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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...

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...

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,...

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 thankful for in the early learning world. This...

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, 44% of child care providers are struggling to...

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 matter not just for the nearly 60% of...

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 it somewhere in the future–that we need to...

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 very low labor force participation as compared to...

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 care and education. False Starts: The Segregated Lives...

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.”