 Good evening everybody. Hello. Has everybody found a comfortable place to sit? Okay, well welcome to the 2018 equity in early learning initiative regional symposium I'm Lindsay Allard on Yamba, and I am really excited to welcome everybody on behalf of school readiness consulting and our partners our mission at SRC is to Integrate strategic thinking best practice and evaluation to transform early learning and affirm the right of all children to thrive Our team tonight who is all around is thrilled really thrilled to have you join us To discuss what we believe is really the most urgent opportunity for us to tackle In these times I think after last night after all of what we've all been through Over the past years in trying to build early learning systems that really work for children and families That's a journey. We've all been on together I'm excited to see so many faces that I recognize and also as I looked at the guest list for this evening I was really encouraged that there's a lot of folks who are new to this conversation And new to our E. Lee work and so I would like to tell you a little bit about that But before I do that, I think it's really important to introduce our incredible partners Wonders early learning Joanne hurt is with us and you'll be hearing from her more Early learning and extended day and she is also joined will be joined later by Anne Richard and a bunch of members of her leadership team The Campania Center where which is represented this evening by Tammy Mann Of course our hosts new America And our partners at the early in elementary policy group I really want to thank the school readiness consulting team. I Was good. I was gonna ask them at this point to all stand up But there doesn't seem to be enough chairs left for them to sit down So they're all standing which is great news that there's so many of you here I just want to recognize that our team has really dedicated a lot of time and A lot of their talent to pursuing this work, which I think we fondly call our dream project And it is I also I'd love to thank our advisors. So I'm gonna tell you a little bit about E. Lee Thelma's gonna tell you a little bit more in in a while But I think it's important to recognize that SRC wonders the Campania Center new America are really just part of the core of this effort We have been working with advisors experts from organizations all across the region To conceptualize to shape and to enact what we think are some exciting ideas To really move the DC region forward as it relates to taking on an agenda That puts equity with a particular focus on racial equity at the center of our systems building I also want to thank everybody that's been involved over the past year. We have We have run a Incredibly exciting Learning-filled and kind of reflection oriented pilot That has involved multiple programs partners from Both the region of Alexandria as well as the Bethesda area Folks have been part of our community of practice cohort Teachers have advised us as we work together to build a tool that helps examine classroom practice related to equity Folks have attended learning sessions. So there's really just been a ton of investment one of our One of our kind of grant metrics to help us understand our success is how many people have been impacted by the work That we've been doing and when I start to really think about that All of the organizations that have been part of the work that we've been doing It's I think a really it's going to be an incredible number of teachers of children of families And of leaders that have been a part and hopefully been impacted by the work that we've been collectively moving forward and finally But definitely not least importantly, I'd like to thank and introduce our sponsor and the supporter of the equity and early learning initiative pilot and of the Symposium this evening the early childhood education funders collaborative Representing the collaborative is going to be Hannah Hahn who's the education children youth and families program officer at the Morrison-Gwendolyn caperates foundation So Hannah has spent her career supporting nonprofits that empower communities and provide support to the most vulnerable Before she came to the philanthropic community in 2014 Hannah worked internationally in Africa Asia and South America To design and evaluate programs that are focused or were focused on education child welfare and economic security She's worked with lots of nonprofits And organizations in our region and has had a lot of different leadership positions in those organizations And for the past three years, she's been co-chairing the Washington area women's foundation early care and education funders collab Which has so generously supported the work of the E. Lee pilot? Which I hope you'll enjoy hearing about today I think one of the things that I would like to kind of implore everybody to To really do is to help us to think about where this work should go What the priorities are in our context in the coming year and beyond And really to kind of see yourselves as partners in this work I think at this symposium We really didn't want for folks to come and listen and walk away and say well We heard about some work that other folks are doing and it's exciting We wanted you to all feel like you were a part of Co-constructing this journey with us. We see ourselves really at just the beginning of Of this learning and this process and I think we know Just as well as all of you do that unless we are all committed to Really dismantling and disrupting all of what we know stands in front of kids and families Then we won't get very far and so I invite you to really contribute Lots of your best thinking a couple of folks asked me about the agenda for this evening So before I turn it over to Hannah just so you have an understanding of where we're headed We're going to begin with Hannah giving us some welcome and and a few remarks Thelma is going to lead a panel with our partners that have been really pursuing Questions around what it means to take up an equity agenda in their programs over the course of the past year And then we're going to have some time for you all to really work in in some focused question and inquiry session to sessions to think about What the agenda should look like for 2019 and how your organization? Maybe can and will participate And then we'll have a glass of wine and a little bit of cheese around six o'clock for everybody who's on the live Stream sorry, but maybe you can grab a glass at home and cheers with us and So we we plan to finish the formal program around 6 p.m I'll be back up to do a formal closing before we do that, but I just want to thank everybody in advance It's like really Every time we do something like this it really affirms. I think what we believe and know that That children and families in our region and of course throughout our country and our world deserve our attention and our really urgent Urgent efforts to Make sure that they are successful. So Thanks, and Hannah Thank you, Lindsay. Good afternoon everybody It is such an honor to welcome you here today on behalf of the Washington area women's foundations Early care and education funders collaborative the collaborative brings brings together funders from the region to collectively support great Organizations who are improving the early care and education landscape Since it started 10 years ago our goal has been to ensure that every child in our region has access to supportive enriching environments They need to survive thrive. Sorry and survive While the goal has always while the group has always been conscious of equity issues last year Members voted to formally adopt racial equity lens into our grant making We were so pleased that the equity and early learning initiative was one of our first grantee partners focused specifically on racial equity in care and education All of us in this room know too well the data that shows us year after year Achievement gaps and life outcomes are segregated along racial lines We also know that these inequities begin at birth as a mother of two early learners myself I am deeply appreciative and in awe of the hard work and dedication of the individuals in this room Who care for our youngest children? It is not easy work and I hate to ask any more of you But I also believe that you are the individuals who have the knowledge Compassion and strength to develop the systemic solutions that will ensure that zip code skin color and ethnicity Will no longer determine our baby's academic success life expectancy or any other life experience Our coming together today is a strong starting point for this work in the region and provides the space to think about the Practices and policies our children and families need Doing so requires all of us funders educators policy makers Working together to intentionally analyze ourselves change our current practices and make a shared commitment to equity As you participate today, I encourage you to ask yourself What more can I do in my role to promote equity and to ensure that the future is equally bright for every child in our region and Now I have the pleasure of introducing the moderator for our panel this evening Thelma Wong is the director of strategy and practice at school readiness consulting I'll let her take it from here and I want to thank you again so much for being with us this evening Good evening Just before I start I'm going to give you a little bit more information about the II Lee But for those of you in this room, I just want to see a show of hands For people who have not really been introduced to the work that this is the first time You're really learning about about II Lee Excellent, well welcome to the movement. It's exciting to have you here For folks who are live streaming the event I hope that you can engage with us this evening and in future Twitter conversations. Please use the hashtag equity in ECE and And for those of you in the room if you have questions or comments or just want to share out and be a part of that space Please do. This is is not a cell phone restricted area So I'm pleased to tell you a little bit more about the equity and early learning initiative School readiness consulting launched this work in the spring of 2016 This was with the expressed intention of fostering an ecosystem of leadership Around equity in the DC metropolitan region. This is a response to a careful response to three factors one is that we know that the issues of Justice and equity have been at the forefront of American discourse for years Whether that's good or bad To that research around early childhood Summarized simply and powerfully is that children who have Experience and high-quality early childhood environments are much more successful in life and in school and Three is that not all young children have access to those high-quality early learning environments? Because of social factors like poverty or race and These three things converge on an understanding that we've built over years of being in this work That equity must be a key feature of high-quality early learning. It's not just about access to those Environments, it's about what's happening in those programs We are really thankful to the many individuals from these organizations who have lent their expertise at the local state and national level And have demonstrated a commitment to equity who have offered us support in building our equity agenda So our agenda is informed by the key strengths and opportunities The various resources available and the actions that we can really leverage Think one of the most important and critical pieces of this work is really having a definition for educational equity And so we've designed and defined this as the result of eliminating policies and practices That prevent the realization of children's lifelong learning and self-actualization Regardless of racial cultural economic and other social factors That is a very elegant definition, but seeing this in action is where it gets really complex we don't We argue that a program isn't truly high quality without a focused attention and approach to dismantling biases That's very personal work And so in response to this we have developed a theory of change This is really an understanding that undoing historical inequities is complex work This is not something that is just going to be done overnight or even over years We recognize that impacting communities and programs that serve historically marginalized children and families involve comprehensive approaches At three levels the individual level to the personal at the organizational level and at the institutional level We also know and recognize that to create action. We must engage in at least three content areas One is around teaching and learning Two is around family engagement and the third is around leadership So we have focused our efforts building a regional strategy that lifts up and sparks conversation around these three content areas And you'll hear more about our dissemination strategy a little bit later I also just want to point out that when we're talking about early childhood education We're really thinking about the continuum of birth to eight Our regional strategy right now is really focused on birth to five and when we think about equity We're thinking about the full gamut, but we have made a strategic and intentional focus on racial equity So our regional strategy This year in 2018 with the support from the Washington area when women's foundation and the early care and education Funders collaborative we've coordinated on a set of projects in partnership with wonders and with the Campania Center Around three areas. So one is around family engagement We are working to create a compendium or resources that are focused on equity to guide the personal development For families that support children's knowledge of race and equity Our teaching and learning project Is focused on facilitating professional learning opportunities with the hope of building demonstration classrooms A second part of our teaching and learning work is the co-creation of an observation tool which highlights classroom practices that promote equity and Then our leadership project Which is a collaborative opportunity for early learning leaders to deepen their understanding and promote systemic change and development So we have a video That Daria nickel is somewhere in the room working hard work to create these are clips and Videos from the communities of practice over the last year in the spring of 2016 School readiness consulting launched the equity and early learning initiative Ealy as a critical step towards ensuring that all children Regardless of their many identities of access to the high quality early education they deserve We created Ealy with the expressed intention of developing an ecosystem of leadership for educational equity in the DC metro area Ealy builds on SRC's history and early childhood equity and social justice work It also builds on the significant early learning achievements in the district, Maryland and Virginia Our executive director at SRC has shared a vision for the equity and early learning initiative It's bold. It's urgent. It's our moonshot At the center of our work is a commitment to educational equity We have a practice focus on racial equity We think about the causal relationship between discrimination and discriminatory policies The principal function of racist ideas in American history has been the repression of resistance We are seeing racist ideas play out in ways that mean life or death Confronting racism is challenging and there is hope The work of nurturing and supporting young children's development is an act of confronting and undoing racism That's what we are committed to as the Ealy community You didn't just sign up for a few professional development sessions. You joined a movement You're here in this room because you see that this is the work There is the business of running a program and there's doing the right thing the just thing for children and families We understand that we exist to serve We know that this work is hard We do it because we don't want our kids to grow up seeing markers of difference as deficits and risk factors We have to gift our children with positive self-concept empathy and respect for all Equity and early learning is possible if we align our power and resources behind it And your power and influence is a part of that We all have an enormous responsibility and privilege to affect the lives of thousands of children and families Through the relationships you build and your daily interactions In the ways you shape organization-wide policies and practices And in the courageous work you do to advocate within your larger spheres of influence Leaders like you have more power than you know It is our collective power that can bring about transformational change And that's why we're here You don't have to do the work alone You are here in this room finding your path forward and bringing others alongside you We have one another to lean on To lift each other up Amplify our voices and lead together If this country could commit to putting a man on the moon in a decade We can achieve equity in early learning In creating ELE we wanted assurance that children are given tools for school readiness during their development We also wanted to ensure that children are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge For success and later learning and in life We have the privilege to welcome our panelists up We have Tammy Mann from the Campania Center Joanne Hurt and Ann Richards from Wonders Early Learning Thank you They are labeled yes So thanks so much for joining I feel privileged to moderate this conversation and to learn alongside you and your experiences In the equity and early learning initiative Before we get started with questions I just wanted to know if you could share a little bit About the community's Wonders and the Campania Center Serbs Wonders is a nonprofit that's been serving the Bethesda Chevy Chase Northwest D.C. Area through our eight different programs since 1976 So we we do early childhood and the foreign afterschool programs And I have a bit of a cold so I hope I won't annoy you all with my raspy voice But the Campania Center has been providing services for 73 years in the city of Alexandria We are involved in providing cradle to career programs for about 2000 or so Children teens and adults across our community Early childhood has been sort of an anchor point for the organization We are actively involved in serving about 500 children Across a variety of funding streams federal state and local To serve children who are in need of early childhood learning experiences. Thank you So one of the conversation pieces at every community of practice has Been around sort of the challenges of operating a high quality early learning program And so my question is, you know, your work never ends as administrators of programs or as teachers Why why is the equity and early learning initiative important to your program and to your teaching practice And why now I find that equity in my teaching is very important because it makes me Look at every child as a unique individual We have a the world has become a global village and with the patterns of migration It's very important for all of us to be conscious of every child's unique background and take it into consideration while we're teaching them and and I think For when I first heard about this project and Lindsay and I were talking about it. It felt It felt like a nice Sort of collaboration in terms of the mission of our organization, which is around diversity and social justice, but But more importantly, it felt urgent We've been doing the work But having this This comprehensive and sort of multi layered process Really, I felt was going to help us take it even further than where we had been Thank you. Yeah, I it's interesting because as I was listening to The video and the speakers that came before You know, honestly, I cannot Ever recount a time when it has not been important to be in touch On these issues and what they mean for the work that we do With young children. I know that we are at a time and a place where There is new vocabulary around what it means To be in touch with the idea of valuing as our teachers articulated valuing children as individuals and And So it's it's wonderful that there is an increased focus and there are resources to help Organizations be more intentional, but the truth of the matter is it's really not possible To deliver high quality services For diverse children in our programs if we are not in touch with who they are what their stories have been Um and the families they grow up in and the communities they live in You know, we are obligated to To recognize and find ways to understand that as we do our work Um, so I'm excited that there is an opportunity to Use the resources of this project to bring amplification to that But truly that has always been a north star and how I know I've certainly thought about my work I've I've only been at the Campania Center for seven years But I've lived the early childhood work for nearly 30 years And I you know It's just not possible to do well without this set Thank you for that I think as you've said, I think all of you the three of you have been engaged in this work For years, but I am wondering about how your experience and journey in E. Lee Has helped shape your thinking And also sort of wondering what Has been surprising to you And either helping you define the equity agenda and framework for your organization or on a personal individual level Well, I'll start because I'm going to be really frank This work is hard I think the situation that we're trying to do the work in is especially challenging While our name the Campania Center sort of invokes an image of a single place It's true. We have a headquarters building that's located on south Washington street and Alexandria But the reality of how we serve our community Is rather complicated because we live in public schools We live in faith communities. We've recently developed a partnership with an affordable housing developer Where we've opened an early learning center in that setting and when you're trying to Bring to life work that you want to have represented across your organization And you're challenged by distance and space and those individuals operating in environments that Are not environments that you own or control and how you contend with Sort of what those dynamics bring to the work that they're doing It's extraordinarily complicated Um, and I'm not just thinking about our participation in E. Lee from the perspective of early childhood I'd like to see this work live across all of the work that we do So I've had to manage myself and my expectations with my team around how we can carve out a starting point that feels like it's got the potential to go deeper And do so in a way that contends with all of those Dynamics that make it challenging Um, I think one of the things I've learned as we've undertaken this work with our early childhood program is that The entry point of race for our very diverse staff has been a little bit of a Challenge to navigate because we do have a diverse staff that reflects The diversity of the population that we serve And because of that they don't all come to the conversation With the same context because they've not lived in this country It's not to say that they don't understand the history of race in the united states But their their lenses may be more shaped by gender And issues of how women were treated in countries that they came from or so we've really had to try and appreciate The right entry point to sort of situate A level playing field around which we can have these conversations and that's been Interesting to work through and i'm grateful that we have The benefit of of partners To figure out how to do that Because that's not something that I've lived in other places where we've been committed to doing this work in quite the way that I live it In Alexandria with the the rich diversity that we have Among our staff which i'm immensely grateful for because it certainly allows for us to Um Engage with families that come from all over the world In ways that we would not be able to do if we didn't have that diversity Thank you It's interesting that tammy talks about uh has staff being diverse and the entry point they get into this race and equity conversation because i'm so to say Black but i'm an immigrant here and this was a whole new conversation for me I keep saying that I knew I was black when I got to America. That's when I learned I was black So it has been very interesting to me to learn the history And I I had learned about it before but to be in need and to get to experience it And i'm so convinced that this conversation is very important at the early childhood level So that this information starts from the beginning where the child can be able to point out to name That this is not a fair practice and then they can take action about it Yeah, and I think for me Because we've had internal conversations and guided conversations over the years This work I think we are we're at this point where it's getting more fully embedded And I think um for me the surprise. Sorry is um The relief of not having to feel like I need to push this through as the leader of the organization because Are the way that this work the work is structured the teachers are having an opportunity They were giving them the time and the space To really explore these issues personally for themselves and then how it Impacts our work and And so I feel this relief in a way that it's this shared ownership and this shared Drive and commitment and and in our community of practice one of the exercises that we did was looking at A vision for equity sort of how we would create a vision of equity For organization and that's something that although we haven't done it ourselves yet that exercise itself I'm really eager to have that conversation because that's going to really I think Better focus all of us on the importance of the work and the ways we're going to get there Yeah, I mean one of the things that we wonder a lot about Is how we document the experience and the stories We want to be able to give language to this work in a way that empowers others and provides examples of Pathways forward Not everyone can follow the same roadmap But it's it's helpful and encouraging to know that others are doing this work that you're not alone In thinking about this or enacting a plan so what kinds of I don't know advice or reflection do you have About telling the story I I think It's okay to really think about it as taking a risk And not being afraid to tell the story even the honest truth about the challenges because Because frankly there aren't a lot of spaces in our world where we can have honest conversations about race and equity and bias and and so so I think Creating a space within your Your work community and then the broader community where people Where everyone it's a shared agreement that it's going to be an an honest And and an honest conversation where people are willing to take risks because I think you have to be able to Sort of push yourself even as you're reflecting And and the other thing that I think What I found in our first professional development that we did with our teachers it really include included this historical context for Why things are certain certain assumptions and that we have now and that I thought was so interesting because I've just seen the Everyone connecting the dots and and it was So impactful and I think it helped to break down some of those An understanding of the systems Because I don't know that we've always thought about it in terms of systems and the systems of inequity so so that so But the challenge is finding the time to do it, but I think it's really important to create that that time From the perspective of a teacher being involved in ili and like I said Janning through being black in america so to say I've become very conscious about Noticing even the conversations of the children are having about differences between them and Taking it as an opportunity to learn that we can be different and and Engaging them in this conversation to bring in the matter of Equality it doesn't matter some some of them will want to touch my hair and they will observe it is different and There's a little book that we read about colors brown bear. What do you see? It's very interesting. I take that book at the end and there's children teacher teacher What do you see? I see children looking at me and when you give it to the children in the classroom and you ask them Who's this? They can be able to point out depending on the racial Makeup of the classroom. They can be able to point out and Show the difference between themselves. So I like that at this level the conversation is Very innocent and so I bring in the concept of the fairness and the equality and it's a very satisfying position to be Hearing that Which I just I think is so important, right? I and I think it's important because when you talk about these concepts Sometimes for people they feel a little they feel like okay So how's that different from equality or being culturally competent or And I think our ability to lift up examples of what it means to sort of Use these lenses or this lens we're talking about in this context And how we actually engage helps to bring light and visibility to what it means to do the work And so one of the fantasies I have and it's a fantasy I haven't you know Edith our chief program officer is here and we had a pd experience with our staff together yesterday and I elected not to sort of Bring forward this fantasy because you have to sort of read and understand where people are an important part of pushing the work forward Means that you can really assess where there's readiness right around being courageous and taking that step that joe in was articulating but You know how powerful it would be if we could engage our staff and you know Keeping a journal for the year Of those moments they recollect Living or taking an action That reflects working from this perspective and being able to come back at the end of the year And where people are comfortable sharing We can sort of create a space a place where those stories can be sort of Noted and we can begin to build a broader You know framework for what it means to to truly live the work I have a fantasy about that and when I went in the restroom in the ladies restroom Sorry for the men are in the room But there were these posted notes on the mirror Right that just lifted up positive affirmations and ways to sort of be encouraged, right? I think Not being afraid to be Organic about this work Is such an important part of normalizing and creating space for people to feel comfortable Taking risks How do we do more of that to give to give Voice to what it looks like because it's not It's not like content that you can package and just Wrap a strategic plan around and boom, you know, you got it. We're there That's not what it is when you think about the personal, you know, the programmatic Institutional policies and it's not that and so we have to really work harder At making it transparent for people to see if we're going to get more people On the journey on the path to finding ways to live the work Thank you so much I have one final question And that is what is the one thing that you hope For everyone in the room sort of take away what what action or conversation do you hope this sparks? I think um I think my hope and um is that More people become engaged in the work and At whatever level and to not You don't have to um Worry about getting it right right away. Um, I and I think And I think also to um, the work is hard. So Sort of being mindful of how you're feeling about it as you're going through it Because there are going to be difficult conversations and um, there are going to be difficult stories that you hear and and so so doing just sort of being reflective and um Compassionate with yourself as you're being compassionate with others as you're traveling through the journey together I just hope that each one of us would have in our conscious this matter of equity, especially in as far as the little children are concerned And that um We can come to a point of self-reflection whereby we can position ourselves as we Work in this uh direction. I recognize it's a very big given the historical perspective of it It is a work in progress I'm excited for ili and the funding that it has that we can continue these conversations It has made me very self-reflective and uh, I hope all of us will be that Self-reflective as we put out the work towards this initiative Yeah, I echo I echo those points and think very much the importance of self-care and the work and um A willingness to listen to the people Who are making commitments to be on the path? um Pursuing the work not as a sort of Who when I get there, I know I'm never going to have to talk about this again um The reality is and I I think I feel that this is work I've been in touch with or the balance of my career and still There are things that I am learning and appreciating that you know, wow, I still have more work to do and um Helping people feel comfortable with that As a reality as a part of this is so Important because when you're in work that is involving Using relationships as the channel to affect change You know, how can you not have room to keep getting better at it? Right. We're not building automobiles or you know, we are giving of ourselves emotionally intellectually physically in the service of joining with Children and their families to help support their realization of their potential and That means that there is always Something more we can do to get better at that And so I just try to hold on to that and work Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences in this work. Um, thank you for being a part of the conversation um This work requires change at multiple levels and I know that we can get fatigued by Many problems and issues and challenges In our work and in our personal lives and other You know passions that we have But instead of being fatigued by the work we're fueled by this. Um, so thank you for for joining us tonight Um No one person can do this alone. That's why we're all in this room together Um, and so true to elie. We have a peer learning opportunity That we're going to transition to in just a moment um Our agenda for 2019 needs to be co-created with all of you So we want to know what are the priorities? In this space And how do you want to be involved? So we're going to break out into three different groups We have group facilitators in the room. So if you wouldn't mind just standing and I call your name We have a teaching and learning group And the facilitators for that are Laurie Shabai mackay Kellogg Janelle cherry and natasha stovall And they are going to take the back Two tables to three or three tables And so as you're thinking through these areas the teaching and learning family engagement and leadership You might have been inspired by Something that one of our panelists said we realized that many of you wear multiple hats So we asked that you go to um, what's aligned with with your thinking tonight And if a table or to look a little too full We asked that you put on a different hat and kindly volunteered to participate in another conversation And so teaching and learning is going to be in the back Um, and then our leadership discussion is going to be facilitated by lisa lisino Thank you. Um, uh, jennifer caldwell and nicole sharp And then family engagement will be at the first at the front two tables Florence christman from mary's center Oh, oh, okay. Sorry loris shabai Be facilitating family engagement. Um with me and rihanna davis triple Thank you so much. So we'll take a few minutes to get ourselves oriented. Um, thank you very much So It sounds like everybody's almost ready for happy hour welcome back Welcome back Welcome back Hi everybody If you can hear my voice In five four three two There goes my preschool teacher in me. Um, I just want to spend a couple of minutes Closing us out and then um, we'd love to invite you to continue to talk and be together. Um I uh, I think the first thing I want to do just for a moment is read a couple of the commitments We're also taping them up on a board and we'll have them out in the reception area after so you can take a peek at What your colleagues are committing to? But we have tonight commitments to support equity work in teacher education programs for pre-service teachers and faculty members We have a personal commitment to make sure that an early childhood equity that early childhood equity issues Are on the legislative agendas of public officials and local leaders We have um Someone who's going to intentionally engage the business community on the important role that they can play in moving the needle forward on equity in ece Someone who's going to continue to raise awareness of the equity need in all classrooms and opportunities for mirroring text so books that show children Positive examples of themselves and their families And gathering together exemplary practices in family engagement. So that's just a little sampling I think what we have over there in the poster is more like a ground swell And I know that with the energy that I heard going on in the conversations and the The depth that people went to and kind of really analyzing where their organizations or their communities are Um is going to give us a really really important starting place. So I just want to tell you a tiny bit about what's next um the focus of 2019 so With your help and with the input you've given us this evening Our plan is to deepen the impact on each of our with each of our partner programs And the region at large by adding additional programmatic elements So you heard a little bit tonight about the tool that we're developing about the professional learning that Teachers attended you heard about the community of practice that leaders in each program's community Have the opportunity to attend You may have heard a little bit about the listening sessions that we did with families and the resources that That we're developing to help them have constructive conversations with their children about Identity and so the ideas for this year that will really take those pieces and In partnership with programs deep in them I think I heard almost at every table about the importance of This not being a once a year conversation where we come to a training and think about where this Fits into our lives and then go back to business as usual. So We know that 2018 was just the beginning of the journey with our current partners We also are going to broaden our efforts So we will hopefully have new partners from throughout the region As we as you heard, um, we've been partnering with with programs in Bethesda and in alexandria We hope to work with partners programmatic partners from DC and maybe prince georges county as well And build on some of what has happened this year figure out what the right starting points are for those programmatic partners And I think one of the things that we're taking away is that there are some Core elements that are part of the framework that have to stay consistent But that we have to be really individualized based on each partner's Level of readiness as tammy talked about current community context The size of the program there's just so much that matters So we look forward to kind of starting that journey with some new partners as well I think the other thing that is a really important part of our work That wasn't as much of a focus of the panel We talked a little bit about storytelling But one of the really big goals of of elie is to kind of create a lab or a demonstration in this region That can begin a conversation across the nation around what this can look like in communities and how Programs and communities can take on work around early childhood equity together and so 2019 we hope will be a year where we'll really be able to Look at what that dissemination might look like and From a dissemination Perspective, I think our thought is not that we're going to tell everybody what to do But we want to create a platform for a conversation where programs and communities can share practices questions challenges And learnings where the partners on the equity and early learning initiative can tell stories of what they've been engaging in And the learning journey they've been on But that we can also create a space for You know, one of the things that that I feel like happens is we go around the country and since this is such a significant part of our mission We are in you know Some state or some city and somebody will say oh, there's this local program I visited this program. Makai. I'm thinking of you from your sabbatical I went to this program in southern california and it was the most Exquisite example of this type of work And so I think we want to create a place for those stories to live and to be shared so that Other programs and communities and cities and states can learn from that So I want to make sure that we're in touch with you all around that because I think a lot of the partners that are here tonight Are from programs, but many of you are from organizations that support cities or states or legislators or You know other organizations that are child serving and we really want to make sure to share this work And learn from one another in a larger community So before I turn it over to laura, I just I want to thank everybody for coming It feels really clear to us that there's a growing momentum around this work You know when we first put out the call for ili. I think there was a solid You know, maybe 15 people that showed up and they were all our friends so They were all people who are super committed to equity and early learning in the region But I can just kind of see the momentum growing and the circle feels like it has grown again this evening Interruption of inequities must be a part of all of our work and our daily lives Both personally and professionally. I think that's an important reminder Um, and our work is to help others understand that better early learning opportunities for diverse children and families Equal better outcomes for all of us and our communities Um, and that's really the driver behind all of this work that we're doing So I would like to challenge you all to um try to reflect on anything you heard from a colleague tonight That may push your work further. It may be a connection that you can later pursue We are completely available to um be in touch with you put you in touch with one another Invite you in to the ili work. Um We will keep you in the loop in every way we know how And I I want to again thank new america And particularly laura who has been an incredible partner in helping us to move this work forward each step of the way Um, and she's gonna close out the evening. So thank you all I just uh want to once again, um, thank all of you for coming and uh, thank lindsay and school readiness consulting and the great um panelists that we had and facilitators to guide our conversations and We were really thrilled to be able to host Host this conversation tonight and are thrilled to be part of this work because um You know as we talked about um, every child deserves not just access to early learning opportunities, but to quality Uh opportunities that meet their individual needs and that value children as individuals as um, you know Tammy man said earlier, which is so important. And so um, just a couple of of things that We are going to do. I want to um tease a forthcoming Blog series that we plan to do with um school readiness consulting and maybe reach out to some of you as well On equity in early learning and so look for that in the the coming months Also, I want to invite you to come back tomorrow because we're hosting another important conversation Um tomorrow on teacher well-being and compensation Early childhood teacher well-being and compensation. So we'll focus the conversation on Teachers in in birth to five and so that will be a nine to eleven tomorrow morning And so I hope you are able to join us then and don't want to stand any longer between You know you all and wine and cheese. So I invite you To exit into our open area and join for a reception. Thank you so much