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ACS client National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) was recently featured in the New York Times and on Seattle Public Radio.

In the New York Times article, Kyle Snow, NAEYC’s applied research director, lent his expert perspective to an examination of the pros and cons of e-readers for early learning, and the fact that it’s too early to tell exactly how digital technology will have an impact on young learners. In Seattle, Snow was interviewed for a story on 94.9 FM KUOW about a program designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of home-based pre-K caregivers.

In both cases, Snow and NAEYC positioned the organization well as a leader in research and thought on pre-K policy and practice. Well done!

Watch for more NAEYC news this week, as early childhood professionals from across the world gather in Dallas for NAEYC’s  annual conference!

We often think of parents and early childhood experts as leading advocates for public investment in preschool programs, but Illinois preschools have a group of vocal advocates who aren’t frequently on the “usual suspects” list: law enforcement. According an article in the Chicago Tribune, law enforcement officials are aware of the direct correlation between the absence of quality pre-K experiences and the likelihood of interaction with the justice system later in life. Members of the law enforcement community have called on the state to restore cuts to the state’s pre-K budget, citing evidence that shows investments in pre-K result in fewer taxpayer dollars spent in the justice system later on.

“Today’s four-year-olds are the future of our communities,” Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim said in the article. “If we’re serious about solving the crime problem, we’ve got to be serious about giving kids the skills they need to grow up to be productive, law-abiding adults – starting with quality preschool.”

 

A new blog post from the Brookings Institution calls on the nation’s business community to understand and support the importance of early childhood development if it wants to create a workforce for the future. Authored by Brookings Visiting Scholar Tamar Manuelyan Atinc, a former World Bank VP, the post highlights the fact that while education systems are important to creating future workers, early childhood is where the stage for success is really set.

Says Atinc:

“We know from the scientific literature that attention to the development of human capital needs to start when the brain is developing the fastest and is at its most malleable—that is, right at the beginning of life.  And we know from the economic literature that pay-off to these investments are high for individuals, economies, and societies, and much harder and more expensive to do as children get older and the plasticity of the brain declines. It turns out that much of this pay-off comes from the positive impact of a supportive, nurturing, and stimulating environment on the cultivation of “soft skills” in children that last into adulthood.”

The post also includes a video highlighting how early childhood development investments pay off and presents ideas to engage businesses more as supporters and advocate of our youngest children.

Common sense should tell you that students living in poverty will not have the same advantages as those who are economically well off, and that those differences in circumstances will show up as differences in academic performance. That’s exactly what the latest round of state report-card data shows for Ohio schools, according to a Columbus Dispatch article — and it’s a trend that’s been building for years. But what’s different this year is a new trend in which more lawmakers are beginning to acknowledge that the disparity between economics and educational performance are closely aligned and calling for solutions to close the gap. Both Republican and Democrat leaders quoted in the article agree that “the data make an ‘extremely strong case’ for more early childhood education.” How will the rhetoric play out? Only time will tell…

ACS President Lori McClung recently coached close to 100 executive directors, communication directors, and board chairs from NC Smart Start partnerships in the art of crafting a compelling story about their organizations. As part of the Smart Start conference in North Carolina, Lori taught her workshop attendees how to effectively frame messages about early childhood in ways that increase public engagement. Participants left with new tools and practices to make powerful connections with their communities when telling the Smart Start story. You can check out some of the tools here: Giving Jargon the Boot Worksheet; Using your personal networks worksheet; and ACS Dirty Dozen Strategic Communication.

This summer was an eventful one for one of ACS’s first clients, Towards Employment. Based in Cleveland, Towards Employment is building career pathways for economically disadvantaged and formerly incarcerated citizens. They help people prepare for a job, get a job, keep a job and advance in a career. Since 1976, they have helped over 120,000 individuals achieve and maintain self-sufficiency through employment. This success has attracted the attention of federal and regional funders, the media, and the White House. This summer Towards Employment was awarded grants from the U.S. Department of Labor, The Fund for Our Economic Future, and the United Way of Greater Cleveland for innovative career pathways initiatives in manufacturing, construction, healthcare and culinary arts. Towards Employment was also honored by the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com as a “Top Workplace” in 2014. Additionally, Executive Director Jill Rizika was one of 15 Champions of Change honored by the White House on June 30th for her extraordinary work with developing employment opportunities for individuals formerly involved in the justice system. ACS is proud to have had Towards Employment as a client.

Keep up the great work!

Having returned from The BUILD Initiative’s conference on Quality Raging and Improvement Systems (QRIS), ACS Senior Director Rebecca Cohen has six high-level takeaways to share:

1.    Data and research about the state of early childhood education is getting better, but it’s still not complete. Look for new and deeper information from studies coming out this fall from the National Survey of Early Care and Education and from Pennsylvania and Virginia.

2. Variations among states are good … and bad. While variations in the use of QRIS allow states and communities to learn from one another, it also makes a national conversation about quality more difficult.

3.    QRIS boosts collaboration among multiple systems. QRIS is well suited as a tool for local collective impact initiatives.

 4.    Workforce development is and will continue to be major emphasis of QRIS. A new federal study will be released this fall that will provide clarity on the effects of teacher degree attainment on early childhood education quality.

5.    Communication is necessary to translate data and research into messages about how the QRIS systems work. Organizations responsible for creating buy-in for QRIS must have a clear communication strategy to reach new and different stakeholders and champions.

6.    QRIS systems should reflect what local communities need and policy makers are talking about. Taking local politics and needs into consideration when customizing the QRIS allows a community to leverage momentum from all stakeholders.

Collaboration seems to be the model for our times, and it should be. No single person or group can solve the sticky problems that are seemingly entrenched in our education, justice and economic systems. Indeed, solving societal problems requires the engagement of that society — and that requires collaboration. But collaboration that doesn’t engage a diversity of opinion can often miss the intended mark, and sometimes even shoot in the wrong direction entirely. ACS makes a conscious effort to include input and action from diverse groups of stakeholders in every project. That’s why we love this article from collaboration guru Michelle Miller of MMBD (Michelle Miller Business Design). Michelle’s comprehensive Stakeholder Map for Collaboration not only takes into account the differences in background or role that different stakeholder groups may have, but their variations in perspective in relationship to those roles. Some stakeholders may serve as visionaries, exploring what’s possible, while others provide a clear picture of the current reality. Some may be skilled at defining program objectives, while others can see the paths that will lead to accomplishing those objectives. All are joined by a common purpose – a common answer to the question, “why are we doing this?”  We love the complexity and synergy of this model, because it reflects the messy truth and inspiring potential that are borne of human interactions. What more engaging work could there possibly be?

When First Things First of Arizona (FTF) needed powerful plans for community outreach and communications to educate families statewide about the importance of early childhood education, they called on ACS. Now, ACS is assisting FTF with building the capacity of its regional community outreach staff and regional council directors to successfully facilitate community stakeholder conversations and negotiate difficult conversations around strategic priorities.

Scarlett Bouder and Rebecca Cohen recently spent several days in Phoenix training more than 30 regional staff and directors who came to the table with a wide variety of experience levels. ACS created custom tools and scenarios for FTF to help regional directors work through concepts and resources that will help them facilitate conversations with various early childhood stakeholders in their unique communities. The training also provided plenty of opportunity for participants to reflect on their facilitation work and work through the challenges of coalition building, coming to consensus, and identifying priorities.

The ACS team will continue providing 1-1 assistance throughout the summer so that FTF staff is well-prepared and highly effective in engaging their communities to support Arizona’s youngest residents.

Kudos to Cincinnati Public Schools for a great article in Ed Source that touts the district’s Community Learning Centers as a model for the nation. The district brings community partners into every one of its 55 schools in a “whole child” approach to improving academics. Cincinnati’s program employs the concepts of “community schools,” in which all of a student’s needs – physical, social, emotional and academic – are met under one roof through an integrated approach. In 10 years, that approach has transformed Cincinnati schools from one of the worst urban school districts in the state into the best. ACS is proud to work closely with Cincinnati Public Schools as part of The Ohio 8.