Conversations Archives - Early Learning Nation

Adverse childhood experiences are different than child trauma, and it’s critical to understand why

Jessica Dym Bartlett and Vanessa Harbin Sacks·Apr 16, 2019·4 min read

The increased public understanding that childhood adversity, including adverse childhood experiences, can cause trauma and toxic stress—and, in turn, have a lasting impact on children’s physical and mental health—presents an important opportunity to turn this awareness into action.

Working with ECE Providers in Massachusetts during Covid-19: Insights from Amy O’Leary

Traci M. Childress·Mar 25, 2021·7 min read

The pandemic has upended entire industries, including the early childhood education (ECE) industry, which has suffered through permanent closures, high...

States of Development: The Hunt Institute’s Data Narratives

Mark Swartz·Feb 7, 2020·4 min read

In January of 2020, The Hunt Institute—an education policy non-profit based in Durham, NC—released updates to its State Early Childhood...

Act Naturally: The Benefits of Wet Hands and Muddy Feet

An Interview with Richard Louv

Mark Swartz·May 22, 2019·7 min read

How do we get today’s kids active and in tune with nature? And if the current generation of young parents missed out on personal experiences with nature, who will teach their children?

What Inspires You to Work on Behalf of Young Children?

Celebrating the Week of the Young Child, April 6-12

Mark Swartz and Art Hondros (Illustrator)·Apr 9, 2024·7 min read

Every week is the Week of the Young Child at Early Learning Nation magazine. The National Association for the Education...

Paternity Leave Is Good For Early Learning, Too

Elliot Haspel·Oct 26, 2021·3 min read

My paternity leaves were some of the most cherished weeks of my life. While far too short, I have crystal-clear...

New Report Shows There’s Room for Improvement in Navigating a More Equitable Arizona

Mark Swartz·Feb 8, 2024·7 min read

Shantel Meek, Ph.D., founding executive director of the Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University, learned an important lesson during...

Simplicity, Visibility and Tangible Child Care Solutions: Q&A With Bainum Family Foundation’s Marica Cox Mitchell

Mark Swartz·Oct 23, 2024·5 min read

The Washington, D.C.-based Bainum Family Foundation recently announced a five-year, $100 million funding commitment to early childhood. The ambitious plan...

Engaging Local Leaders Is Key to Helping Young Children and Their Families Thrive

A Q&A with Sheri Brady, vice president of strategy and program for the Children’s Defense Fund, about the current policy environment for children.

Mark Swartz·Apr 17, 2025·4 min read

Since November, advocates and experts have sounded the alarm over what the Trump administration’s executive orders and directives could mean...

A New Year of Reflection, Impact and Equity

Mark Swartz and Art Hondros (Illustrator)·Dec 27, 2022·6 min read

Hope, wrote Emily Dickinson, is the thing with feathers. To which we would add glitter, glue, googly eyes and the...

For Young Children, a RAPID Response to the Pandemic

Mark Swartz·Jun 4, 2020·4 min read

The Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development, or RAPID project, gathers essential information on unmet needs and health-promoting behaviors for...

Sarah Smith: Bringing Childhood Education to the World’s Hardest to Reach Places

The Editors·Apr 30, 2019·4 min read

It’s an ongoing global crisis: More than half of all refugee children – some 62 million – have no access to any form of education. From establishing schools in refugee camps to bringing Sesame Street to the Middle East, Sarah Smith, Sr. Director of Education at the International Rescue Committee, explains how the IRC addresses this humanitarian emergency every day. Filmed for Early Learning Nation’s Mobile Studio at the Society for Research in Child Development’s biennial meeting in Baltimore, MD, on March 22, 2019. #SRCD19

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