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5 Top Takeaways from the Hunt Institute Conversation: The Men of Early Learning

Mark Swartz·November 30, 2023·2 min read

In October, three men joined the Hunt Institute’s Dan Wuori to discuss what it is like to be one of “the few, the proud”: a man working in early childhood education. The panel stressed the importance of men in this profession and how to make it more accessible and appealing for male professionals. Here are our top five takeaways: The early childhood education workforce is overwhelmingly female. Men represent 3% of the workforce; of those...

The 2023 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap Report Illuminates Conditions in Ohio and Around the Country

Mark Swartz·November 29, 2023·5 min read

Vanderbilt University’s Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center (PN-3) just issued its annual State Policy Roadmap, exploring ways that the states (and D.C.) can improve conditions so...

What It Takes to Nurture “Little Leaders”: Reflections from a Family Care Provider in the Bronx

With Training and Tech Assistance from All Our Kin

Mark Swartz·November 28, 2023·4 min read

Loving ice cream doesn’t qualify you to open an ice cream parlor. The same goes for child care. Entrepreneurs who educate other people’s children in...

5 Top Takeaways from New America’s Better Life Lab Webinar: Transforming How America Cares

Mark Swartz·November 24, 2023·3 min read

While we’re taking Early Learning Nation Studio on the road less often during the pandemic, we’re offering recaps—Top Takeaways—from important conversations, town halls, webinars and...

Reframing Caregiving Leave as an Opportunity at Work, Not a Liability

MH WorkLife’s “Care At Work Summit NYC” Focuses on Strengthening Resilience, Elevating Care, Transforming Workplaces

Rebecca Gale·November 23, 2023·4 min read

We’re doing it wrong. When it comes to taking a paid leave to care for oneself or a family member, our country and our workplaces...

preschool-teacher-smiling-and-playing-with-kids-at-a-table

5 Top Takeaways from the Hunt Institute Conversation: The Men of Early Learning

By Mark Swartz
November 30, 2023

Lets-Make-a-Map-PBSKids

The 2023 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap Report Illuminates Conditions in Ohio and Around the Country

By Mark Swartz
November 29, 2023

shanette-banner

What It Takes to Nurture “Little Leaders”: Reflections from a Family Care Provider in the Bronx

By Mark Swartz
November 28, 2023

smiling-parent-leaning-over-their-baby-smiling

5 Top Takeaways from New America’s Better Life Lab Webinar: Transforming How America Cares

By Mark Swartz
November 24, 2023

collage-of-picture-of-adults-of-many-ages-and-ethnicies-smiling-and-hugging

Reframing Caregiving Leave as an Opportunity at Work, Not a Liability

By Rebecca Gale
November 23, 2023

Explore our series:

Child Care Crisis

5 Questions for the Governor

Community Cultivators

Elliot's Provocations

Top Takeaways

Mind Field

Early Learning Nation (ELN) is an independent magazine devoted to early learning (0-5 years), reporting on groundbreaking research, early learning policy and best practices in the field.

More recent news from the early learning world:

What Are You Thankful For?

Mark Swartz and Art Hondros (Illustrator)·November 22, 2023·4 min read

Every year, Early Learning Nation magazine asks experts and friends what they’re...

New Federal Legislation Proposes Essential “Fix’ns” for Meals in Child Care Settings Bipartisanship May Make It Happen

Anne Vilen·November 21, 2023·5 min read

This holiday season, while some Americans are enjoying a cornucopia of abundance,...

Unleashing the Potential of Young Dual Language Learners

Building Bilingualism into the Golden State’s Early Education

Mark Swartz·November 17, 2023·4 min read

When it comes to supporting brain development and language skills, California’s policies...

Brazelton Touchpoints Center Hosts Dr. Rupa Basu to Share Health Risks of Climate Change—Especially for the Elderly and the Very Young—and Ways to Prepare for Them

Alice Bradley·November 16, 2023·5 min read

The rhetoric we often hear about the climate crisis tends to set...

Improving Child Care in Puerto Rico Begins with Building a Data Infrastructure

Rebecca Gale·November 15, 2023·4 min read

Dr. María E. Enchautegui had noticed a pattern. Puerto Rico had a...

Book Review: New Book on Preschool Segregation Raises Under-Examined Questions

False Starts: The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers

Elliot Haspel·November 14, 2023·9 min read

This week brings the release of an important new book on early...

Mississippi’s “Miracle”: Fourth Grade Reading Scores Keep Climbing. Is Early Learning the Reason?

Mark Swartz·November 10, 2023·4 min read

Everyone likes good news, so it’s no wonder that when Mississippi went from being ranked second-worst in 2013 for fourth grade reading scores to 21st in 2022, the media kept using the m-word. “Everybody keeps on calling this a miracle,” says Dr. Jill Dent, executive director, Early Childhood Education, Mississippi Department of Education (MDE). “But we have worked really hard, and we were very intentional.”

America’s Child Care Food Programs: Available and Too-Often Unused

K.C. Compton·November 9, 2023·8 min read

The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program works. One of 15...

5 Top Takeaways from the “New Lens on Poverty” Conversation Hosted by the Harvard Center on the Developing Child

Mark Swartz·November 8, 2023·3 min read

While we’re taking Early Learning Nation Studio on the road less often...

Claudia Goldin Won a Nobel Prize Addressing Women’s Work Obstacles Head-on. Will Child Care be the Next Barrier to Fall?

Rebecca Gale·November 7, 2023·5 min read

Claudia Goldin, recent Nobel Prize winner and the Henry Lee Professor of...

Elliot’s Provocations: Offering Child Care Educators Free Child Care: A Stopgap Measure with Legs

Elliot Haspel·November 1, 2023·5 min read

If you’ve been following my work at all, you know I bristle at many “incremental” solutions to child care challenges.