5 Nurturing Benefactors Of Early Childhood Education
Many studies have shown the value of robust, immersive, and exciting curricula for early childhood education. Without guaranteed preschool in the United States, many organizations and companies work to pass legislation to make learning more accessible for all, and to build tools to help students with educational hurdles. This list, presented in no particular order, highlights some institutions and developers fighting for better pedagogy for our littlest learners.
For #1, we have Early Edge California. This non-profit advocacy group strives to advance policy changes and investments that will expand high-quality educational programs for children from birth to age eight. Its main priorities include increasing compensation for early-learning educators and supporting dual-language learners.
Early Edge works with the California Department of Education to coordinate its investments with the organization's professional development initiatives. It has been working to pass legislation that would give four-year-olds a constitutional right to free preschool.
Coming in at #2, we get Read Conmigo, a bilingual literacy program that provides free books, apps, and resources to families and educators. Its podcast includes tips and real-life stories of students, teachers, and parents, who share their bilingual journeys and how they are making a difference in education today.
Members of Read Conmigo have access to its online library of children's books, activities to guide reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition, and literacy help and other resources. The organization hosts events in various cities, which are designed to inspire and promote reading among children.
The #3 entry is Family Place Libraries, based in Centereach, New York. A research-based initiative, it develops and institutionalizes inclusive environments by transforming libraries into community centers for literacy, early childhood development, parent education and engagement, family support, and community information. The network's programs are offered at more than 450 locations across the United States.
One project of the organization is developing programs specifically for toddlers and their caregivers, which are intended to provide a rich environment filled with toys, books, and art activities. Meanwhile, the four-day Training Institute provides theoretical grounding in family-centered library services, with practical training in Family Place's core components.
Up next, at #4, we present Strategies for Children. This organization works to ensure that Massachusetts invests in the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs that prepare them for success in school and life.
To achieve its goal, Strategies for Children partners with practitioners and policymakers to advance and monitor research-based public programs, with an emphasis on state policy, budget, and legislation. It also works to build sustained awareness about early education through social media outreach and its blog.
Last but not least, at #5, we find Age of Learning. Based in Glendale, California, it is an education technology company that develops digital instructional platforms and content to help children build a strong academic foundation for lifelong success. Its flagship resource, ABCmouse Early Learning Academy, is an online curriculum for young children that features mini-games, books, original animation, and more.
Age of Learning's programs include immersive English-language learning tools for children in China and Japan; ReadingIQ, a digital library and literacy platform; and a personalized, adaptive digital system that individualizes math instruction for every child through AI-driven technology. There's also Adventure Academy, a massively multiplayer online game for elementary and middle school students. The game builds critical knowledge of essential curriculum topics in language arts, math, science, and social studies.