions, playing cooperatively, and self-regulating through the stresses of new group settings with strangers. Quite a few will have developmental disabilities that were not identified or treated during the pandemic lockdown, which will make them even more likely to act out. Without intervention, past research tells us we can expect far more suspensions, expulsions and referrals to special education for behavioral challenges — especially for Black boys, Latino boys and Black girls, whom research has shown are far more likely to be identified as behavior problems by teachers than white children.
In a commentary in the Chicago Tribune, Start Early president Diana Rauner writes about how an entire cohort of children, disproportionately low-income children of color, are at risk of exclusion from the opportunities of education because of the circumstances of the past year and a half. It’s on all of us, the adults in these children’s lives, to help to ensure they are not unfairly stigmatized because of events beyond their control.
Read Diana Rauner's Commentary in the Chicago Tribune
For me, Juneteenth represents a day of connection past, present and future — all existing in one day. I think of my grandparents who were part of the Great Migration from the South in the early 50s. They left Mississippi with seven children, in hopes of finding a better life and future for their family. Conditions of economic hardship, segregation and discrimination in the South had made it necessary to seek out better and safer places to live. I stand in the present thinking of all the opportunities that have been afforded to me through the blood, sweat and sacrifices of all the people who came before me and have fought for the rights and privileges I have. I look to my son, as the future, in hopes his generation will be the first to completely dismantle systems of injustice. Juneteenth is a day of hope, where the worries of yesterday are gone, and the burden of tomorrow has not quite come. It is the moment in time where the impossible suddenly feels possible.
On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger and 2,000 Union Troops arrived in Galveston, Texas issued an order officially freeing the slaves. I know you might think, “Wasn’t the Emancipation Proclamation signed in 1863?” Yes, it was, but unfortunately people who lived in more remote areas still lived as they were enslaved. After slavery ended, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country. Juneteenth is about capturing this hope and renewing the energy of all the work that has been done and still needs to happen in this country. Juneteenth is U.S. history.
There are so many ways to celebrate and honor Juneteenth. Here are a few ways we all can get involved:
- Learn more about black history and Juneteenth. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to a podcast, listen to the Emancipation Proclamation on YouTube. Take time to learn more about the stories and experiences of black people in the U.S.
- Celebrate cook a big meal, have a barbecue, attend an event in your area or online.
- Shop support black-owned businesses or black causes.
- Connect with family, friends, people in your community this day is all about coming together.
When one story stops, another begins. While we all know that the end of slavery gave way to new atrocities and injustices for black people across the U.S., Juneteenth is an opportunity to take pride in how far we’ve come and recommit ourselves to the ongoing fight to end racial injustices.
Here are some virtual and in-person events that you can check out:
Virtual Events (all times Central)
Looking Ahead to Juneteenth: Centering Black Parents Voices in the Age of COVID-19 and Racial Reckoning, Thursday, June 17, 12 p.m.
Inaugural Juneteenth Reading Circle: Richard Wright Thursday, June 17, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Virtual Juneteenth Celebration Eiteljorg Museum
The Amistad Center for Art & Culture 30th Annual Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 19, 5:30 p.m.
Step Afrika! Juneteenth Virtual Celebration Saturday, June 19, 7 p.m.
A Juneteenth Commemoration Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed Saturday, June 19, 2 p.m.
In-Person Events (Chicago Area)
Juneteenth Black to Life Celebration Saturday, June 19, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Location: Behind Museum of Science and Industry
Juneteenth Ride Saturday, June 19, 12– 2:30 p.m., Wintrust Arena
Juneteenth at Sculpture Park Saturday, June 19, 1– 4 p.m., Location Sculpture Park, Governors State University, University Park, IL (Limited Capacity – please visit link and RSVP if planning to attend)
2nd Annual Rich Auntie Energy Juneteenth Bonfire Saturday, June 19, 6 p.m. – Midnight, Central, Promontory Point, Hyde Park
Homewood-Flossmoor Juneteenth Festival Saturday, June 19, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Homewood-Flossmoor High School
