Below are resources for early childhood professionals and those serving the early childhood community.

Thirty Million Words: A Public Health Approach to Early Childhood Education  This lecture is presented by the Boston University College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College.  The speaker is University of Chicago Professor of Surgery, Dr. Dana Suskind.  Dr. Suskind’s lecture is titled “Thirty Million Words: A Public Health Approach to Early Childhood Education.”

Untangling the Evidence on Preschool Effectiveness: Insights for Policymakers  This report adds to the growing consensus that the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that high-quality preschool leaves children better prepared for school, especially in terms of their academic skill development.

Why the K-12 World Hasn’t Embraced Early Learning  The birth-to-eight years offer our best opportunity to improve long-term outcomes. But as long as the relationship between K-12 and early learning remains broken, we will never take advantage of that opportunity at scale. This paper identifies some promising practices and proposes some next steps for states and districts that really want to change the current system.

Engaging Families in Early Childhood Community Collaborations This training will help participants identify strategies to reach priority populations, empower parents, and sustain a welcoming environment for families.  The next Engaging Families in Early Childhood Community Collaborations trainings are:

2019 Partner Plan Act Conference: Equity from the Start Registration for the 2019 Partner Plan Act Conference is now open! The conference will take place in Bloomington, Illinois on June 11, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. This annual conference brings early childhood system stakeholders to learn, network, and deepen their community systems knowledge and skills.

Webinar on the Illinois Risk and Reach Project  The CS3 team will be joined by Dr. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Director of Policy at Erikson Institute on Tuesday, April 30 at 1pm for an hour long webinar. Participants will be introduced to the Illinois Risk and Reach Project and explore how they can use the data in their work. This webinar is meant for early childhood collaboration members.

The Grand Plan: Grandparent Resources  Grandparents care for 1 out of 4 children under five while parents work or go to school. How can early childhood professionals support families who are sharing the care? Check out ZERO TO THREE’s 3 short films for a peek into the daily lives of three real families.

Spring Into Action Conference The two-day annual Spring Into Action Conference at the State House Inn will take place in Springfield, Illinois on April 2-3, 2019.  This year’s theme is Advocacy Everywhere: Using Our Outdoor Voices for Change.  Attendees will have the opportunity to delve into key legislative issues through policy-oriented workshops and visit the state capitol.

Webinar March 29 New Data for Smarter Investments in Young Children  The Illinois Risk and Reach Report provides county-by-county data on the well-being of children and the public resources available to them. Erikson Institute, along with the Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, will host a webinar to explore ways to use data on child well-being and publicly-funded resources found in this report to provide optimal conditions for children to thrive.  Friday, March 29, 2019, 12:00 PM -1:00 PM CST