The Schott Foundation gathered grassroots organizations from across the country for the Opportunity to Learn Federal Policy Commission. On the eve of their recommendations becoming public, the Commission’s Director, Michael S. Wotorson, discusses why they came together and how their ideas will influence school board actions, local municipal leadership and state policy.
How do can the children’s individual identities evolve naturally and fully in the face of stereotypes that can often plague our communities and societies? As Julie Olsen Edwards, author ‘Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves’ explains, some of that help can come from teachers – and how they think about their curriculum.
How can communities know the progress they’re making – or areas to grow – in becoming a true center for early learning? In Part Two of our conversation, Cailin O’Connor, Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, explains the metrics, inputs and outputs of the Digital Progress Rating Tool and the early childhood system performance assessment toolkit.
Kumani Bey may still be in high school, but her art—using words, filmmaking and more— is giving voice to multiple causes and making impact across all ages. Kumani joined the NBCDI Conference as a Youth Speaker to highlight America’s technology gap and its impact on Black children.
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.”
According to NYU University Professor Lawrence Aber, poverty and violence are the two most toxic challenges for child development – areas he has researched from the U.S. to Africa and the Middle East. Regardless of location, children can experience poverty and violence in difference ways and levels. Aber explains the research, tools and tactics required to give children the best opportunities for successful development. 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
As early learning science continues to deliver new insights around how children learn, the imperative next step becomes putting those learnings into the hands of people who need it most: Educators and parents. Senior Manager Erin Ramsey explains how Mind in the Making does that all across America.
Edward Manuszak wears many hats, but the two most important are Superintendent of Dundee (MI) Community Schools and as the AASA Early Learning Cohort Co-Chair. In both roles, he works to deliver excellent learning opportunities. So why is Manuszak among the first to say that “Early Childhood Matters Most?”
What does a culture of health look like? Dr. Gail Christopher, Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity, explains why so much of it happens outside medical system – and how bringing equal access and quality to early childhood education is a key place to start.
As an NLC Youth Representative, North Carolina High School junior Ramie Mack has the opportunity to talk with adults, including mayors and city councilmembers. And as she advocates for learning, Ramie wants those leaders to understand that youth face challenges, too. That’s just one reason she advocates for making sure students are part of the conversation when learning is being discussed.
What role does play play in early learning? Kasper Ottosson Kanstrup, vice president and global head of Communities through Play at The Lego Foundation, pulls out his bag of toys, er, research and explains the science of how children learn through play.
Building successful early learning programs is hard. Figuring out how to do it in some of the hardest to reach corners of the globe? That’s a case for Cynthia McCaffrey, director of UNICEF’s Office of Innovation.
