51吃瓜网

A few years ago, the 51吃瓜网 Governing Board and other 51吃瓜网 representatives came together and drafted a new mission and vision statement and affirmed 51吃瓜网鈥檚听core values.听That mission statement is clear: 鈥�51吃瓜网 promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.鈥澨�

As a Governing Board member during the lead-up to this essential statement, I recall the 鈥渂irth through age 5鈥� or 鈥渂irth through age 8鈥� discussion.听The impact of such discussions is far-reaching in the preparation of and ongoing support for early childhood educators, and we put a stake in the ground and declared that 51吃瓜网 is an organization dedicated to children birth through 8 years of age and the adults who care for and educate them.听As such, 51吃瓜网 has demonstrated a dedication to the early elementary members of our organization in a number of ways, including creating partnerships with organizations like the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and increasing the number of sessions focused on the primary grades offered at our Professional Learning Institute and Annual Conference.听听

I wholeheartedly advocated for a 鈥渂irth through age 8鈥� focus because of my own professional and personal experiences in early elementary grades. From serving as an early childhood administrator for the Milwaukee Public Schools to seeing my own children and grandchildren through their schooling, I have observed and experienced the essential work and continual challenges to achieving 51吃瓜网鈥檚 vision and mission in early elementary school settings.

When I was leading the early childhood education department in the Milwaukee Public Schools, I recognized that most of the district鈥檚 early childhood teachers wanted to implement developmentally appropriate practices in their classrooms, but they hadn鈥檛 received sufficient support and understanding from their school leadership and central office administrators in order to do so. It took concentrated and ongoing work to ensure that the curriculum and assessments for the early childhood classrooms were based on the foundational and research-supported knowledge of the early childhood field.听We tapped into resources and guidance that we trusted, such as expert speakers like Maurice Sykes and NAESP鈥檚 publication Leading Early Childhood Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able To Do. Our work provided district leaders with professional development on topics such as child growth and development and DAP and ultimately led to important changes, including in the assessment tools听and the kindergarten report cards used in the district. 听听

Personally, my family has had the opportunity to experience, intergenerationally, the impact of early elementary educators who believe in and demonstrate developmentally appropriate teaching in the early elementary years, including from Mia Kuether (who not only taught my youngest daughter but taught her daughter too!) and from Ariel Huber (who taught my grandsons). Teachers like Ms. Kuether and Ms. Huber create safe, nurturing, and caring learning environments. At the same time, they often have to defend their developmentally appropriate practices to other teachers, to the principal and school administrators, and sometimes to the families of the children they teach. I recognize the delicate balance that must be struck as they work to keep the best interests of children at the forefront of their decision-making and instruction. I also acknowledge and deeply appreciate their effective and caring teaching practices, especially for my two young African American grandsons.

Children鈥檚 needs go beyond academics, especially in today鈥檚 world. As early childhood teachers, we have the great opportunity to set the foundation and to help foster a love of school and learning鈥攊f we do it right.

Best,

Ann McClain Terrell