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What a New Administration Means for Children & Families
New Administration, New Opportunities to Shift from Accountability to Quality ImprovementAs the Biden administration settles into the work of supporting states and communities to recover economically and socially – and as we continue to feel the impacts of the pandemic – we should seize the opportunity to shape the pre-K to grade 12 accountability system. We believe the system must focus less about singularly holding schools accountable and more on improving the quality of instructional practice and the organizational culture of schools.
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Read more in the new blog post by Judy Reidt-Parker, director of national policy at Start Early.

Priorities for the New Administration and U.S. Secretary of EducationThe COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated issues in our early education system that have been overlooked for decades. There has never been a better or more critical time for a U.S. Secretary of Education to chart their own course and boldly lead on early childhood. That’s why we are optimistic about President-elect Biden’s choice in Miguel Cardona for U.S. Secretary of Education.
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Read more in the latest blog post by Kristin Bernhard, senior vice president of policy and advocacy at Start Early.






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Register: Supporting & Sustaining Early Head Start – Child Care PartnershipsJoin Start Early for a
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virtual round table discussion between early childhood experts on the state of crisis facing child care in the U.S. due to the wide-ranging effects of the pandemic. One initiative that offers both short and long-term opportunities to sustain and improve high-quality early care and education is Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (Partnerships). We will engage in a conversation with leaders from program, policy and state systems on their own Partnership experiences, including successes, challenges and opportunities for growth.
When: Wednesday, February 3, 2-3 p.m. CST

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2020 State Policy Update Report & ResourcesWe invite you to
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explore Start Early’s 2020 State Policy Update Report Hub , where you can access the full report, report summaries and a social media kit. This report provides a snapshot of states’ early childhood education policy priorities and budgetary changes during the 2020 legislative sessions, many of which resulted in greater access to higher quality early learning programs and more effective early childhood systems.


The Start Early team along with community and state advocates also summarized the top-line trends that emerged from the report during its launch webinar.
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Watch the recording.







Recommended Resources: Check Out These Helpful Tools for Early Childhood Advocates
Early Childhood Connector Social Media ToolkitHelp spread the word about Early Childhood Connector — a new online community bringing together the field to collaborate and exchange ideas to strengthen the early childhood system. With just a few clicks you can share content with your personal networks on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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Learn more.

The Policy RoadmapThe Texas Early Childhood English Learner Initiative recently released its
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Policy Roadmap , which provides recommendations to the Texas Legislature, state agencies, school districts, charter schools and child care centers to improve educational outcomes for young English Learners. Guidance aims to improve the quality of early learning programs, strengthen the workforce, collect better data and retool school finance. We applaud the Initiative for centering the experiences of English Learners, and we recommend this resource to state and systems leaders seeking to do the same!





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Make Your Voice Heard
Share Your Story With Us!To raise awareness of the importance of early childhood education, Start Early is collecting stories from across the early childhood field to showcase why early learning is essential in the current moment and in the future.


We're hoping to collect 40 stories in our first year as Start Early (formerly the Ounce) — one story for each of the nearly 40 years that we have been advancing early learning and care in Illinois and across the country.

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Start Early advances quality early learning for families with children, before birth through their earliest years, to close the opportunity gap.

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