Read, Endorse, and Share Our Statement
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Open in new tab What We Know ABout Child Development References
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| First | Last | Affiliation | City, State, Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maria | Hopkins | Nature Preschool administrator and teacher | Duluth, MN USA |
| Leslie | Oppenheimer | Center for Young Children Lab School-University of Maryland | College Park, MD USA |
| Liz | Tertell | Lewis.edu | Romeoville, Il USA |
| Laura | Whittaker | Wind Ridge Schoolhouse, Duluth Nature Play Collaborative, MN Early Childhood Outdoors | Duluth |
| Laurie | Todd | Portland | |
| Sandra | Earle | Oregon Association for the Education of Young children | Portland, Oregon USA |
| Linda | Meade | Retired teacher | Vancouver, Washington |
| Ben | Earle | Irvington Cooperative Preschool | Portland, OR USA |
| Elizabeth | Madej | Denver Public Schools | Denver, CO, U.S. |
| Evelyn | Pineda-Dugay | UCLA ECE | Los Angeles, CA, United States |
| Rebecca | Weiner | Learn Play Grow Educational Consulting | Houston, TX, USA |
| Sarah | Chapple | Early Years Supporter | Duluth, MN, USA |
| Laura | Kates | Education Professor, Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York | Brooklyn, NY USA |
| Rebeca | Itzkowich | Erikson Institute | Evanston |
| Mary Ann | Biermeier | Valley of the Sun Early Childhood Association | Phoenix, AZ U.S.A. |
| Rae | Pica | Rae Pica Keynotes & Consulting | Alexandria, VA, US |
| Danielle | Hunter | Vernon CT, USA | |
| Becky | Gamache | Duluth Preschool | Duluth, MN USA |
| Stephanie | Geneseo | All Nestled Inn Family Childcare | Chesapeake Ohio United States |
| David | Johnson | Seattle, Washington, USA | |
| Alexicia | Sims | Toledo, Ohio, usa | |
| Gretchen | Ames | Early Childhood Advocate | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Suzanne | Courville | San Diego, CA | |
| Lindsay | Neff | Wilmington Delaware USA | |
| Kumuduni | Wijesinghe | EYET Early Learning Cent | Toronto |
| First | Last | Affiliation | City, State, Country |
Join Us as we advocate in defense of early childhood education and care that restores the link between high quality and principles of child development!
Despite decades of research on child development that provides a blueprint for designing high-quality early childhood education and care programs, we continue to see a rise in the proliferation of harmful curricula and pedagogies for young children. Educators trained in child development know how to provide high-quality early childhood education and care. Unfortunately, our lawmakers and elected officials are allowing corporations and consultants to push inappropriate curriculums and instructional strategies under a misguided belief that high quality must be tied to academic learning and rigid teacher-directed practices.
The Issue
High-quality early childhood education and care must be based on principles of child development. The research on how young children develop makes it clear that they need ample time to play, inquire, build, create, sing, move, talk, and pursue their own interests. High-quality early childhood education and care promote environments and practices that center on whole child development. Attempts to force academic instruction into pre-kindergarten classrooms have led to worse academic outcomes by sixth grade (see a guest blog on this study). An early focus on academic skills does not allow young children to develop the foundational skills needed to support academic achievement later. The time has come for us to advocate for restoring the link between high quality and child development. We must resist demands from those who do not understand how children develop, demands that jeopardize the ability of our children to experience true early childhood education and care.
Stand with us as defenders of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Sign up to join our advocacy campaign. We will share opportunities to amplify your voice in ensuring all children have access to high-quality early childhood education and care programs.
- A sign-on statement that briefly outlines the issue and what we are fighting for.
- Mini-videos with supporters discussing the campaign and strategies for change.
- One-page fact sheets for advocating.
- Space and tools for networking regionally.
- Templates for writing letters to elected officials and op-eds.
- DEY Virtual Town Halls.
- Social media content and resource materials.