Empowering parents in their role as their child’s first and most important teacher is an essential component of quality early learning and care.

A recent piece in “Early Learning Nation” looks at the benefits of intensive family engagement, a key component of the Educare model featured in a new documentary, “Tomorrow’s Hope.” One of the educators featured in the film is Brenda Eiland-Williford, director of early childhood quality and impact at Start Early. She shares how partnering with parents — building a foundation of support, bonding and relationships — can help communities undergoing transitions and give children and families “the problem-solving, conflict-management and self-regulation skills to thrive.”

Family engagement will also be critical to the success of cities, states and communities as they reckon with how to rebuild early childhood systems back better in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and caregivers have the clearest perspective of what their family needs, and family voices — like those featured in “Tomorrow’s Hope” — must be included in the planning, implementation, oversight and evaluation of all programs serving children from birth to age 5 and their families.

Rebecca Berlin, chief learning officer at Start Early and principal investigator of the National Center for Parent, Family and Community Engagement (NCPFCE) why lifting up family voices is so important in another “Early Learning Nation” piece: “We know this will lead to early learning programs that truly support family well-being, effective family and community engagement and children’s school readiness so that every child has the opportunity to thrive.”

A growing concern for the early childhood field is how to best support parents and families in nurturing their young children’s healthy development. Educators and leaders are eager to help families gain the knowledge and tools they need to effectively engage in their children’s learning.

Technology-based interventions hold great promise for reaching and communicating with families. These interventions are relatively low-cost, scalable, and accessible for parents who use their mobile phones for communication and information seeking. Technology-based interventions can also reinforce the learning and community building of on-the-ground family support programs. But this promise can only hold true if the technology products are designed to reach parents and communicate what they want to know.

In the last few years, a number of tech-based family engagement platforms and tools designed to guide parents have emerged, including apps like Vroom, Let’s Play, and Kinedu, video tools like Ready Rosie, texting programs such as Text4Baby and Ready4K, podcasts, and word-tracking wearables like LENA and Starling. As awareness about early childhood development increases, more technology players (non-profit and for-profit) are likely to enter this space.

At The Early Learning Lab (The Lab), we have spent the past year surveying early childhood technology tools, learning how various products and programs are being implemented and evaluated, and identifying best technology practices for early childhood family engagement.

Whether you are an entrepreneur developing a new early learning tech product, a school administrator trying to find an effective family-engagement tool, or a parent-support program operator looking to add a digital component to your program, The Lab sees the following 10 design elements as critical to the impact of any early learning parent engagement tool:

All in all, no one product is going to have all 10 of these elements. But this list can serve as a useful guide for developers and a wish list for people who are evaluating and purchasing technology products for parent engagement. Technology holds great promise for reaching large numbers of families and helping us achieve the goal of kindergarten readiness for all, but only if the products we develop and use are designed for impact.

Music plays a huge role in our culture and our lives from theatre, to television, movies and important ceremonies. But did you know that it can also play a big part in your child’s development?

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.

Diana Rauner, president of Start Early and Dr. James Heckman, the Nobel prize-winning professor of economics at the University of Chicago kicked off last month’s ASU-GSV Digital Summit with a discussion on the state of innovation in early childhood.

Their discussion ranged from Heckman’s work on long-term impacts of early childhood investments, new ways of measuring social and emotional outcomes, and the importance of investing in parents during these unprecedented times. A video of the discussion and key takeaways are below.

In our fast-paced world it can feel like issues of violence and racism are dominating the content we consume from the news to social media to conversations with our friends and loved ones. While we are all working to process our thoughts, feelings and emotions around these difficult topics, so are our little ones. They are seeing these topics play out around them and, more importantly, they’re watching how the adults in their lives are responding. They might not be able to fully grasp what is going on, but even our youngest learners are picking up on our emotions in these challenging times.

That’s why here at the Start Early we created this series, Tackling Tough Topics with Your Little One, to give you helpful advice from our experts as well as tips to navigate discussing difficult topics such as violence, racism and loss with your children.

Why Racism?

The racially charged murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have been in the spotlight recently, but for every high-profile death that makes national news, thousands of similar incidents are quickly dismissed or ignored. As our country works to dismantle and rebuild in the wake of these violent events, it’s important to remember that even though your child may be too young to understand it, they are seeing how racial injustice and anti-Black sentiment are playing out on a national stage. Children as young as 6 months old begin to notice race-based differences, and by age 2 children are beginning to internalize racial biases. That is why it is so important to talk to your children about racism and discrimination early on and in an age appropriate way.

How to Address the Topic of Racism

• Five things to remember as a parent when talking to your child about racism:
  • Remember to take care of yourself. Do not binge on news and social media. Watch what you need to stay informed and then make sure you process the information in a health way.
    • Use mindfulness activities, exercise, spending time with your family, or music and movement activities, etc.
  • Practice what you want to say ahead of time. These conversations can bring up a lot of uncertainty and fear in parents, too. It’s ok to call a friend or family member and practice ahead of time so that you will feel more comfortable when the time comes to talk to your child.
  • Be aware of your own biases. Your child is paying attention to your behavior and learning from how you act and react in different situations.
  • Be open to your child’s questions around racism and encourage them to come to you with them. Remember, it’s ok if you don’t have all of the answers.
  • Consider that this conversation is approached very differently between Black and white parents.
    • The “talk” in Black families is often started very early, usually around when the child is 4 years old and includes:
      • Don’t resist police.
      • Don’t run when approached by police
      • Don’t talk back
      • When in a store, do not run and keep your hands visible at all times
      • Don’t think that just because your white friend can do it, you can to
      • Do stay close to your parent at all times
    • For white families sometimes the talk happens much later, or not at all, and parents don’t know where to start. If you are struggling to have the “talk” with your child, here are a few things to keep in mind:
      • Children aren’t colorblind, all children develop racial prejudices unless their parents engage them directly about it, which is why talking about racism is so important.
      • Be direct and intentional, use the words race and racism when talking about this topic.
      • Lead by example to help your child understand why it’s so important to be anti-racist
      • It’s ok to point out that skin color doesn’t have much biological significance, but skin color does have a lot of historical importance.
      • If your child does say or do something racist, help them to understand that it’s not ok. You can thank them for being honest, and even admit if you’ve felt that way before. But explain why it’s racist and wrong. Intention doesn’t matter, even if they didn’t mean it, comments and actions still do harm, and they need to know that.

• For Infants and Toddlers
  • Read picture books—make sure they see images of themselves reflected in the pictures at storytime.
  • Make sure you present different races and cultures through books, toys, food, languages, etc.
  • Reinforce that difference is not bad—recognize and celebrate differences.

• For Children Ages 3-5
  • Read books
    • If all of the characters in the book look the same, ask your child what they think about that.
    • Add different books that show black and brown children of different cultures being the hero or solving the problem.
    • Introduce age appropriate books the discuss topics of Civil/Human Rights, Discrimination.
  • This might sound simple, but it’s actually pretty important—ask your child how they feel. You know your child best and can sense when they are upset. Try asking what they might be worried about or afraid of so you can reinforce that you are there to protect and support them.
  • Use the idea of fairness to help describe how racism is unfair and unacceptable; young children understand the concept of fairness very well, and this will help them understand why we need to work together to make it better.

Other Resources

• A Kids Book About Racism
• Recommended books with characters of color
• Recommended books on social justice

Stay tuned for the next article in our series which will cover how to talk to your little ones about loss. Connect with us for more resources, tips and expert advice.

The term doula is one that most people might think of when it comes to celebrity pregnancies, but know little else about. At the Start Early, we know that creating strong bonds between parents and babies is crucial to a baby’s future development. Our Healthy Parents & Babies program’s doulas and home visitors serve children and families, beginning prenatally and through age 3. Our doulas and home visitors are trained professionals who provide the highest level of care to help families from under-resourced communities thrive. In the wake of COVID-19 crisis, our program has had to adapt services to a virtual format to continue to meet families’ needs while keeping everyone safe and healthy. ­­

But first, what is a doula?

A doula is trained professional who provides continuous educational, emotional and physical support to a mother before, during and shortly after childbirth to help achieve the healthiest pregnancy, labor and delivery possible. Doulas support and comfort mothers and help them to have a safe and memorable birthing experience. A doula is responsible for informing and educating families about the different medical interventions, comfort measures, patient rights and other topics related to childbirth and post-partum education. Typically, doulas accept mothers who are entering into their third trimester. Doulas are required to have a series of monthly home visits with the participants to ensure they are able to not only retain the information, but to also make informed decisions.

What is the difference between a doula and a home visitor?

A doula coaches mothers through pregnancy and the first few weeks of their baby’s life. This helps the mother to develop healthy habits prior to birth, prepare for a successful pregnancy, labor and delivery, and create strong bonds with the baby. Our Healthy Parents & Babies program empowers mothers to make the right decisions for herself and advocate for her child’s health.

Once the baby is born, families transition from a doula to a home visitor who helps continue building a strong relationship between parent(s) and their baby, creating a safe and stimulating home environment, developing healthy eating routines for the family and connecting families to health care resources. Parents learn activities and habits that will stimulate their child’s brain development to help them thrive.

Why are doulas/home visitors important during a child’s early stages of life?

Doulas are important during pregnancy as they provide education to women about the stages of pregnancy, changes to their body and fetal development. Doulas also provide support to pregnant women during labor and delivery by providing comfort measures, support and guidance to advocate for their laboring and delivery preferences.

Home visitors are important during a child’s early stages of life as they provide families with individual educational support with early attachment and learning about their child’s growth and development. Home visitors also support families with individual parent-child education and recognize that parents and caregivers are the child’s first teacher.

What does doula/home visiting look like at Healthy Parents & Babies?

Start Early’s Healthy Parents & Babies Program offers support and coaching to pregnant women, young parents and children birth through age 3. Each family is provided with an individualized home visiting plan that is tailored to meet their needs. Pregnant women learn about their pregnancy and their child’s growth and development. Home visits include story time, parent-child development activities, parent reflections and planning for the next home visit.

How has Healthy Parents & Babies adapted services during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Out of an abundance of caution for the health and well-being of our families, doulas, home visitors and family support staff, Healthy Parents & Babies has moved all of its work to a virtual format in the wake of the current health crisis.

Our doula’s have continued to support families with weekly virtual check-ins and support during labor and delivery. Our home visitors have maintained contact with their families on their scheduled home visit day by checking-in via cellphone, FaceTime, messenger, Class Dojo and Zoom.

Our family support specialists have been maintaining weekly contact with parents and providing information on proper hand washing, symptoms of COVID-19 and locations where families can get tested for COVID-19. Family support staff have also continued to provide weekly check-ins with families that include well-being checks, and information on resources such as: support services for unemployment, community food pantries and resources for immigrant families.

What makes Healthy Parents & Babies unique?

Healthy Parents & Babies serves children and families prenatally through age 3. Women can enter our program at any stage of their pregnancy, and after their children are born, they transition to our Early Head Start home visiting program. Program participation is not limited to first-time mothers or first-time participants in the program. Participants must meet Early Head Start income eligibility guidelines.

We also support families with children who have special needs through individualized lesson plans which are inclusive to the child’s Individual Family Service Plan. Our team serves a diverse population, and we employ bilingual staff to support the families we serve.

Our families genuinely love the program, their doulas and home visitors:

“Healthy Parents & Babies has helped not only my family but every family in this program and I can only speak for myself, but we will forever be grateful that during this time you are able to help us.” –Elizabeth H.

“I’m really thankful with all of you for all your support, I know it’s a lot of people who are a part of the program that don’t even know me. But Rosa and Vicky thank you so much you are always there for us, in the times when I even need to talk to someone you have been there, always trying to look for help for us. And loving my girls. I will be sure to tell my girls all about my experience with you all and pray that they grow up to help and care for the next family in need of help. Thank you so much!” –Debbie C.

Other program benefits include:

• Prenatal and parent group meetings
• Events to socialize and interact with other children and parents
• Literacy events
• Male involvement groups
• Limited transportation assistance
• Services for children with special needs

In our fast-paced world it can feel like issues of violence and racism are dominating the content we consume from the news to social media to conversations with our friends and loved ones. While we are all working to process our thoughts, feelings and emotions around these difficult topics, so are our little ones. They are seeing these topics play out around them and, more importantly, they’re watching how the adults in their lives are responding. They might not be able to fully grasp what is going on, but even our youngest learners are picking up on our emotions in these challenging times.

That’s why here at Start Early we created this series, Tackling Tough Topics with Your Little One, to give you helpful advice from our experts as well as tips to navigate discussing difficult topics such as violence, racism and loss with your children. During the first installation of our series, Kristie Norwood, Start Early grantee education manager, shares tips and resources on how to address the topic of violence with your child.

Why Violence?

To say that recent events in our country have been violent would be an understatement. Children see the violence happening around them whether that is on television, at school or simply by hearing what the adults in their lives are saying. Even though very young children may not be able to talk about these topics in depth, they can still pick up on and respond to how the adults in their lives feel. It is important to address the topic of violence with your young children to make sure that they have accurate information and can learn how to handle their emotions. Most importantly you want to make sure to reinforce that that you love your child and that you all are working as a family to be safe and to help keep others safe, too.

How to Address the Topic of Violence

• For Infants and Toddlers

  • It’s critical to instill a feeling of safety and security with your infants and toddlers. Their well-being is linked to the strength of their relationships with their caregivers.
  • Let your child know that it is their job is to be a kid, and your job as their parent is to keep them safe.
  • Let them know that you are staying safe and are trying to be safe in everything that you do.
  • Even babies can sense if you are sad or upset, so as much as it might be difficult for you, try not to expose your children to your anxiety around this topic. It might be helpful to try a few mindfulness activities to reduce stress, such as breathing exercises or repeating positive mantras.
  • Work with your child to find a way to identify and process their own feelings of anger, stress, fear and anxiety in a healthy way. For example, you could ask them to draw a picture about how they are feeling and talk about it.
  • Talk with your child about their feelings and reassure them that you are there to love and support them.

• For Children Ages 3-5

  • Have conversations about what they are talking about at school with their friends—this will let you know if they are discussing current events.
  • When your child starts to discuss topics like gun violence, death or police brutality, let them. It is only natural for them to be curious. Use this as a learning opportunity to ask how they feel about these topics.
  • When your child asks you a question, keep your answers short and focused on what you and your family can do to be safe.
  • Remember to stay calm and use simple language that your child will understand. And if you don’t know the answer, it’s okay to say just that.

• For Both Age Groups

  • One of the best ways to start a conversation with your child is through books. Pick an age-appropriate book on the topic for storytime and then start to read. Your child’s questions will naturally develop from there.
  • Ask your child questions like: How do feel about that? Tell me more about that? Why do you think they are angry?
  • Monitor your child’s television viewing and screen time to prevent “overload.” This will help to ensure that you know what kind of content your child is consuming.
  • Try to limit your own viewing of the news or other potentially violent content to times when your child is either asleep or not in the room.
  • Explain the concept of safety using examples your child will understand. For example: Remember how we hold hands when we go outside so you don’t get lost? That is one way we stay safe. We work very hard to make sure that we can be as safe as possible.

Other Resources

• Recommended books on the topic:
  • Something Happened in Our Town, ages 4-8
  • I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness, ages 4-8
  • Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights, ages 4-8
• Consider talking to your pediatrician if you notice any of the following signs of anxiety:
  • Withdrawal from activities your child used to love
  • Excessive nail biting
  • Regression in potty training
  • Separation issues
  • For example “James used to love going outside for walks, now he cries whenever I suggest it.” Or “Hannah is starting to bite her nails until they bleed. She just started doing this within the last couple of weeks.”
  • It’s always good to have an open line of communication with your child’s doctor, they are trained to note differences in behaviors and what those differences can mean medically.
• From our friends at ZERO TO THREE: Racism and Violence: Using Your Power as a Parent to Support Children Aged Two to Five
• Addressing childhood fears with our friends at PBS Kids

While something like “7 Habits of Highly Effective Preschoolers” might be a bit excessive, there are some simple stories and ideas on leadership in the books below that will help toddlers and preschoolers build the traits and skills that will set them on the path to becoming courageous, compassionate and positive leaders. Consider one of our recommendations for your next storytime with your little one.

1. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
   Swimmy is different than the other fish in his school. But when the other fish are scared of the dangers in the deep water, he learns how to combine his uniqueness with a little bravery, ingenuity and teamwork to lead his friends to overcome their fears.
2. My First Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr. by Marion Dane Bauer
   This book, aimed at beginning readers, describes Dr. King’s journey from a child who sees social injustice all around him to the iconic civil rights leader who helped Americans move closer to racial equality.
3. Little Blue Truck by Jill McElmurry
   This board book is a great story for teaching toddlers how they can overcome obstacles with a little help from their friends. With fun truck and animal noises, it will help them learn compassion, perseverance and teamwork—all traits of a good leader.
4. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
   This classic encourages children to have confidence in themselves and broaden their horizons. Yet it doesn’t shy away from telling them that they’ll face a variety of challenges along the way; it gives them the encouragement that they have the potential to do whatever they set their mind to.
5. The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter
   As a child in London, Jane Goodall would observe the activities of birds. This love of watching wildlife eventually took her to the jungles of Africa, where she documented the lives of chimpanzees in great detail. This book shows young children how to become a leader in one’s chosen field, and for young girls, it offers a female role model in the sciences.
6. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
   A boy named Duncan opens his box of crayons one day and finds it empty. That’s because they’ve gone on strike due to various grievances, which include overwork, boredom and professional jealousy. In the end, a solution is reached that makes everyone happy. This funny story shows that part of leading is about understanding the perspectives and feelings of others.
7. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
   This timeless tale can be summed up in a single line: “I think I can.” It’s a great tool for teaching children to believe in themselves through positive self-talk. It also teaches children that leading means working as a team, staying positive and having the courage to face any challenges that come your way.