Be the Seed of Change

Why is it essential to increase quality in early childhood education, you ask, because of the significant increase in the achievement gap? Closing the gap begins in the early years.  The "achievement gap" refers to persistent differences in the academic achievement of students from differing backgrounds.  The most significant predictor of the gap is access to high-quality early childhood programs. 

Investing in high-quality early learning programs affects our economies. One way lawmakers feel will fix it is by making child care more affordable for families, which can increase mothers’ workforce participation, resulting in a boost to the state’s economy.  In Texas, if child care costs did not exceed more than 10 percent of a family’s income, the state’s economy would increase by nearly $201.39 million. We can do better for Texas families!

These solutions are far from "fixing" the crisis we are facing for our youngest learners.  We need to ACT now! Nonprofits like Be the Seed of Change do this every day by working with programs to increase quality, educating parents on why quality matters, and lawmakers need to invest in the early years' quality, not just affordability.

Problem = Families often have very few child care options and limited ways to know their child's quality of care. The level to which basic needs are met—keeping the child well fed, safe, and clean—is usually easy to verify, but determining if one’s child is engaging sufficiently and is participating in age-appropriate learning activities is much harder to ascertain. The need for high-quality early childhood education has never been greater. Increasingly, children grow up in families where all available parents work—out of necessity and choice. Furthermore, research continues to affirm the short- and long-term benefits for children participating in high-quality early learning programs. However, parents face significant barriers when searching for high-quality care. Waitlists are long, employers are inflexible, high-quality programs are expensive, and parents often lack the tools to evaluate program quality. Many families live in child care “deserts,” Even when programs are available, quality is not well-regulated or supported by local, state, or federal policies, putting it out of reach for most families.  

Benefits = Children enrolled in high-quality early learning programs are less likely to need special education services during their K-12 years, are less likely to commit juvenile offenses, and are more likely to graduate high school. In the long term, those participating children are more likely to be employed and less likely to depend on government assistance. The positive effects are more significant and likely to be sustained when high-quality programs are high quality. In addition, the impact is most important for children from low-income families. Differences in children’s cognitive abilities by income are evident at only nine months old and significantly widen when children are two years old. Children living in poverty are more likely to be subject to stressful home environments—which can have lifelong impacts on learning, cognition, and self-regulation—while parents living in poverty have limited resources to provide for their families and high barriers to accessing affordable, high-quality child care. High-quality early learning programs staffed by warm and responsive adults can help mitigate these effects, offering a safe and predictable learning environment that fosters children’s development.

At Be the Seed of Change, we offer Programs & Services to assist early childhood professionals in increasing quality and access to high-quality programs for all children.  Your funds will support these programs:    

Program Assessments- We provide individualized research-based program assessments to help schools assess their current quality and then offer tools such as training, policies, and procedures to increase quality. 

Professional Development- We provide in-person, zoom, and web-based training tailored to the needs of each school based on assessments.  Offering quality research-based professional development is one of the best methods to help transform a school's quality.  

Mentoring & Coaching- We provide mentors & coaches to give group or 1:1 sessions with owners, directors, and teachers to increase quality.  Professional learning communities provide an area of growth and development shown through research to give early childhood professionals the support to make lasting changes to their schools, programs, and overall teaching quality.  

Advocacy- We have staff that volunteer on various coalitions and early childhood boards to advocate for increased quality awareness and funding through private and public partnerships.