This Week in Early Childhood Education

There have been many significant efforts this week around the United States to improve the quality and accessibility of early childhood education, so we wanted to highlight some of them for you.

------------------

Montour County, PA 

There was a meeting of the Early Childhood Educators, also known as the Montour County Advocates for Children. Their aim is simple yet effective: prepare young children for school. The Early Childhood Educators engage with families in their community, providing transition support for children going into an early learning setting or Kindergarten, and they provide various resources for childhood education. They provide families with information to help them choose an early education center for their children and they provide information on child development and the appropriate learning activities for the child's age. They also hold events that showcase early learning such as displaying children's artwork in downtown Montour and fun events at the courthouse.

The Early Childhood Educators of Montour County group is comprised of various members of the community, all sharing the common interest of bettering the quality and availability to early childhood education. They will meet three more times this year, and we're looking forward to their next initiatives.

Charlotte, NC

As you may have seen in a previous blog post (here), PNC has recently developed the "Grow Up Great" plan, which is focused on preparing young children for school. This plan has many different initiatives, and this past week they have given a grant that will benefit over 700 children in Charlotte. The initiative is called "Get Ready with Words" and the aim is to expand children's bilingual vocabulary, and to improve early childhood education in low-income areas. Further meetings to discuss the program will occur this week, so check back for updates!

Chicago, IL

BIG news in early childhood education in Chicago. Earlier this week it was announced that the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools will be expanding access to early childhood education, particularly in low-income areas. A $9.4 million investment by 10 schools and a $4.5 million state capital grant will allow 1,500 young children to attend Pre-K.

Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emanuel, said: "In Chicago, high-quality pre-k and kindergarten is not the exception, it is the expectation. This will provide all of our students with the foundational learning necessary to take them on to college, career, and a successful future."

Auburn, NY

Let's wrap up this list with an ECE inititaive close to home. On October 19th, SUNY Cayuga Community College in Auburn will host the Seanna M. Donley "Growing Together" Early Childhood Education Conference, and it was just announced that Lisa Murphy, founder of the Rochester-based childhood education company Ooey Gooey will be the key note speaker.

The conference provides Cayuga County educators with workshops where they will learn new valuable information from experienced educations and professionals. Lisa Murphy's goal is to create child-centered environments that foster learning in a safe and fun space. Murphy's seven points that she feels holds the foundation of ECE together are "create, move, sing, discuss, observe, read and play". We'll be sure to provide an update after the conference!

------------------

There have been many efforts made in the United States in recent months in early childhood education, so this is just a snapshot, but we will continue to provide updates! Feel free to comment and share other initiatives that you have heard about. We're always interested to see positive steps taken for ECE.