As part of New America’s Better Life Lab, Brigid Schulte helped drive a landmark report that exposed what’s really happening in America’s child care system – namely, it’s not a system. Instead, “it's a patchwork, it's broken, and it's not working well for anyone.” Schulte calls for us to “begin thinking about early care and education the same way we do about K-12.”
As American cities rebuild after the pandemic, much of the focus is on infrastructure. For Dr. Tonja Rucker, Director of Early Childhood Success at NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families, that means not only physical needs like roads and bridges, but also the family structure, starting with its youngest members. As Dr. Rucker notes: “If the youngest residents are healthy and doing well, then the rest of things kind of fall into place and families get to be able to meet their needs.”
As the City of Dublin (GA) Youth Council Mayor and a NLC Youth Leader, Darrius Knight is working to help adults and youths better understand each other. The key is communication. He also advocates for prison reform.
Covid arrived and, suddenly, every parent became a teacher. Savannah (GA) Mayor Van Johnson sees the positive: the ability for all of us to better support teachers. Mayor Johnson also sees the need to make up for lost time, and the importance of ensuring that early learning occurs everywhere, from classrooms to churches. That’s why his message to parents is straightforward: childhood learning is “a lifetime investment. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's a four-quarter game.”
Covid-19 prevented us from taking our Early Learning Nation Studio on the road for two years. That changed this week when...
As a professor, nurse, mom and policymaker, access to efficient, effective and equitable early childhood education is and has been an ongoing top priority of mine.
During the pandemic, life expectancy has trended down. Equally troubling, and far less discussed, is a recent decline in average...
Where do you go for the top news in Early Learning at the state level? Check out “5 Questions for...
Where do you go for the top news in Early Learning at the state level? Check out “5 Questions for...
Where do you go for the top news in Early Learning at the state level? Check out “5 Questions for...
Since the establishment of the Department of Early Learning back in 2006, we’ve seen a lot of growth in awareness about early brain development and the importance of getting it right in the early years. The recent passage of the Fair Start for Kids Act is a historic investment in both early learning and child care, and it’s a great example of how our understanding about the importance of early childhood has advanced over the past few decades.
First Lady Susan Hutchinson and I have a strong commitment to protecting children, strengthening families and improving outcomes. We share the belief that every child in Arkansas deserves a safe and stable nurturing family every day.
