Buffett Early Childhood Institute

QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION REVISITED: WHAT IT MEANS AND WHAT IT TAKES

Spoiler alert: We won’t get QUALITYwithout EQUITY This project is made possible by funding received through Grant Number 90TP0079-01, of the USDHHS-Administration for

Children and Families, Office of Early Childhood; Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services; Nebraska Department of Education; and Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, following grant requirements of 70% federal funding with 30% match from state and private resources. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Buffett Early Childhood Institute

“A system of education is not one thing, nor does it have a single definite object, nor is it a mere matter of schools. Education is that whole system of human training within and without the schoolhouse walls which molds and shapes children.”

(adapted from W.E.B. Dubois)

Buffett Early Childhood Institute

Successful Outcomes for

Nebraska's Children and

Families

Strategic Plan Goals

PDG B-5

Thriving Conference

What Nebraska wants for Early Care

Buffett Early Childhood Institute

Quality

Equity

Family Engagement

physical and emotional safety

1:1, warm, language-rich interactions

Quality =a child’s experience

Programs/Schools

Community

State

Obstacles to QUALITY

Everyone has a fair and just opportunity to thrive and reach their potential. This requires removing obstacles such as racism, poverty, discrimination and their consequences, including powerlessness, lack of information, and access to basic resources.

What is Equity?

Programs/Schools

Community

State

Obstacles to EQUITY

Buffett Early Childhood Institute

Quality and Equity are Inseparable

Families and Communities are Essential Partners in Defining and Sustaining Quality and Equity

Family engagement is a reciprocating partnership among parents, families, programs, organizations, staff, and communities that reflects a shared responsibility to foster children’s development and learning at home, at child care and school, and in the community.

Family Engagement Defined

INVOLVEMENT ENGAGEMENT

Honors and recognizes families’ and communities’ existing knowledge and skills and LIVED EXPERIENCESCulturally, linguistically, and socio-economically responsive

Strength-based orientation- Perception of families and communities as resilientShared power- Co-creation and decision-making

Equality of family, community, and professional’s roles

Doing WITH Not Doing FOR

Obstacles to FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

Programs/Schools

Community

State

How Change Happens“We need to be comfortable with (maybe even enjoy) messiness and uncertainty, and give weight to local knowledge and feedback. We need to include a more diverse range of people and viewpoints in any discussion and (however busy we are) take regular time outs to assess what is or isn’t working and change course accordingly”

Green, D. (2016)

“Those closest to the problem are closest to the solution”

Glenn Martin, Just Leadership USA

Kate Gallagher, Ph.D. Director of Research and EvaluationBuffett Early Childhood Institute

Portia Kennel, MSW, Senior AdvisorBuffett Early Childhood Fund

Jolene Johnson, Ed.D. Department Director Education and Child DevelopmentMunroe-Meyer Institute

Kirsten Kainz, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research Development and Translation and Research ProfessorUniversity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill