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“It literally changed my life,” shares Corinne Martin on the impact of an Early Learning Scholarship for her family. These scholarships help families pay for quality early care and education ...

�������ϲ�ͼ�� has been working with Minnesota lawmakers to introduce legislation that keeps Early Learning Scholarships funded at their current rate for the next two years. Funding is set to ...

Campaign season is in full swing, and candidates at the local, state, and national level will be knocking on doors in hopes of winning your vote. You can use this ...

After you zip down the giant slide and in between your fair food checklist, take a moment to engage with policymakers about early childhood. The Minnesota State Fair is a ...

On Monday, the 20th of May we saw the Minnesota Legislature session come to a close, and with that comes the end of my time as this year’s Todd Otis ...

Last year we shared a blog post and timeline for early care and education projects underway in Minnesota. In this post we’re checking in on the Child Care Regulation Modernization ...

Are you intrigued by advocacy but not sure how to start? This guide is for you!  As an early childhood professional and/or parent, you have invaluable first-hand experience and knowledge ...

Inviting elected officials to tour your child care program is one of the most advocacy effective strategies. It’s an opportunity to both build a relationship with your elected official and ...

Every year, the early childhood community celebrates the Week of the Young Child®. This special week, organized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) since 1971, ...

If you’ve learned about efforts to make quality child care available and affordable for Minnesota parents and are wondering what it would take to make the results you see on ...

Children’s brains in the first five years of life are rapidly forming new connections and building the foundation for future learning. Caregivers in a child’s life play a crucial role ...

  My interest in this internship was fueled by my love for early childhood education and deeply held belief that we have a civic duty to support young children and ...

  The events that occur early on in life can alter its future. Because of this, it is vital that every child in every community has a pathway to success. ...

The Minnesota State Fair is a unique opportunity to connect with elected officials because so many of them have a presence on the fairgrounds.??Here's how you can connect with them!

The 2022 legislative session is officially over, which means so too is our time working with �������ϲ�ͼ�� as public policy interns. It?s a bittersweet goodbye. On one hand, both of us have cherished the valuable connections we?ve made at �������ϲ�ͼ��, but on the other hand we?re excited to apply what we?ve learned about early childhood advocacy to our careers.??

?Our hearts go out to the families and all those affected by this tragic event. Everywhere that children gather or visit should be a safe place without fear of gun violence. Especially now more than ever, we need to be a voice for our children working together to protect schools and to prevent all forms of violence ? including gun violence ? in our schools.? - Barbara Yates, President and CEO of �������ϲ�ͼ�� ?

�������ϲ�ͼ�� is proud to host two Todd Otis Public Policy interns in 2022. The internship welcomes Eidan Silver and Quynh Nhu Dao to learn firsthand about early learning policy in the state.??

By: Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at �������ϲ�ͼ�� It’s election season! While there aren’t any Presidential or Congressional candidates on the tickets this year, there is still plenty to ...

By: Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Lately I’ve had been feeling extra-inspired by my state and national colleagues about where we’re at when it comes to early care and education policy. It feels ...

Image of building blocks symbolizing building equity in families through mixed delivery.

By: Helen Sabrowsky and Jacqueline Zhang, Todd Otis Public Policy Interns Hello from the 2021 Todd Otis Public Policy Interns, Helen and Jacqueline! It’s hard to believe that the 2021 legislative session is almost over, and with that, our time ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist You’ve heard the phrase “the more the merrier”? This legislative session, �������ϲ�ͼ�� made the decision to host two Todd Otis Public Policy interns. The internship ...

By Christa Anders, Coordinator, Transforming Minnesota’s Early Childhood Workforce I am so looking forward to 2021!! Despite a rough start to the year, I am hoping that science will help bring ...

Update: As you will see from the video and photos below, we first met with Creative Kids to do this story on a warm September day. While the situation remains ...

It’s always a pleasant surprise when healthy and money-saving treats show up on your doorstep. The ‘You Matter’ snack packs come from Health Fair 11, a non-profit dedicated to improving ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and ...

There’s the saying, “it’s all about who you know.”  When it comes to gaining support for your issue, meeting in person with your legislator is one of the most effective ...

Parts of our pandemic life are becoming familiar. Video calls, online ordering, different health and safety protocols. We adapt and create as we go. Elected officials have had to adapt ...

Are you familiar with the world of likes, shares, and retweets? Want to use your social media savvy to make a difference in the early childhood education field? Whether you’re ...

Writing a message to your legislator on paper or via email is a good tool to have in your advocacy toolbox. A written message allows you to craft your words ...

Calling elected officials is a great way to communicate with them. Effective, yet time-efficient, a phone call allows you to connect for any number of reasons. If you already know ...

Are you feeling passionate? Frustrated? Angry? Inspired? Consider channeling that energy toward advocacy. A letter to the editor is a great way to share your thoughts. Here are some situations ...

Lori Williams started offering child care from her home when her son was about a year old. He’s 30 now. “I had planned to go back to work as an ...

Erin Echternach is back at the office now… her 14-month old son, Aiden is once again attending his much-loved family child care program. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “It ...

Annie Dunham is a Center Supervisor at Radiant Montessori, an early childhood program that typically provides care and education to more than 100 students in the Maple Grove area. Due ...

By Dianne Haulcy, Senior Vice President of Family Engagement, �������ϲ�ͼ�� WAKE UP! This morning I woke up with that Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes song that became popular ...

By Kieu My Phi, Public Policy Intern Hello there! You may remember me from the blog post introducing me in February. My name is Kieu My Phi, and I am ...

“I’m exhausted. But I love my job and my families. I’m blessed to be an educator and care provider for the youngest Minnesotans.” Wendy Dewall used to have eight to ...

“I’m doing everything I can to ensure the families in my child care program have the financial stability they need right now and to keep everyone enrolled for the future.” ...

“I just ask that you realize we are essential business owners ALL the time, not just during the pandemic.” When Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued the stay-at-home order, Jean Mathison ...

“I am happy that I am able to help out where I am needed. Although it may be a struggle, we will all get through it together.” Jamie Brown has ...

“The virus has thrown everything off so bad, and I’m worried that all the progress we’ve made with the kids will be gone, and that it’s going to be hard ...

“I wanted to remain available to all of my families so that even if they are working from home, they could have their children maintain routines, and the parents could ...

“I love my job. I provide an important service to the community, but to be able to stay open much longer will be a challenge.  We need financial help desperately.” ...

“Invest in early childhood education and care, for it is now, and will continue to be, an essential service for communities and our economy.” Founded in 1981, Hopkins Early Learning ...

“Do you close and risk losing families, or do you stay open and risk yourself and your own family’s health? Child care providers deserve a big pat on the back ...

“The mental toll caused by the risk that an infection poses is a daily preoccupation.” With so many uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maria ‘Elisa’ Vega is worried about ...

“I don’t think child care providers were taken very seriously before,” White said. “I think people are seeing how important we are, and the Governor sees that too.  We are ...

“Family child care is a small business that depends on parents bringing their children to survive. If we all close down, then there will be nowhere for children to get ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator and Kieu My Phi, Public Policy Intern Talking to your legislators is great way to advocate for young children. Whether your goal ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator On Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00 pm, Minnesota will holdprecinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process thatMinnesota’s major ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Ever since she was a little girl, Kieu My Phi knew she wanted to grow up and help other children. Her enthusiasm for advocacy, especially ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Whether you’re a family child care provider who wants to share a program success or a parent who is struggling to find high-quality care, your ...

By Barbara Yates, President and CEO of �������ϲ�ͼ�� As another school year begins, we have another opportunity to reflect on children’s readiness for the learning ahead. �������ϲ�ͼ��’s strategic ...

By Viktoria Bjerke from Belle Plaine, MinnesotaMy name is Viktoria Bjerke. I am 24 years old, married, and I have two children, ages one and two. We are a working ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator The Minnesota State Fair is a great time to put your advocacy skills to work! With so many organizations and resources, you don’t have ...

By Christa Anders, Coordinator, B8 Early Childhood Workforce Team Minnesota’s early childhood educators are “the workforce behind the workforce.”  These women, and a few men, who care for young children so ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist St. Paul mother Stephanie Henderson knows her son Oliver has benefited from high-quality early care and education.  “It was just so great for him,” said ...

By Katie Burke, Public Policy Intern Hello there! You may remember me from the blog post introducing me earlier this year. My name is Katie Burke and I am in ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications Specialist When Katie Burke arrived at the Minnesota State Capitol several minutes before the doors opened on a frigid January morning, she had to find a ...

 Early Learning Council members are responsible for providing recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on how to create a high-quality, early childhood system in Minnesota that will help improve outcomes ...

What are your numbers?6, 43A, 2, 7?5, 12B, 4, 1? By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Several elected officials represent you at different levels, and their districts often ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator Are you motivated to advocate for children this year? If you’re looking to support high-quality child care in Minnesota, below are some ...

By Ambar Cristina Hanson, M.P.A., Chief External Relations Officer at Hiawatha Academies and a Steering Committee member of the Voices and Choices for Children Coalition. Over the past several years, ...

Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) helps make child care affordable for income-eligible families.  This can often be life-changing for children and parents, as it was for the Santamaria Mendez family.Four-year-old Aaron Santamaria Mendez ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorThe Minnesota State Fair is a great time to put your advocacy skills to work!With so many organizations and resources, you don’t have ...

“This opportunity wasn’t just good for her, and amazing for her, but it was also amazing for me. And if it’s amazing for me, it’s amazing for our little family.” ...

By Ericca Maas, Close Gaps by 5My organization is focused on closing Minnesota’s worst-in-the-nation achievement gaps, which means closing the early education opportunity gaps facing the 35,000 low-income Minnesota children ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorEvery eligible Minnesota voter will have the opportunity to make their choice for statewide and federal offices this November. What authority do these ...

“Knock knock. Who’s there? Candidates.Candidates who? Candidates for Governor, Senator, Attorney General, State House of Representatives….” Campaign season is in full swing, and candidates around the state are knocking on doors in hopes ...

We ask the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to stop family separations at the border. Dear Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen, On behalf of �������ϲ�ͼ��, I ask you ...

By: Emma KlinglerGreetings! You may remember me from the blog post introducing me back in March. My tenure as the Todd Otis Public Policy Intern for �������ϲ�ͼ�� is nearly over, ...

Happy Child Care Provider Appreciation Day! Today, we recognize the millions of child care providers across the nation who give their time, experience, concern, and skills to our littlest learners ...

�������ϲ�ͼ��’s first Todd Otis Public Policy Internship is underway. The internship is a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about Minnesota’s early learning policy and advocacy landscape.Todd Otis’ lifelong advocacy ...

Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives on ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorOn Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m., Minnesota will hold precinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process that Minnesota’s ...

Todd Otis’ lifelong advocacy career in Minnesota, and his work as a change-agent in early childhood, has had a significant and long-term positive impact on early childhood public policies, systems, ...

Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives on ...

Early Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives on ...

By Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistThere is much more ‘being planted’ in this backyard then simple seeds and seedlings.  These Minnesota children, along with their family child care provider, are also ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in high-quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent ...

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

By Todd Otis The benefits of giving children access to high-quality early learning have been proven beyond a doubt. Nobody has been able to dispute that targeted investment in quality ...

By Todd OtisThe early childhood movement has come a long way in the past twenty years, and has a long way to go.The public now understands the importance of early ...

By Marie Huey, Public Policy & Advocacy CoordinatorVideo by Kristie Thorson, Communications SpecialistEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings ...

By: Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early ...

Members of two national organizations say high-quality early education is a proactive solution to public safety concerns, and they’ve detailed their support of the issue in recent letters to Minnesota ...

By: Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy CoordinatorEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early ...

We’ve moved up a few diaper sizes, mastered crawling, and are transitioning to solid foods and walking. This month marks one year since the start of the �������ϲ�ͼ�� blog. ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work happening in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent perspectives ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases great work going on in child care and preschool settings across Minnesota. From innovative early learning programs to parent ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamThe opportunity gap is one of the biggest obstacles our education system faces today.As highlighted in a Minnpost op-ed written by �������ϲ�ͼ�� President, Barbara Yates: “Our achievement ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases the great work happening in quality child care and preschool settings across Minnesota.Kris Larson’s Family Child Care program in ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamIn this current political climate, tensions are running high between parties, and it appears as if there’s nothing we can agree on. Nothing that is, except early care ...

By: Marie HueyEarly Education Spotlight is an ongoing series that showcases the great work happening in high-quality early learning settings across Minnesota. The first installment features Aldrich Memorial Nursery School and its ...

There is much to mourn over recent weeks, with terrible acts of violence in Louisiana, Texas, and our very own home Minnesota. Current events expose great rifts in our communities, ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamMore than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, $23,550 a year ...

By: Maya Fanjul-DebnamFrom the moment they are born, children are learning from their surroundings. Everything from brain growth to approaches to life are shaped by what does—or does not–happen in ...

Fifteen years ago, families in White Earth, Minnesota didn’t have access to early learning programs. Families were lucky to get a spot in a Head Start program, one of the ...

By: Nancy Jost, Early Childhood Coordinator for West Central InitiativeRemember the last time you bought a car? I’m guessing you started by thinking about what is best for you and your ...

Macy started her child care program at age two, with no previous early learning experience. Since then, she’s blossomed. She is now the star student of her program and completely ...

A group of high ranking military generals residing in Minnesota sent a letter to legislators encouraging them to invest in Parent Aware, Minnesota’s quality rating system for all early learning ...

By: Ericca Maas, Executive Director of Parent Aware for School ReadinessWhen it comes to early learning, I’ve never met an early educator who didn’t want the best for the kids they ...

By: Barbara Yates, President and CEO of �������ϲ�ͼ��We’ve heard it before.If everything is your priority, then nothing is your priority.Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you ...

The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers and ...

Minnesota is grappling with a tough question: How do we best improve the early learning landscape in our state?It’s important to note that this question presumes an acceptance of the ...

On Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at 7:00 pm, Minnesota will hold precinct caucuses around the state. They are the beginning of a process that Minnesota’s major political parties use for ...

Minnesota Management and Budget released Minnesota’s economic forecast this morning, and the state’s surplus has decreased slightly to $900 million for the next budget cycle.The November economic forecast expected a ...

Meet Lisa Wilson. She is a single mother to a rambunctious 4 year-old. They try hard to make ends meet every month, but sometimes it just didn’t work out. Child ...

This is the third in a series of videos showing the impact high-quality early learning has on children, families and child care providers across Minnesota. Check back here for a new ...

This is the second in a series of videos showing the impact high-quality early learning has on children, families and child care providers across Minnesota. Check back here for a new ...

This is the first in a series of videos showing the impact high-quality early learning has on children, families and child care providers across Minnesota. Check back here for a new ...