How parents and caregivers speak to children significantly affects their I.Q., literacy, and academic success later in life, according to University of Kansas child psychologists Betty Hart and Todd Risley.

Hart and Risley found that the number of words and encouragements and the breadth of vocabulary heard by a child during the first three years of life can dramatically affect language development and I.Q. Their study was informed by close observations of 42 1- and 2-year olds and their families for more than two years.

From those observations, the researchers estimated children in professional families hear approximately 11 million words per year; while children in working class families hear approximately 6 million, and children in families receiving public assistance hear approximately 3 million words annually.

For more information on the study, read: Hart, B. & Risley, T.R. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children.

This Giving Tuesday, we partnered with KPMG’s Family for Literacy program who matched funds raised during the day with $10,000 worth of books for children at 26 early childhood programs. We are so grateful to have such a dedicated partner like KPMG who believe in our mission to ensure our earliest learners have the best start in school and life.

Recently, we sat down with Kerri Neis, associate director at KPMG, to discuss why fighting illiteracy and supporting Start Early is important to the company.

1. Why are literacy and early education essential parts of KPMG’s Corporate Citizenship initiatives?
   KPMG’s Citizenship efforts are centered on lifelong learning, which is essential to unlocking the potential in people, building economies, and above all, improving lives. Literacy is at the foundation of lifelong learning, and access to books is necessary to build strong reading skills. Specifically, the need is profound in Chicago. We know that by fourth grade, only about 27 percent of Chicago’s students are considered proficient in reading–there is a literacy crisis we can’t ignore. And in Chicago’s low-income neighborhoods, there is only one book for every 300 children, whereas in middle-class neighborhoods, there are 13 books per child on average. The statistics are so motivating for all of our leaders, partners, and employees—who have enjoyed an education and want to give back to the communities they love.
2. What is KPMG’s Family for Literacy (KFFL) program?
   KFFL is the firm’s flagship Citizenship program with a mission to eradicate childhood illiteracy by putting new books into the hands of children in need and developing the next generation of young leaders through reading. This unique program is particularly effective because it harnesses the energy and enthusiasm of KPMG’s extended family—not only partners and employees, but also spouses, children, interns, retirees, alumni, professional golfers, and KPMG Brand Ambassadors Phil Mickelson, Stacy Lewis, Mariah Stackhouse, Maverick McNealy and Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez.

   Since its inception in 2008, KFFL has distributed over 5 million new books to low-income children in 100+ communities across the United States. KFFL also translates across borders having spread through KPMG’s global network to India, Mexico, South Africa, Zambia, the U.K., Kenya, Canada and China.

3. How does partnering with an organization like Start Early help KFFL support its mission of eradicating childhood illiteracy?
   Our organization and networks allow us to raise the funds to buy books, source volunteers to pack and deliver books, visit schools and libraries, and fuel the enthusiasm to share the importance of our mission. But we count on partners in the community to connect us with the right communities in the right way, which allows us to bring the books into the communities we most want to serve. Our core competencies lie in providing Advisory, Tax, and Audit services to our clients—our KFFL partners’ core competencies lie in serving constituents in communities. Those partnerships are so valuable to us as they provide the network, trust, and connectivity to carry out our mission.

   We have been so impressed with the holistic and critical services Start Early provides to their communities, that is why we were thrilled to be able to provide books to the schools, children, and families in their network. We hope that in addition to literacy skills, these books bring families together for quality time, spark the imaginations of young readers, and inspires their children to learn more. Because that is what we are all about at KPMG—lifelong learning!

Annaliese is an early childhood educator for 13 years and current teacher at Educare Chicago, Start Early’s (formerly known as the Ounce) early education school. Originally from Ohio, she moved to Chicago in 2010 to pursue a teaching license and master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

She is dedicated to helping her students start early. She enjoys teaching them to learn, play, problem solve and how to discover the world around them, sometimes all at the same time, while also learning side-by-side with them.

Recently, we sat down with Annaliese to discuss how being an educator has impacted her life and why she is passionate about working with communities most in need.

1. Why is being an early childhood educator important to you?
   Being an early childhood educator is very important to me. While some people think that I get to play with kids all day, and sometimes I do, it is fast-paced and changes day-by-day. I am constantly juggling information and goals from parents, emotions from the kids, lesson planning, looking at data, paperwork, documenting the kids work. It is exhausting to even think about the amount of work I get done in a day, both with the kids and the paperwork and meetings that happen during nap time.

   And we all know the studies, showing that the first five years of life are the most important at predicting outcomes later in life. This makes teaching this young group so important. The impact extends for all of life. I want to instill a love of learning and exploration and allow creativity and critical thinking to flourish. When you teach older kids, you have to worry about testing and district restrictions. Working in preschool allows you to integrate all developmental areas into studies, and I love that. Every day I get to discover and learn with my students, and that is what keeps me going.

2.  How has your experience as an educator impacted your life?
   Being an educator has enlightened my whole life. Since my work is with young kids and having to know so much about development and watching kids develop so quickly, I have gained an appreciation for the way we all develop, throughout life. Even in my personal life, someone will ask me a question, and I’ll respond with, “Well, in Erickson’s Theory of Development…” I helped my partner learn to drive and thought about it like a teacher, like how can I “scaffold” how to parallel park?

   It has also opened my eyes to so many issues in the teaching field. Teaching is a profession that is made up of mostly women who are underpaid. Who work multiple jobs. Who spend their paychecks on their students. Who work over 40 hours a week. Who worry about their students at night and on the weekends. Who can’t afford childcare for their own children? And, some of us are working with and in traumatized communities. Traumatized by the government and the police. Working with families who don’t have stable homes or income. Families who worry about feeding their families and paying their meals. And it is hard when you work with these families and are one of these families, too. As a white woman, it is my duty to fight for these injustices and push for changes in the education field so that all teachers are supported and paid a living wage. I need to fight for more resources in the community I work in so that there is more equity in our world.

3. Why should parents seek out high-quality early education programs for their children?
   Right now, the parents in my classroom are applying to kindergarten for their children. They are stressed out and worried about their child getting into a good school. Getting into a good kindergarten is like getting into a good college. When you are a parent living on the South Side, where level one schools are few and far between, you are literally fighting for your child’s success. In order to get into a selective enrollment school, your child needs to be prepared for the selective enrollment test. Parents know their child needs to be in a high-quality preschool program to give them a foundation and skills to pass the test.

   Another point we remind parents is that school is more than just knowing your letters and counting to 100. Children need to know how to navigate the other side of school: being able to follow directions, control their emotions and work well with others. In my classroom, we focus a lot on these skills through role playing and problem solving. If a child cannot self-regulate than they won’t be able to sit quietly through a lesson in kindergarten. I think finding a balance of teaching and preparing these two components of school is a challenge that all early childhood educators face and when classrooms and programs can balance this, then high-quality care is happening.

4. What advice would you give to a new educator coming into the early education field?
   My advice to new educators is to make sure to take care of yourself. Go to counseling, get a massage, get your nails done, eat good food. If we cannot be there for ourselves then we will never be able to be there for our families and students. This is a difficult profession, and burn out is quick and easy. Create boundaries. Even if you are taking work home, either only do it through the week to leave your weekends open, or don’t do it during the week and spend a few hours on the weekend doing work. Just take care of yourself first and foremost.

Ireta Gasner leads Start Early’s (formerly known as the Ounce) Illinois policy team, in the words of Ireta herself, “a smart, committed team of folks, who work every day to improve the systems of support for young children and families – especially those who face the greatest challenges.”

Currently, Ireta and her team are working hard to prepare and develop its legislative agenda for the Fiscal Year 2021 legislative session, so we are grateful to Ireta for taking the time to chat with us about her passion for advocacy and discuss why early learning is a cause she cares so strongly for.

1. Why did you choose to pursue a career in early childhood advocacy?
   I’m originally from Wisconsin but have lived in Chicago since after college and started out as a teacher. After obtaining a master’s degree in social work, I provided direct services to families with young children experiencing homelessness – through home visiting and Head Start programs.

   I loved it. Seeing what challenges families were facing seriously perked my interest in policy and advocacy, and I desired to make change on a broader level.

   In my work with families over the years, I have become a true believer that by making sure families have the support they need at the earliest point possible (ideally prenatally), we can maximize the chance for all children to have the best start in life. We’re still going to need supports along the way, but we could be doing so much more and earlier for children and families in our nation.

2. What does early childhood education, care and learning mean to you?
   Engaging and supporting families at the earliest point results in healthy births and strong attachments with parents, ultimately providing a continuum of rich, quality and developmentally-appropriate experiences for young children. Whether these experiences are with parents, in programs or in a community, they are necessary to help launch children on a path of learning and success.
3. What is the Illinois Policy Team focused on the most right now?
   We’re going to have some real conversations about what it will take for Illinois to have the early childhood systems that children need and deserve. While we’ve had a lot of successful investments in early childhood in our state, it’s going to take so much more to truly provide the best to our youngest children.One of the biggest issues we face now is attracting and keeping professionals into our field because we do not pay our workforce nearly enough for the sophisticated, complex work they do. We must tackle this problem.

I’d like to encourage us to be bold – supporting the healthy development of young children and their families is among the most important things we can do for our future. We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about what kinds of investments we will need in order to truly move the needle for the well-being of our kids.

Start Early is celebrating a legislative win for early childhood in Oregon. The state recently passed the Student Success Act Bill (HB 3427), which will result in a $1 billion dollar annual investment in early learning and K-12 education.

We sat down with Dana Hepper, director of policy & advocacy at the Children’s Institute in Oregon, about the instrumental role she played in getting this legislation passed.

1.  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work?
   I’m the Director of Policy & Advocacy at the Children’s Institute. The Children’s Institute works in Oregon to ensure all children have the opportunity to thrive. We do this through advocacy, research, policy and practice. My role is working with state agencies, the Early Childhood Coalition, business leaders, K-12 partners, and others to develop and move a legislative agenda and support effective implementation.

   This legislative session, we are thrilled to have won a $400 million on-going investment in early learning programs (in addition to a Paid Family & Medical Leave program, universally available home visits, and a child care taskforce). This $400 million early learning investment is one piece of a $2 billion investment in education from early learning through 12th grade, with on-going and dedicated funding from a new tax on business. I have loved working in collaboration with our partners to build and implement a shared strategy to win.

2. Can you tell the story of Oregon and the state’s early childhood landscape? How did you and your coalition members set the stage for such a big ask?
   The stage-setting for this ask has been going on since the founding of Children’s Institute, 16 years ago. We’ve been steadily and boldly informing the public and elected officials about the importance of the earliest years of a child’s life.

   More recently, Oregonians rejected a ballot measure to raise the Corporate Tax in Oregon (which was the lowest in the nation) to fund all public services. After that defeat, the Legislature decided to focus on funding for K-12 public education specifically. We convened early childhood stakeholders to advocate for the focus to be broadened to include early childhood. The Speaker of the House was an ally, and we ultimately won on this expanded charge.

   Then we worked with stakeholders and the Early Learning Division (the state agency overseeing early learning) to develop a specific ask for more than $400 million dedicated to specific early learning programs. The Governor included $380 million of the ask in her budget – our second big win in the process.

   Simultaneously, we worked throughout 2018 with K-12 school district leaders to build their understanding and support for early childhood. This work paid off when K-12 advocates also began to support the $400 million investment – a critical partner, as the rest of the funding would go to K-12 education. All sessions, we ran weekly lobby meetings and monthly coalition meetings to coordinate meetings with legislators, lobby days, messages, action alerts, testimony, and more. Our coordinated strategy worked!

3. Can you describe the feeling you had as the legislature debated whether Student Success Act Bill was a sound investment?
   Wow – I felt so nervous and excited! We had so much education to do of the Committee considering this legislation. They did not understand the early learning funding streams or programs – which was frustrating at times. Ultimately, the unanimous support among advocates, the Early Learning Division, the Governor’s office, our champion legislators, for the specific list of investments gave legislators the confidence that the money would be well spent.

   On the night of the vote, there were tears, applause, hugging, and celebration in the halls of the Capitol.

4. Now that you’ve secured the funding, what’s next?
   Implementation! There is so much work to do to prepare to get these dollars out the door. Regional Early Learning Hubs are creating plans for how to expand access to early learning programs.

   The Early Childhood Coalition partners took some time to celebrate together. Now we continue to meet monthly to coordinate our work on implementation, improve how we work as a coalition, and prepare for the next legislative session.

   The Children’s Institute is providing support to Early Learning Hubs and community organizations that work with parents to ensure the Hub plans reflect the hopes and dreams of families in each community.

5. What are you most excited about with the rollout out of the Student Success Act?
   When the first draft of the Student Success Act’s early learning investments came out, some of the investments we were advocating for were left out. Legislators understood preschool (including Head Start & Early Childhood Special Education), and they were prioritizing these investments over others that start earlier. I’m most excited that we were able to shift the conversation to acknowledge that learning starts at birth (and before). We won meaningful investments in infants and toddlers, including $20 million to expand Early Head Start.
6. Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
   Check out our webpage, put together by CI’s amazing communications team, dedicated to the implementation of the Student Success Act.

   Finally, let’s be bolder together and ask for what families with young children are telling us they really need!

Zeporah Askia is the proud parent of 3-year-old Elijah or “Eli,” a student at Educare Chicago, Start Early’s (formerly known as the Ounce) early childhood school that serves low-income infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families in Chicago’s Grand Boulevard neighborhood.

Zeporah is a single mother who is currently studying to take the Illinois bar exam. Her son, Eli, began attending Educare Chicago when he was an infant and while Zeporah was attending law school and working a part-time job. When Eli was diagnosed with developmental delays and needed the help of a speech pathologist and other educational resources, the Educare staff stepped in to make sure Eli had all the resources he needed.

Zeporah is one of Educare Chicago’s biggest advocates and attributes her son’s outstanding progress to the educational opportunities at Educare and the resources they help provide during their families most difficult times.

Recently, we sat down with Zeporah to learn more about her story and how her family has been impacted by access to the early childhood education program at Educare Chicago.

1. How and why did you seek out the Educare Chicago program?
   I was referred to Educare Chicago by a friend who has a child in the center. Before Eli was enrolled in the center, I struggled to find a quality program who would give him the tools needed to be successful in life. Yes, my son was only a year old and I was concerned about his future. E ducation is important to my family because I overcame stereotypes associated with my socioeconomic status, race, and gender by attaining a quality education. Education has opened so many doors for my family that I wanted to pass this value onto my son. Further, I understood that Eli would be the person that he was going to be by the age of 5, so I needed to act early to instill a love of education.

   I immediately knew that I wanted my son in Educare. When I toured the school, the staff told me about the various components of his curriculum, the classrooms were well-equipped with everything I could imagine, and the staff was friendly. After he was enrolled, and I could not stop talking about Educare, my family did not believe that a daycare had a curriculum. So, I quickly corrected them, Educare is not a daycare, it’s a school.

2. How has taking part in an early childhood education program impacted you and your family?
   Two years later, I stand by my decision that Educare was the best place for my son. Educare has had a profound effect on my child’s academic, emotional, and social development. In addition, the support systems have strengthened my family and helped us to reach success. Specifically, when Eli came to Educare, I had completed my first year of law school, but I had taken time off from school because I struggled to find the necessary support systems. I was giving up on my dream of becoming an attorney because I was succumbing to the challenges of being a single parent. But, our Family support coordinator, Ms. Tanya, was determined to make sure that I returned to school. She helped me get back on track by just being there for my family, and finding resources. As a result, I returned to law school the following semester and even though I didn’t graduate with my class, 2017, I graduated in May 2018.
3. How have you taken part in your child’s educational experience at Educare Chicago?
   I have been heavily involved in my son’s educational experience. I have volunteered in Ms. Glenda’s class at every possible chance. She was an amazing teacher. She taught my son how to potty train, recognize letters in his name, and she regularly gave me parenting strategies. Sometimes, I consider her a second mother because of the care and concern that she showed for both Eli and I.

   In addition, my son was diagnosed with development delays. I told his Family support and she took care of everything to get him enrolled in Early Intervention. When his therapists came to the classroom to give him services, I tried to re-schedule my day, so I could see what they were doing and continue his services at home. But if I couldn’t Ms. Glenda made sure that I was updated. Today, he receives speech therapy outside of Educare, but I work with his Educare teaching team to incorporate his services into his learning experiences. I know that every mom thinks their children are the best, but I can confidently say that Educare helped bring out the best qualities in my child and he’s on a path to be prepared for Kindergarten.

   Overall, I try to participate in the Educare’s programs, from the monthly attendance dinners, to the parent talks, to the Math events. Actually, the Math on Mondays was probably one of my favorite events because I used the strategy of reading the book, From Head to Toe, and rolling a die to teach Eli how to count. He loves the game. Plus, he’s learning how to recognize numbers, count dots, as well as counting to 5. The events are a great bonding experience for my family and networking with other parents.

4. What advice would you give to other parents looking for early education programs for their children?
   I am so impressed with Educare that I tell everyone, from single moms to professionals about my experiences. When I see parents struggling to find someone to “watch their kids,” or unable to buy diapers to send to daycare, I tell them about Educare and how they provide diapers and milk to help. Also, the staff will do more than watch you kids because they have bachelors and masters and doctorates. They are the best in the game!

   My advice to other parents is to get involved with the teaching team, staff, and programs. Then, take advantage of the resources offered by the school. Having a child with developmental delays was hard on me because I felt that I did something wrong but my family support made the process run smooth. I guess that being an open book really made it possible for the staff to find solutions.

Big changes in life can be scary, especially when it comes to education. The process is daunting, but through Educare Chicago, we take an intentional, individualized approach to prepare current and former students and their families.

The move from early childhood programs like Educare Chicago to kindergarten means meeting new teachers, new classmates and adjusting to a new environment. The same goes for former Educare Chicago students who may be transitioning to high school or perhaps post-high school life. Parents are also experiencing change, as they must build relationships with a new teacher or even a new school.

This summer, Educare Chicago, the Educare Chicago Alumni Network (ECAN) and several Start Early partners are working together to ensure that students and families are ready for the next chapter in the student’s life.

Educare Chicago Transition Process

The transition process at Educare Chicago is critical and prepares children and families for what is next for schooling!

“They’re prepared. They feel secure about this change in their life,” Angela Lampkin, director of Educare Chicago, says.

At Educare, parents and students experience an intentionally designed process to help get ready for what’s next. The school hosts a Charter School Breakfast as well as a GoCPS event, where family support staff assist parents through the application process. In the classrooms, students read books about what it means to be a “big kid” and also create a “goodbye book”, building excitement for the next year in school. For younger children, Educare hosts “Welcome to Head Start” to introduce new teachers, classrooms and classmates.

As families move toward a new chapter in their child’s education, Educare has thoughtfully and thoroughly planned this process to help them anticipate what is to come. The preparation and thought behind the transition will last with these families as they move from grade to grade.

Educare Chicago Alumni Network’s End-of-School Celebration

On Saturday, June 30, the Educare Chicago Alumni Network (ECAN) hosted an End-of-School Celebration for its graduates and their families. ECAN is made up of former Educare Chicago parents who provide resources for fellow parents, connect children to their childhood friends, and host events for both parents and their children. At the celebration, ECAN congratulated and celebrated a group of former Educare students graduating from middle school and high school.

For the second summer in a row, the Start Early Affiliates Board organized a fundraiser to help provide school supplies to middle school graduates so they can be the most prepared for their next step – high school. Collectively, the OAB was able to provide 28 backpacks and all the necessary school supplies to students at this celebratory event.

Additionally, this year, the second class of Educare Chicago students is preparing for yet another transition: graduation from high school. To help support these graduates, ComEd employees provided many of the necessary items for pursuing the next chapter – from kitchen utensils to bathroom towels – all nicely packed into a suitcase for easy moving. Collectively, employees raised $2,236 which helped provide these items to 15 graduating seniors that day.

Start Early is grateful for the efforts of Educare Chicago staff, ECAN, the Affiliates Board and ComEd to help ensure that students are excited and ready for whatever may be next in their educational journey.

The success of our early childhood programs would not be possible without the support of our donors. They know that without our services many families would be left without access to the help they need to give their children the best start in life. While financial support is essential, many of our donors are also dedicated partners who invest their time and energy into ensuring the children we serve can thrive.

The Simon family is just that. They are ambassadors for early childhood education and are dedicated to helping change the trajectory of children’s lives through their philanthropic work. For more than a decade, Linda and Cheryl have been making a difference for children in our programs. Linda Simon, a former high school English teacher with a passion for children’s literacy, helped fund the Baskind Library at our Educare Chicago program, which provides access to educational children’s books for its students. Linda’s daughter-in-law, Cheryl Simon, a previous school social worker and mother of three, is a founding member of Start Early Affiliates Board and served on the board for 11 years.

Recently, we sat down with Linda and Cheryl to find out more about why investing in our earliest learners is so important to them.

1. Why is your family passionate about early childhood education and the work of Start Early?
   With a background in education, we understand the value of high-quality education. Supporting the important mission of Start Early is a priority in our philanthropic work because we have observed how these interventions are changing the trajectory of children’s lives every day. We are struck by the passion of the leadership at Start Early as well as the research that drives the daily goals. From advocacy work, home visits to the Educare centers, Start Early is covering so much ground.
2. How has being supporters of Start Early changed or enhanced your views on the importance of early childhood education?
   As Start Early supporters, we are constantly learning from the data and research that is shared. We know this research drives the interventions and advocacy work but quite honestly we are learning on a personal level as well. I will never forget leaving one of the annual luncheons and feeling guilty that I had not been reading enough to my 3 month old son. In addition, spending time at Educare is extremely powerful. We observed firsthand how impactful the environment is to children and their families. Not only are children surrounded by quality learning experiences, both cognitive and social-emotional, but the parents are empowered to become leaders in their community. For example, having a little alcove with a couch when you first walk into the classroom helps facilitate a partnership between the parent and teachers. These little details all contribute to the success of the family and community.
3. Why is providing financial support to Start Early an important facet of your philanthropic work?
   We believe in the work of Start Early and know that quality early learning has the potential to transform children, families, communities and our nation. It is critical to continue investing in early childhood education by engaging both the child and parent on the importance of reading and carrying home the positive environment created at Educare. Not only are we providing support, we feel it is necessary to increase awareness around this issue and spread the word to our networks. We like to think of ourselves as ambassadors of early childhood education. When you hear about the achievement gap between children born into poverty and those born into families with means it is impossible to ignore this issue. We know that early childhood programs like this can narrow the academic achievement gap. They also have the power to change lives of children, their families and our communities which benefits us all.

Fourteen years ago, Gladys Montes joined the United Way of Miami-Dade and was tasked with developing a program that would move the needle towards higher quality early childhood programs with the needs of the community they serve at the forefront. Through the collaboration between the United Way Center for Excellence in Early Education and Educare Miami-Dade, Gladys helped establish them as a training program, a demonstration program, a partner in many discussions, and as voice for providers in our community.

Recently, we spoke with Gladys about her work with the United Way of Miami-Dade and Educare Miami-Dade and how their programs have supported those communities most in need.

1. What was the impetus for creating the Center for Excellence in Early Education?
   The United Way of Miami-Dade has been funding early childhood education for over 30 years. Like other United Ways throughout the nation, the design of our model was to partner with institutions in our community so that we actively engaged them, as they created proposals that addressed the work they were doing in our community. This process went on for a number of years and as the years went by, our Board of Directors was not satisfied with the advancement of these programs toward high quality early care and education programs. The Board understood the impact high quality has on the children and families in our community. It was clear that additional strategies needed to be in place in order to impact our community in the manner that United Way of Miami-Dade wanted.

   Our community was lacking a place where early childhood practitioners could meet and discuss areas there were important to them. For example, practitioners needed access to an array of professional development learning, and the Center was able to provide it. We needed a place where we could see what high quality practices meant, and the Demonstration School, Educare Miami-Dade, provided it.

2. What was the need you saw in your community and why did you believe that an Early Head Start Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) was the answer to it?
   For the past 13 years we have been a delegate of Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) for Miami-Dade County. Being a delegate requires organizations to have the needed infrastructure to support all of the comprehensive services required by the Head Start Performance Standards. When the Funding Opportunity Announcement for EHS came out, we saw it as an opportunity to impact small programs in communities of high need, communities that otherwise would not be able to access the federal dollars focused on improving the quality of their programs. It was evident to us that this was the opportunity to put into practice what we had been doing for years at the Center for Excellence – Educate, Demonstrate, and Advocate.

   Through the grant, we focused not on the low hanging fruit, but on the programs that families were using, regardless of their quality. We could actually take folks that were living in these communities and were employed by these centers and family child care homes and re-focus their trainings to move to a higher understanding of infant and toddler care and education. We currently have 16 partners in our grants, and 150 practitioners. Based on experience, we decided to deliver the 120 hours for the CDA credential in the environments that the practitioners knew with instructors they were familiar with and utilized Educare Miami-Dade as the place where the courses came alive. We added an internship component where the practitioners could come and spend time at Educare Miami-Dade and understand how to implement the areas in which they received training. Our Educare Miami-Dade staff has visited the school and together they have moved to implement changes that have resulted in great results.

3. What is your vision for the future of United Way Center for Excellence? How would you like to see it grow? What impact would you like to have?
   Our original vision continues to be of impact in our community. We will continue to fight for better opportunities for all our teachers and for all children to have the best care and education we can provide so all children can reach their highest potential.