Nearly two years ago I joined Teachstone with a deep desire and commitment to support leaders and teachers with real-time, practical, and evidence-based strategies and solutions to address the current needs of children, families, and educators. For the 20 years prior, I led organizations working at the national, state, and local levels focused on addressing the needs of children and families, especially those living in marginalized communities. As a practitioner at heart, my passion has been translating research to practice to drive impact and positive outcomes for children. This passion brought me to Teachstone.  

Having used the CLASS® in my programs, I saw firsthand the incredible impact the tool had on children and educators.  I often refer to the CLASS as an equalizer, as the CLASS tool provided our site leaders with the ability to measure and improve the quality of teacher-child interactions with a proven and research-based classroom assessment - one that is effective regardless of the credentials, education level, or socio-economic status of the educator. Not only do I believe in CLASS, but I also believe in educators and their fundamental ability to bring the best out of our children. 


"Not only do I believe in CLASS, but I also believe in educators and their fundamental ability to bring the best out of our children."

We are depending on our educators now more than ever before as we all continue to grapple with the tremendous impacts of COVID-19 on the early childhood education system.  As colleagues across the country are facing unprecedented challenges, we recognize that at the core are critical needs for children, educators, and families. The call has been for the educational system to restabilize, reopen, and recover. But, what if we see these challenges we are facing as an opportunity? The opportunity to make the future of education now. 

Now is the time to not only restabilize and recover, but to improve, innovate, and make the needed changes to create and sustain quality education within all programs, across all classrooms, and for all children. I am humbled by the incredible efforts already taken by leaders and teachers to work toward change. There is more work to be done together. 

The need for systemic change has long been established, with each year bringing forward more research findings on inequities in early childhood education. And yet, these problems still fester. 

The recent challenges brought on by the pandemic brought to light an even greater need and opportunity to come together to build back better. As a community, we know too much to let these problems continue. With the historic funding amounts being put into the education landscape, it’s time to look beyond reopening and allocate these resources to reimagining education, and to rebuilding a future of quality for every child and every educator.


Together, we have the opportunity to think and plan more strategically through a systemic lens to make the equitable future of education a reality, now.



With this context, we’re making a commitment to support not only reopening, but restabilization, and innovation to drive continuous - and needed - improvements. 

In support of our vision to ensure everyone experiences life-changing teachers, we commit to:

Guide decision-makers in crafting plans that are aligned to strategic goals, address the needs of every child, and will propel improvements.

Now, more than ever, decision-makers need access to scalable, research-based solutions that address pressing challenges and reflect meaningful investments in the elements of their systems that matter most: investing in the people that interact with and support children. We are dedicated to providing supports that are cohesive, research-based, and proven to drive positive outcomes. Our resources, designed to work together, build sustainable systems that support strategic goals and the capacity to scale improvements.


Support leaders in overcoming learning loss, decreasing the achievement gaps, and fostering the development of the whole child.

We know leaders across the country are feeling pressure to overcome learning loss and increase children’s academic achievement. We will support you in addressing these challenges by focusing on the research-proven interactions that drive academic success. Research highlights that although instructional support is important, children's literacy development is strongest when that is accompanied by the interactions that build positive relationships and support children’s positive behavior and engagement. 


Promote social-emotional learning, trauma-informed practices, and well-being of all children, staff, and families.

Children and educators are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress and trauma. We know social-emotional support and trauma-informed practices will be critical in successfully returning to in-person learning. Our resources are proven to support social-emotional development, and we can help create an environment in which children and teachers can thrive.  Whether children have already returned, have hybrid arrangements, or are preparing to enter the physical learning environment for the first time in months, weeks, or even a year, it’s imperative they enter a space that is welcoming and provides access to equitable experiences. We will support administrators in getting insight into the quality of interactions across all classrooms and integrating practices that are proven to drive not only social-emotional development but also academic success.


Help rebuild a quality workforce equipped with the teacher-child interaction skills they need to support every child.

The early childhood workforce has faced consistent challenges, now further exacerbated by the pandemic. Because in-person training opportunities were halted, the monumental declines in the number of available early childhood professionals have been paired with missed opportunities for professional development. We will work alongside you to overcome these development gaps by refreshing and re-centering staff on the high-quality interactions that are proven to drive academic outcomes. Our professional development training opportunities provide meaningful experiences for educators to hone their skills and focus on quality, including the only CDA program that is powered by CLASS and integrates positive interactions within the required professional learning. 


Empower leaders in ensuring equitable interactions, documenting rebuilding efforts, and measuring outcomes and success.

Amidst the historic funding opportunities comes the understated challenge of demonstrating the impact the pandemic has had and tracking the impact of these investments. With advanced planning and smart systems-building, we’ll help you show the success of these critical rebuilding efforts to funders. Re-establish a baseline of quality with CLASS in the context of today’s new world, then seamlessly continue to measure and improve upon it with targeted efforts in the coming months and years.

As we embark on this industry-wide initiative and opportunity to recover, reimagine, and improve education for all children and families,  remember we are in this together. Together, we can and will rebuild towards a future of quality for every child and every educator.


Let us be your partner and support you in your goals, needs, and wishes with our expertise and services that have been proven to drive success. And, be sure to join us for our upcoming webinar, The Future is Now: Using Stimulus Funding to Drive Equity and Quality.

Save your seat for these upcoming webinars!

 

The Future is Now: Using Stimulus Funding to
Drive Equity and Quality

May 6th at 3pm EST

Register Now

 

 

Overcoming Learning Loss with
Effective Interactions

May 19th at 1pm EST

Register Now