Early Childhood

Municipal, county and other local leaders in more than 150 communities have expressed commitment to boost children’s reading proficiency as part of their quest to receive the National Civic League’s (NCL) 2012 All-America City Grade-Level Reading Award.

NLC is serving as a major partner in the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading by supporting city efforts to boost reading proficiency as part of the National Civic League’s 2012 All-America City Grade-Level Reading Awards Competition.  

NLC hosted a free, hour-long audioconference on "Aligning Early Learning and Elementary Education," on June 23.  Hartford, Conn., Mayor Pedro Segarra and other speakers discussed how their cities have partnered with school districts and early learning programs to create more seamless transitions between educational systems and ensure that more children read at grade level by the third grade. 
Audioconference recording 

Through a new, competitive Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant program, the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services will dedicate $500 million to support comprehensive state plans for raising the quality of early learning programs, a step that could open new opportunities for cities working in this important area.

Under the new Educational Alignment for Young Children initiative supported by an anonymous donor and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and with initial support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the YEF Institute is providing assistance to city officials, superintendents and early care and eduation providers as they take steps to develop seamless early learning systems.  The goal of the initiative is to increase the likelihood that children will be poised for educational success by the time they reach the third grade.

Mayors in Clifton, Hightstown, Hope Township, Jersey City, Mount Arlington, Neptune Township and Trenton received assistance from the YEF Institute, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, and the National Center for Family Literacy, with support from the New Jersey Verizon Foundation, to develop Mayor's Book Club programs.  These programs include a range of activities that help parents and caregivers promote early literacy.

With support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Cities and United Ways Supporting School Readiness technical assistance initiative helped municipal and United Way leaders in Atlanta, Denver, Des Moines, Nashville, Providence, and San Antonio develop and implement school readiness action plans. 

This guide highlights steps that city leaders can take to connect family, friend and neighbor (FFN) caregivers with the information, resources and support needed to promote early learning and healthy child development.  These strategies were identified through a join technical assistance initiative sponsored by the YEF Institute and United Way Worldwide in 2007-08 with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The project helped municipal and United Way leaders in Atlanta, Denver, Des Moines, Nashville, Providence and San Antonio promote school readiness and support informal caregivers. 

The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families identifies the nation's most cutting-edge city strategies to help children and families thrive.  This chapter highlights the broad range of innovations and trends in municipal leadership to support early childhood success. 
Full report (PDF) | Early Childhood chapter (PDF)

This report highlights lessons learned by six cities that participated in NLC's Cities Supporting Parents of Young Children project. These cities focused on supporting parents of young children through communication campaigns to educate parents about how they can support healthy early childhood development; initiatives to connect families with early childhood resources; programs to engage and empower parents; and efforts to establish or expand family-friendly workplace policies.

This action kit outlines a wide range of steps that municipal leaders can take to support parents and promote early childhood success, such as assessing community needs and resources, making early childhood a community-wide priority, connecting parents to key information and resources, promoting child health and safety, enhancing early learning opportunities, and expanding access to high-quality child care.

More Early Childhood Tools and Resources 

Formed in May 2001, the Early Care and Education (ECE) City Network provides the training, tools, and supports that local officials need to improve outcomes for young children ages 0-5.  Through bimonthly newsletters, this network provides municipal leaders with information on improving child development, child care, early learning programs, and early care and education systems.  Specific areas of focus include reaching children in family, friend, and neighbor care (FFN) settings, promoting early literacy, and supporting school readiness.  The network is made possible by the generous support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Subscribe to this network

Formed in June 2003, the Early Learning Community reaches a smaller group of city officials who regularly share ideas and explore topics of interest related to early childhood.  This interactive learning community interacts via quarterly conference calls.  Key areas of focus include: developing a strong early care and education infrastructure; early childhood policy at the federal and state level; and innovative models of program development and service delivery.  The network is made possible by the generous support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  Contact Tonja Rucker at (202) 626-3004 or rucker@nlc.org if you are interested in joining.

NLC is serving as a major partner in the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading by supporting city efforts to boost reading proficiency as part of the National Civic League’s 2012 All-America City Grade-Level Reading Awards competition.  The 2012 All-America City Awards competition challenges communities to develop plans for increasing the number of low-income children who read at grade level by the end of third grade – a key indicator of future academic success.

The YEF Insititute has launched a new initiative to help cities better align local early care and education programs with their public school systems. The goal of the initiative is to increase the likelihood that children will be poised for educational success by the time they reach the third grade. Through the Educational Alignment for Young Children Initiative, made possible with support from an anonymous donor and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and through initial support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the YEF Institute will identify, explore and document strong city models for aligning early childhood and K-12 systems. 

The YEF Institute, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM) and the National Center for Family Literacy assisted New Jersey mayors in launching Mayor's Book Clubs. Participating cities include Clifton, Hightstown, Hope Township, Jersey City, Mount Arlington, Neptune Township, Pleasantville and Trenton. The initiative was supported by the Verizon Foundation.

The Cities and United Ways Promoting School Readiness initiative, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, helped the cities of Atlanta, Denver, Des Moines, Iowa, Nashville, Tenn., Providence, R.I., and San Antonio strengthen their efforts to promote school readiness among young children. The project focused specifically on efforts to support children in family, friend and neighbor (FFN) care settings. 
Guide on Promoting School Readiness in FFN Care Settings (PDF) 

With support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Freddie Mac Foundation, the YEF Institute assisted six cities in creating systems of support for the parents of young children in their communities. Bryan, Texas; Charleston, S.C.; Enfield, Conn.; Fort Worth, Texas; Lakewood, Ohio; and Longmont, Colo., made concrete progress in four areas: communications campaigns; initiatives to connect families with early childhood resources; programs to engage and empower parents; and efforts to establish or expand family-friendly workplace policies.
Report on Supporting Parents: Promising City Efforts to Help Young Children Succeed (PDF) 

In 2004, the YEF Institute provided technical assistance to 12 cities to help them develop long-range early childhood strategic plans.  These cities included: Columbus, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; Greenville, S.C.; Hamden, Conn.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Jackson, Miss.; Kokomo, Ind.; Mansfield, Conn.; Northglenn, Colo.; Ralston, Neb.; St. Louis, Mo.; and Tulsa, Okla.