New & Noteworthy

As early childhood funders with a long history of working collaboratively with public sector partners, we applaud Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly for passing a new state budget that includes Smart Start, a significant investment in prenatal to age 5 services — including child care, home visiting, early intervention, and infant/toddler and preschool programs.

Throughout modern history, young people–particularly young people of color, young women, working-class, queer and trans youth–have been at the forefront of movements for justice and equality. From the sit-ins of the Civil Rights movement to the anti-apartheid struggle to the recent uprisings against police brutality, young people time and again have taken actions to spark movements.

Black girls are too often subjected to discriminatory dress and grooming codes in Pennsylvania schools. They often endure racial or sexist slurs and curricula that are not responsive to their life experiences. And though they sometimes struggle socially and emotionally because of these conditions, adequate supports are not always available.

In this issue, three practitioners share how their grantmaking strategies have shifted, what movement they see in the sector at large, and how those in philanthropy looking to make a change can get started. Philanthropy’s often onerous reporting and evaluation requirements is a longstanding problem for many of our grantees At best, they are distracted by critical work being funded, and at worst, they are locked out of funding opportunities altogether. This has been acutely felt among grassroots organizations rooted in Black and Latino communities. Joining us in this conversation is Sara Slaughter, Executive Director of the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation, Rachel Herzing, Program Officer at Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, and Nahir Torres, Senior Program Officer at the Hyams Foundation.

Early Childhood Educators Set Illinois Kids on the Path to Success, a new report from Council for a Strong America-Illinois focuses on one vital aspect of efforts to improve [the Illinois early childhood] picture. It notes that the most fundamental features of solid early learning programs include “highly-qualified staff who are well-trained both before and during their service and who are adequately supported and compensated.” Yet in Illinois, child care teachers earn an average of only $28,730 per year and preK teachers about $35,840, compared with $65,790 for kindergarten educators. In birth-to-3 programs, the disparities are even more bleak.

In an effort to better support Black educators across the nation, Foundation grantee National Center on Teacher Residencies (NCTR) recently released its report, “Doing Better for Black Educators: Six Policy Recommendations for Improving the Recruitment and Preparation of Black Educators.”

The continuing lack of access to high-quality and affordable child care has more than doubled its blow to the U.S. economy over the last five years, now costing $122 billion in lost earnings, productivity and revenue every year.

A first glimpse at public school enrollment in Illinois shows continued declines in the overall student population, but an uptick in the number of students learning English. Preliminary data released last week by the Illinois State Board of Education shows overall enrollment dropped by about 31,000 students — or 1.7% — between last school year and the current one, according to numbers as of Dec. 14. Chicago Public Schools accounts for at least a quarter of the decline. The district lost 9,000 students and its place as the third largest school district in the country.

Foundation grantee, the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, recently published the Early Educator Engagement and Empowerment Toolkit which aims to support early educators in their advocacy, power building, and stakeholder engagement. It features the latest facts and policy solutions about the ECE workforce that educators can use to build arguments for change, […]