Early Childhood Leadership Resources

Leaders play an important role in promoting play-based learning. Here are research-based tips for getting started.

Teachers can structure learning experiences by providing time and space for children to ask their own questions and make discoveries.

Learn more about the Child Care Alliance (CCALA), a unique and significant partnership of ten member agencies that serve communities at the local level.

A preschool in San Diego focuses on children who've experienced trauma, the "little guys". Mi Escuelita now has a long record of helping kids and families move forward.

Linking High Quality to Child Development: An Advocacy Toolkit 1 We’re thrilled to share the release of our newest resource for the campaign, In Defense of ECEC: Restoring the Link Between High Quality and Child Development.

New Report from Californians Together and the English Learners Workforce Investment Initiative (EL-WIN) California’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) initiative is a historic step toward equity—but to succeed, we must ensure our […]

This is the second of two articles discussing ways teachers can make their classrooms more welcoming and supportive learning spaces for Black boys.

Expanding high-quality ECE would not only generate economic output through the higher earnings of ECE workers, but would have an even greater impact on the state’s economy by increasing the employment, earnings, and productivity of parents.

Playful interactions with adults help develop sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience.

Home visiting programs provide a lifeline for families, especially those for whom access to quality early education is scarce or out of reac

Since 2022, RAPID has been asking California parents of young children about their family’s economic circumstances, well-being, use of child care, and more. This multi-year, statewide survey aims…

Padlet with information on the new Dyslexia screener in CA

Mission: We partner with state and local leaders—and with families themselves—to co-create solutions to address systemic challenges with access to early care and education. Through evaluation, peer learning, and tailored technical assistance, we help leaders expand equitable access, align services...

In the final episode of this special series devoted to empathy in education with leaders and fellows of Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL), watch this episode to discover how SEL (social and emotional learning) can transform classrooms into spaces of co-regulation, belonging, and joy—especially for students who need it most.

Aija Simmons, Program Director at 21st Century California School Leadership Academy, shares how raising a neurodivergent child, teaching in inner-city schools, and leading California’s Universal Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Initiative have shaped her understanding of education. She also advocates for play-based learning and joy in the classroom, as well as at home.

00:00 Preview
01:12 Introduction
01:47 About Aija Simmons
03:35 Aija’s backstory
06:39 Aija’s understanding of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
10:15 How teachers can help students navigate their emotions through co-regulation
14:17 Bringing more joy into classrooms—and why that’s important
18:33 Talking about SEL with skeptics
20:35 What folks misunderstand about SEL
24:32 SEL for parents
29:11 What growing up with an incarcerated parent taught Aija?
36:28 The power of play in early childhood education
39:40 Why teachers need to learn more about their students
43:05 The role of empathy in education
45:02 Aija Simmons’s Purposeful Empathy story

CONNECT WITH ANITA
✩ Email purposefulempathy@gmail.com
✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com
✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA
✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/
✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram
✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast
✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

CONNECT WITH AIJA
✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/aijeron-simmons/

SHOW NOTES
✩ Transformative Educational Leadership https://www.teleadership.org/
✩ Artesian Wellness Coaching http://www.artesianwellcoaching.com
✩ Universal Transitional Kindergarten https://www.csba.org/en/GovernanceAndPolicyResources/ResearchAndPolicyBriefs/Universal-Transitional-Kindergarten#gsc.tab=0

Video edited by Green Horizon Studio

Clovis Unified is using $150,000 of state arts funding to provide arts, music and theater education to preschool students through an interactive farm exhibit.

Choose materials by your role. A complete table of contents is here: http://bit.ly/46wyH9u

At least 200,000 students are expected in California TK classrooms this fall. The classes are a bridge between preschool and kindergarten.

RAPID asks California parents of young children about their family’s economic circumstances, well-being, use of child care, and more. This multi-year, statewide survey aims to better understand the…

California is expanding universal prekindergarten (UPK) to all 4-year-olds and eligible 3-year-olds. Survey data show that local educational agencies have expanded UPK quickly; however, they continue to face challenges related to UPK facilities, staffing, developmentally appropriate practices, resources, and funding, making continued state investment and targeted support critical for success.

Learn how to enhance and develop core executive function and self-regulation skills for lifelong health and well-being.

This brief highlights the experiences of immigrants among family, friend, and neighbor caregivers.

California is expanding Transitional Kindergarten to all 4-year-olds by 2025-26, backed by billions in state funding to TK boost access.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that child care is not only vital for children and families, but for California’s economy. While many schools and businesses moved online at the start of the pandemic, child care providers1 put their lives on the line by keeping their doors open so that first responders, essential workers, and families could work and support their communities.