Page 4 – Early Learning Nation

Families and Providers Deserve More Notice When Child Care Programs Close

When a program closes its doors abruptly, parents are left scrambling for care, providers are out of work and children lose the stability they need.

Elliot Haspel·Mar 19, 2025·6 min read

Imagine getting an email that your favorite restaurant has decided to close at the end of the month. That’s sad,...

Introducing the Progress Rating Tool

The Editors·Nov 20, 2019·1 min read

Three years ago, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and the National League of Cities (NLC) partnered...

School Readiness and the Tyranny of Merit, Part 1

Elliot Haspel·Aug 2, 2022·11 min read

While we see the tyranny of merit most active in K-12 and higher education, school readiness is the Trojan horse through which it has breached the world of early childhood.

New Study: Health Insurance Differences Can Cost a Baby’s Life

K.C. Compton·Feb 29, 2024·8 min read

One sentence can hold a lot of heartache. This one, for instance: Babies born to mothers on Medicaid died at...

Roots of Empathy: Where Children Learn the Language of Getting Along

K.C. Compton·May 21, 2020·9 min read

As founder of the groundbreaking Roots of Empathy program and author of the bestselling book by the same name, Mary...

“Baby’s First Years” Offers First U.S. Study to Assess Impact of Poverty Reduction on Infant and Toddler Development

Tom Kertscher·May 8, 2019·5 min read

“What this study is asking is whether or not, as a matter of public policy, is it a straightforward way to achieve the important goal of early childhood development.” -- Matt Klein, executive director, New York City Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity

Dr. Joan Lombardi: Empowering the Adults in Children’s Lives

The Editors·Nov 8, 2023·5 min read

Dr. Joan Lombardi has spent her career exploring early childhood learning from multiple perspectives: policy, public sector, private sector, university and more. Among her current efforts is leveraging unique survey data and insights to identify “material hardships” that parents face, and identifying new ways to empower communities to advance the developmental continuum and—in Dr. Lombardi’s words—“raise the barn” together.

Alabama Child Care Activist Lenice Emanuel Speaks Her Truth

Mark Swartz·Mar 31, 2022·5 min read

This magazine uses the word crisis a lot. We’ve reported again and again that early childhood education in America is...

Lessons from the History of Children’s Television, the Original Distance Learning

Mark Swartz·Mar 2, 2021·6 min read

The roots of the word television are ancient Greek τῆλε/tele, ‘far’ and Latin visio, ‘sight’. And ever since it arrived...

Strolling Thunder Advocacy: Showing People the ‘Why’

Mark Swartz·Jun 10, 2021·3 min read

Every spring, ZERO TO THREE’S Strolling Thunder unites the voice of parents and caregivers to remind Congress that babies matter....

Big Plans for Little Kids

Just Don’t Call It Shark Tank for Toddlers

Mark Swartz·Apr 28, 2020·2 min read

Well before the rest of us started hunkering down and conducting most of our meetings via online video platforms, Promise...

Connecting Children’s Vocabulary to Knowledge through Science and Shared Book Reading

K.C. Compton·May 29, 2024·7 min read

Though it’s been decades since I’ve read it, I’m certain I could come out of a deep sleep and, if...

Get the latest in early learning science, community and more:

Get the latest in early learning science, community and more