I’m Jackie Mader, an early childhood reporter and writer of the Early Childhood newsletter. On this final day of our end-of-year fundraising drive, I’m dropping in to let you know how important your support is to me and the other newsletter writers.

All of us work to deliver stories to you that add context because we believe things can’t change for America’s children without a greater understanding of our problems and the solutions that exist (or need to be conceived).

We deploy resources, time and passion to report stories that shine a light on inequalities in education, and we travel far and wide for our solutions-oriented investigations. 

This year, I investigated how states are diverging in their child care policies. I focused on the dozen states that are rolling back child care regulations that both protect children but also promote developmentally-supportive environments. 

To report this story, “The dark future of American child care,” and several follow-up pieces, I traveled to Iowa to see what providers face every day in their work, and why deregulation makes the job harder for early educators and can lead to dangerous conditions for children. For over a year, I pored over research and inspection reports, watched legislative sessions and interviewed two-dozen educators and experts to find out what children need to thrive. 

Without your support, we simply could not tell the kind of stories that reflect our mission: to cover innovation and inequality in education. You can support our nonprofit newsroom with a gift of any amount. Thank you so much for your readership and support this year. 

Please make payable to Teachers College, Columbia University and note 'The Hechinger Report' in the memo field. Attn: Ruby Franzen and sent to 525 W 120th Street, Box 127, New York, NY 10027

The Hechinger Report accepts donations via our fiscal sponsor, Teachers College/Columbia University. As such, we use their TAX ID (13-1624202) - for all donations.