How Early Childhood Educators Build Bridges With K-3 Teachers and Parents

Co-hosted by Educare Learning Network, this October 6, 2020 Learning Loss Recovery Challenge webinar delved into the role early childhood educators are playing to create alignment and a stronger bridge between the early years and the early grades and to help educators and parents deepen their understanding of child development. To set the stage, moderator Cynthia Jackson, Executive Director of Educare Learning Network, shared the Educare model and offered a perspective on how the early years set the stage for learning in the early grades.

Below we offer highlights and key takeaways of the panel discussion:

• Maria Harris, Principal of Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach: Our keys to success include embedding professional development within and across our early learning center and the receiving elementary school located nearby, learning from one another, and promoting reflective practice and coaching. As important is the connection, engagement and partnership with families.
• Dr. Ryan Lee-James, Director of the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy: Language development starts at birth and children develop language in context — which means that paying attention to the ecosystem (family, teachers, educators, pediatricians and others) and focusing on assets, rather deficits, matter greatly, especially for children with learning differences.
• Dr. Calvin Moore, CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition: Building the competencies of the field — learning the key child development milestones — requires intentionality. These competencies must be shared with K-3 educators in an effort to strengthen the bridge between both sectors. This is particularly important in an effort to address the misguided practice of expelling and suspending students.