Businesses merge all the time. Nonprofit mergers are more rare, but experts have long pointed to the potential advantages of joining forces. In a recent article, Early Learning Nation shares how the recent merger of Start Early and the Early Learning Lab is a great study in how to capitalize on the strengths of both organization to amplify their effectiveness.

The article explores how Early Learning Lab’s human-centered design approach combined with Start Early’s consulting work will strengthen the human capacity and infrastructure states and communities need to build strong and equitable systems. As Rebecca Berlin, chief learning officer at Start Early sums it up, “We’re better together than apart.”

Start Early is excited to partner with Noggin, Sparkler Learning and more than a dozen other partner organizations on Big Heart World, a new social and emotional learning initiative for families and educators.

Social and emotional learning is at the heart of children’s early development. The first five years of life are a period of developing communication, collaboration and self-regulation skills through interaction with a supportive, stimulating environment. The initiative seeks to support educators and families with free and publicly available resources to help their children develop these critical skills and reach their highest potential.

Each month, the initiative will share new content, in English and Spanish, focused on three core areas of emotional learning:

• Learning About Me: Awareness of self: identity & belonging, feelings and self-regulation
• Learning About You: Awareness of others: empathy, appreciation of diversity
• Learning About Us: Relationships with others: interpersonal strategies

Content will include monthly guides for Educators and Parent & Caregivers, as well as play-based learning activities, videos, songs and games designed to help children develop self-confidence, self-awareness, an appreciation of others and strong relationships. Or as our partners like to say, everything children need to “build a big heart.”

We’ll also be sharing resources from Start Early experts as part of the initiative and look forward to the shared learning with families and educators across the country as we together work to address our youngest learners’ pressing social and emotional needs.

Tonight, President Joe Biden unveiled the American Families Plan, which includes sweeping federal investments in national child care, prekindergarten and paid family leave, among other priorities. In response, Start Early leaders issued the following statements:

Transformative Investments in Our Youngest Learners Nationwide

“The American Families Plan contains transformative investments in our youngest learners, their families, and the workforce that represent a quantum leap towards a comprehensive early learning system where every family and child has the opportunity to thrive.

The experiences children have during their first five years shape their brains in a profound way, setting them up for lifelong success. We are excited to see our education system expanded to include preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, supports for families to access high-quality learning and child care, and paid family leave that will help all families begin their journey on a strong foundation of caring, responsive relationships.

Start Early will continue to leverage our expertise in program, policy and research, as well as our decades of work with children, families, the workforce and systems leaders and our efforts to advance equity to help maximize the impact of these historic investments.”

– Diana Rauner, president of Start Early

An Opportunity to Accelerate a Bold Vision for Early Learning in Illinois

“The American Families Plan contains historic investments in our youngest learners, their families and the workforce that create an opportunity to transform our nation’s approach to a prenatal-to-age 5 early learning system.

The Plan will build on the equitable foundations Illinois is already laying through a sweeping package of legislation led by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus earlier this year. It also offers an opportunity to greatly accelerate the realization of a bold vision for our state’s early learning system, laid out in the recommendations from Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Early Childhood Funding Commission.

Start Early looks forward to bringing these federal opportunities to bear on our work here in Illinois to transform our state’s early learning and care system, beginning in the earliest days of life.”

– Ireta Gasner, vice president of Illinois advocacy & policy at Start Early

Moving Washington State One Step Closer Towards a Comprehensive Prenatal-to-Age 5 Early Learning System

“The American Families Plan contains transformative investments in our youngest learners, their families and the workforce that will move Washington state one step closer towards a comprehensive prenatal-to-age 5 early learning system where every family and child has the opportunity to thrive.

These investments will support the implementation of the Fair Start Act, an historic piece of legislation in Washington state that will advance our early care and education system, making high-quality child care more available and affordable, and provide critical supports to families with young children.

“Start Early will continue to leverage our expertise, our decades of direct work and our efforts to advance equity to inform positive changes for our state’s early learning and care system.”

– Valisa Smith, executive director of Start Early’s Washington State Office

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 week’s verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd is a significant step towards confronting the institutional structures that maintain and condone systemic violence towards people of color. As we work towards a country where all children have an equitable opportunity to thrive, we know there is still a long way to go: Since testimony in the case began in late March, three people a day have died at the hands of law enforcement, including children like Adam Toledo and Ma’Khia Bryant, parents like Daunte Wright and others. As members of the early childhood community, many of us are still processing the pain and hurt caused by watching societal systems continue to fail adults and children of color. Just as one community confronts a killing, another happens.

We know early education and care will play a critical role in helping our communities level the playing field and set a foundation for children to succeed in life. We also recognize that quality early childhood experiences are just one critical piece of the solution and alone won’t fix the formal structures and systems that, in tandem with our country’s history and culture of white supremacy, perpetuate racism and inequities.

But as individuals who interact with, shape and influence these systems, we commit to collectively supporting and partnering with our communities, children and families in healing from this ongoing trauma and dismantling oppressive structures. We will continue to reflect upon the ways in which our own early learning community has, at times, aligned with this systemic violence, including disproportionate expulsion rates for young children of color, enrollment patterns, underpayment of staff and continued segregation. We will continue to work towards centering parent and community voices by honoring their leadership, needs, desires and hopes — for themselves, their families, their communities and our country.

We invite our partners and supporters to help us address these imperatives with passion and urgency, and to hold us accountable on our learning journey. Our efforts to dismantle racism will continue not only in the aftermath of incidences of violence, but as long as the health, development, and well-being of the children and families we partner with and serve are jeopardized by racist systems, practices and behaviors.

Earlier today, we hosted our Annual Luncheon — a virtual, nationwide celebration of the transformational power of starting early. Through the inspiring stories of families, educators and early learning champions, we witnessed how quality early learning and care programs lay a positive foundation for our youngest learners and provide necessary supports for all families.

Presented by LaSalle Network and the Zell Family Foundation, our Luncheon welcomed more than 3,000 individuals from coast to coast, many first-time attendees who are new to the Start Early family, along with some of our longest supporters. If you were unable to join us, you can watch a recording of the full program below.

Through this powerful program of diverse voices and experiences, we hope you can see the role we each have as parents, family members, friends or colleagues to support our children, families and early childhood workforce. From spreading the word about early learning’s impact in our communities, to contacting your legislator in support of an advocacy campaign or sharing the gift of financial support, your investment of time or resources will make a difference. Learn more about ways to get involved.

I am overwhelmed with appreciation for the families, educators and early learning champions, including our Luncheon Co-Chairs Kelly King Dibble and Diana Sands, who shared their personal and inspirational stories to help demonstrate the importance of early learning and care programs. Thank you to:

Michelle Obama
Former First Lady of the United States

Dr. Clinton Boyd, Jr.  
Postdoctoral Associate, Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity

Diana Barrios
New Mother

Patricia Ceja-Muhsen
Doula, Healthy Parents & Babies

Danielle Jordan  
Senior Master Teacher, Educare Chicago

Michelle Morris  
Family Support & Community Engagement Manager, Educare Chicago

Kelly King Dibble
Senior Vice President, The Northern Trust Company; Board Member, Start Early

Diana Sands
Board Member, Start Early

Curt Bailey
President, Related Midwest; Board Chair, Start Early

We are so grateful for the overwhelming generosity of our donors and event sponsors, who helped us surpass our fundraising goal of $1.2 million. Each dollar invested in this mission will change the course for our youngest learners and their families. You can still show your support by making a gift. When we come together and invest in early childhood education, we can transform the lives of our future generation.

Thank you for joining us at our virtual 2021 Annual Luncheon, and we hope to see you again soon.

Start Early is pleased to announce the merger of Start Early and the Early Learning Lab (ELL), a nonprofit with expertise in human-centered design, systems thinking and technology solutions. As part of the merger, ELL will join Start Early as a new division operating under chief learning officer Rebecca Berlin.

The merger will uniquely position 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. By integrating ELL’s human-centered design capacities with Start Early’s deep expertise across program, policy and research, Start Early will drive stronger, more equitable solutions, programs and policies that are better informed by community voices to improve early childhood systems across the country.

“We are excited to build on the culture of innovation that has always been at the heart of Start Early,” said Diana Rauner, president of Start Early. “The merger will extend and deepen our capabilities to innovate as we seek to elevate parent and family voice and improve early childhood programs and systems at scale.”

Start Early has long believed engaging families and elevating the voices of parents and caregivers are critical to create high-quality, equitable and effective early learning programs and systems.

The merger comes at a key juncture for the early childhood field, as COVID-19 underscored the need for a more equitable, comprehensive and sustainable early childhood system that proactively addresses existing disparities and ensures that programs meet the needs of all children and families, especially those from under-resourced communities.

ELL’s reputation for elevating parent, caregiver and teacher voice will build upon Start Early’s work to create programs and systems that are grounded in parent and provider voice through its Early Head Start & Head Start Network, Home Visiting & Doula Network, Educare Learning Network and solutions and engagement work.

“Providing services that are truly equitable and beneficial begins with understanding what families want and need,” said Sheetal Singh, executive director of the ELL. “We’re excited to join Start Early and continue our work to flip the narrative so that families and caregivers are partners in co-learning and co-designing programs and systems.”

Through the merger, Singh and five additional ELL staff will join Start Early. Additionally, Start Early will gain current ELL assets and intellectual property, including applications and online platforms.

In FY 22, ELL will continue its previous commitments funded by the Packard Foundation, the William Penn Foundation-funded Philadelphia Parent Institute and its partnership within the National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement (NCPFCE) to lead innovation in resource and product development and field testing.

As a part of Start Early, ELL will help advance the organization’s goal to transform the early childhood field’s ability to deliver quality at scale by generating knowledge, deploying solutions and expertise, maturing systems, and navigating the field toward a cohesive vision.

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.

About the Early Learning Lab (ELL)

The Early Learning Lab (ELL) 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 programs. ELL’s approach is based on rapid-cycle learning, human-centered design, and behavioral science, and leverages technology and data for impact and scale. ELL has deployed innovative technology and solutions in education arenas and achieved recognition for the effectiveness of their approach and tools. ELL has also brought their human-centered design work to communities through their Parent Innovation Institute programs in Oakland and Philadelphia and as an advisor for the California Department of Education (CDE), PBS SoCal, and others.

• Extend Early Intervention (EI) services to three-year olds until their next school year begins. This allows children receiving Early Intervention (EI) services prior to their third birthday and are found eligible for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in preschool to remain in the EI program until the beginning of the school year following their third birthday. (Their third birthday must fall between May 1^st and August 31^st.) This change will minimize gaps in services, ensure better continuity of care, and align practices for enrollment of preschool children with special needs to the enrollment practices of typically developing preschool children.
• Establish the Early Education Act, which contains legislative findings that Early Intervention services are cost-effective. The Act encourages the IDHS to prepare and submit a report to the ILGA on the use of the “at-risk” category for eligibility of EI services and an affirmative outreach plan for dissemination of information about the category. The Act also encourages the development of specialized teams to address the complex needs that sometimes arise in the provision of services and to launch a demonstration project with the goal of better coordination and timely connections between neonatal intensive care units and Early Intervention services.
• Establish in state law a kindergarten readiness assessment, an observational tool designed to help teachers, administrators, families, and policymakers better understand the developmental readiness of children entering kindergarten. Illinois began requiring the administration of its kindergarten readiness assessment several years ago, but unlike other state education assessments, there is no current reference to it in law. This formalizes the State Board’s current policy in statute, allowing schools, districts, and the state to understand better where our young learners need support to be successful in kindergarten and beyond.
• Establish the Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultations Act, which encourages the state to increase the availability of Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (I/ECMHC) services through increased funding, encourages relevant state agencies to develop and promote improved materials for families and providers, and encourages relevant state agencies to provide more data on early childhood expulsions, among other things.
• Require behavioral health services providers for children under 5 to use a developmentally appropriate diagnostic assessment and billing system. Previously, state law required that Medicaid diagnosis codes for behavioral health services in young children must be coded by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the International Classification of Diseases, which are not developmentally appropriate for young children. The new legislation requires the use of DC 0-5 diagnostic codes for children under 5 and publicize the existing crosswalk to the ICD-10 codes for billing purposes.
• Establish the Early Childhood Workforce Act, which recognizes the critical role of the early childhood workforce. It encourages IDHS to offer targeted outreach and financial support to those seeking to increase their credentials while prioritizing diversity and communities with the greatest shortages. It provides annual reports on those receiving scholarships and encourages agencies to prioritize reaching compensation parity between early childhood and its K-12 peers.
• Establish the Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Act, which recognizes the role that high-quality early childhood experiences have on children’s short and long-term outcomes. The act also demonstrates support of the Illinois General Assembly for the goals of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding and encourages the state to create an implementation planning process and timeline with a designated body accountable for implementing the Commission’s recommendations.