In April 2021, Start Early merged with the Early Learning Lab (ELL) — a nonprofit with expertise in human-centered design, systems thinking and technology solutions — to drive stronger, more equitable solutions, programs and policies that are better informed by community voices to improve early childhood systems across the country.

The merger uniquely positions Start Early to develop new ways of working that draw upon the collective experience of both organizations in elevating parent voice, systems change, and knowledge transfer and network building.

The Early Learning Lab was founded in 2015 to bring new methods and tools from the social innovation sector to the early childhood field to catalyze the design, implementation and scaling of high-impact products and programs.

Now, the Early Learning Lab is a new division within Start Early. The Lab will continue its work to lift up family and community voices and advance smart technology solutions in early childhood programs and systems.

Teri Rogoway’s love of nature started early, with her own mom. “My mom taught me from a really young age that nature was a gift and that we could be better people as a result of interacting with nature,” she shares. “I’ve always had a positive experience in nature and I wanted to give those kinds of experiences to other people.”

As the educational programs coordinator for the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, Teri helps children engage with nature from an early age. “We do stroller walks with parents and infants and toddlers, where we let the kids play outside and make things out of twigs, rocks and leaves. I never tell them what to make, I just let them create,” she notes, which helps build creativity skills that follow them into their later years.

Engaging parents is key to increasing young children’s exposure to and appreciation of nature. “You want parents to feel comfortable being out in nature because children watch how their parent responds. If the parents are afraid, then a child might pick up on that fear and carry it with them through life,” she explains.

The weather outside may be frightful, but the great indoors beckons. Inclement weather can offer the perfect opportunity to engage in indoor activities with your children that help them build important academic and social skills; skills such as executive functions, memory, self-regulation and teamwork. Executive Function: means your child will develop abilities to remain focused on an activity, complete tasks and be persistent and Self-Regulation: is the degree to which your child can control their emotional reactions.

COVID-19 has accelerated issues in our early education system that have been overlooked for decades. There has never been a better—or more critical time—for a U.S. Secretary of Education to chart their own course and boldly lead on early childhood.

The good news, addressing early learning and care is one of the few bipartisan opportunities for the incoming Biden administration. Polling from last year shows that early childhood education has broad support among Republicans, Democrats and independents. COVID-19 has shown that early learning and care is not a “nice-to-have”—it’s essential for children, families and our economy.

That’s why we are optimistic about President Biden’s choice in Miguel Cardona for U.S. Secretary of Education. Cardona brings two decades of experience as a practitioner in K-12 and has shown a commitment to equity and early learning, having served as co-chairperson of the Connecticut Birth to Grade Three Leaders Council. Additionally, his personal story is inspiring and reflective of the lived experiences of many of our early learners.

Many of the funding increases at the Education Department (ED) promised by the president during his campaign could allow states to meaningfully increase access to high-quality inclusive early learning programs and services, and we look forward to working with the new administration.

The new Secretary has an opportunity to provide the leadership needed to revise and improve programs, policies and funding streams managed by ED that impact the children and families we serve, including:

Aligning and coordinating early childhood work across the federal government.

As COVID-19 has illuminated, children and families rely on a complex fabric of supports to function and thrive, weaving everything from access to health care and broadband internet together. Similarly, the programs, policies, and funding streams that serve children from birth through age 5 and their families sit in multiple departments across the federal government.

Strengthening early childhood programs and supports won’t be the work of the Education Department alone.

Secretary Cardona will need to reinstitute strong collaborations between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal child and family serving agencies to ensure a seamless and comprehensive early learning system for families.

Increasing funding for Title I and ensuring states prioritize investments in prenatal-to-age-5 early childhood education.

Under Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), our nation’s education law, school districts (LEAs) can use Title I funds towards quality early childhood education. However, many haven’t done so, largely due to a lack of understanding on how to use or access these funds.Secretary Cardona has an opportunity to prioritize use of Title 1 funds for early childhood by providing clearer expectations and incentives for this use.

For one, like our K-12 students, our youngest learners face steep learning losses as a result of being out of the classroom for the past year. Studies have found preschool participation fell by half in some places, and few families have remained consistently involved in remote opportunities. When programs offered at-home learning support, most children participated less than once a week. As Title I funds are directed to support learning losses throughout the education system, programs serving children from birth through age 5 should be included as well.

Finally, while the potential increases in funding for preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds that President Biden has called for are exciting, even greater investment must be prioritized for infants and toddlers (and prenatally), to build a comprehensive prenatal-to-age 5 early learning system. We hope Cardona will champion these investments, even if they might happen outside of ED.

Ensuring school districts and community-based programs are set up for success to leverage Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds to support our youngest learners with disabilities and developmental delays across a continuum of settings.

Despite programs and resources designed to support them, children with disabilities remain underserved by early care and learning programs. Cardona can ensure our youngest learners with disabilities and developmental delays have access to early care and learning programs that are designed and resourced to support them by fully funding the IDEA, permanently authorizing the Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of IDEA), and significantly increasing funding to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program.

Including the unique needs of the early learning workforce in decisions around higher education financing, educator compensation and public service loan forgiveness.

The early childhood workforce was facing a crisis even before the COVID-19 pandemic. For years early learning professionals have been systemically underpaid and undervalued, creating a minimally trained workforce vulnerable to high turnover even as demand has increased.

Take the average child care professional. Despite having attained a bachelor’s degree in early learning and care to acquire the specific knowledge and skills needed to provide quality learning and care to our youngest children, she makes on average just $25,000 a year. She works for a private, for-profit child care center, making current options for student loan forgiveness unavailable. As she begins her own family, the pay won’t justify the expenses to find child care for her own children.

There are many ways Secretary Cardona could support a well-trained and well-paid early childhood workforce, including making Pell grants available for those interested in degrees in early learning and care or opening up student loan forgiveness to any child care worker regardless of whether they work for a for-profit or nonprofit child care center.

Countless families continue to lack access to child care, early learning programs or in-person instruction as a result of the ongoing pandemic. In our final Starting Early Begins With… event, a diverse group of experts discussed the dismal state of our workforce and what needs to be done at corporate, provider and policy levels to reopen our early learning programs equitably and safely. Panelists included:

• Dr. Theresa Hawley, First Assistant Deputy Governor, Education, State of Illinois
• Peter J. Holt, CEO and General Manager, HOLT CAT; Co-Chair, Early Matters San Antonio
• Angela Lampkin, Director, Educare Chicago
• Cheryl Oldham, Vice President of Education Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
• Moderator: Diana Rauner, President, Start Early

Sources
1. A shocking number of women dropped out of the workforce last month

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.

Our Work & Focus on Equity

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.

Our Partners

• Child Trends
• LIFT
• Early Learning Lab
• Fred Rogers Center
• UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute

Our Funders

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.

Start Early is pleased to announce it has been awarded the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (NCPFCE) by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, in partnership with the Office of Child Care. The NCPFCE is one of four National Centers that develop evidence-based best practices for Early Head Start and Head Start programs across the country, as part of a comprehensive Office of Head Start Training and Technical Assistance System.

This award provides up to $5.9 million annually ($29.5 million over 5 years) to Start Early and a consortium of partners — Child Trends, LIFT, Early Learning Lab, Fred Rogers Center, and the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute — 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. 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 continue building upon Head Start’s commitment to parents as their child’s first teachers,” said Start Early president Diana Rauner. “Together we will further bring family engagement, parent voice and community engagement to the forefront of early childhood education over the next five years.”

The NCPFCE identifies, develops and disseminates evidence-based best practices to support the growth and development of young children and strengthen families and communities. Its work includes providing training and technical assistance on staff-family relationship building practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive; integrated and systemic family engagement strategies that are outcomes-based; and consumer education, family leadership, family economic stability, and individualized support for families facing adversity.

The NCPFCE will have a strong equity focus and will partner with schools in the Educare Learning Network and other Early Head Start/Head Start (EHS/HS) grantees across the country to create, pilot and field test innovations in parent, family and community engagement. This will ensure that training and technical assistance (TTA) activities result in high-quality comprehensive services that bring diverse family, community and program voices to the center of the work.

Start Early brings nearly 40 years of expertise delivering best-in-class doula, home visiting and Early Head Start and Head Start programs and advocating for thoughtful policies and adequate funding at the local, state, and federal levels. From roots directly serving families and children on Chicago’s South Side and in rural Illinois, Start Early has expanded to impact early childhood programs and policies nationwide, with partnerships in 25 states.

Dr. Rebecca Berlin, senior vice president of quality, solutions and impact and Dr. Mallary Swartz, director of family engagement research at Start Early will serve as principal investigators for the NCPFCE. Berlin has more than 25 years of experience in strategic visioning in the early childhood field, including assessment and professional development initiatives. Swartz brings 20 years of experience as an applied researcher in family engagement and relationships-based professional development in early childhood education, particularly EHS/HS programs.

Start Early has also hired Brandi Black Thacker, director of TTA and integrated services and Manda Lopez Klein, director of the NCPFCE to lead the NCPFCE. Together, the two early childhood professionals bring a combined 40 years of experience as Head Start leaders and advocates to the work.

Throughout her career, Thacker has served communities as an educator, case manager, advocate, Head Start director, TTA specialist and served as the director of TTA for the NCPFCE for the past nine years. Klein is a former Head Start director and the founding executive director of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association (MSHS), and is an expert in curriculum development, family engagement material development, and professional development, including services for monolingual and bilingual families.

“As national Head Start leaders and advocates, Brandi and Manda bring decades of experience collaborating with families and community partners to the new NCPFCE,” said Rebecca Berlin, senior vice president of quality, solutions and impact. “Under their leadership, the NCPFCE will continue to elevate diverse voices that strengthen the work and ensure better outcomes for children and families across the country.”

As a first step, Start Early will sign the cooperative agreement later this month and launch the center by the end of November.

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.

This October, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Every Child Ready Chicago, a new collective initiative to build the systems infrastructure needed to ensure all of the city’s children enter kindergarten ready to learn and thrive. Start Early is proud to support Mayor Lightfoot and the City of Chicago, providing strategic and logistical support to the initiative.

In support of the public launch of the initiative, Start Early president Diana Rauner and senior vice president of advocacy and policy Kristin Bernhard spoke with local media about the state of early learning in the city and what the initiative means for Chicago’s families and children.

In an appearance on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” Diana Rauner shared the importance focusing on children before birth through age 5. “We know the first five years of life, beginning before birth, are a critical time to build attachment relationships, to build and lay the foundation in the brain to manage frustration, handle communication, build social and emotional skills and the critical language skills that help children enter kindergarten as curious, competent and independent learners.”

She continued, “We need to ensure the settings where children find themselves, child care settings, Head Start programs, pre-K settings, that those are high-quality, stimulating environments that are staffed by people who are well-trained and well-compensated.”

The aim is to develop a multiyear strategic plan to create a strong and equitable system where all parents and children, particularly those in under-resourced communities, have access to quality services.

Watch the full interview and complementary article.