Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children

06/14/2026

The passage is Senate Bill 293 will ensure more children have access to this incredible community asset. The bill is on the House Education committee agenda this Wednesday at 3 pm!
Would love to see you there and hear why you believe more kids deserve access to quality care during the summer months in safe outdoor locations like the Dover Y Outdoor Center.

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧 FROM ECE//DOE 🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧

Dear Delaware Early Childhood Professionals,
(CHECK YOUR EMAILS) 💻

We are grateful that many of you have been utilizing the free iPD system via the Office of Head Start.

On June 1st, the federal Office of Head Start notified all iPD users that iPD is becoming the Early Education Pathways (EEP) online system. You may have received this notification already. If not, you can view the full details in the original message from the Federal Administration for Children and Families).

Actions that all iPD users must take by June 8 at midnight:
Complete all unfinished courses in iPD.

Save a PDF of their iPD transcript and/or iPD course certificates for future verification purposes.

We appreciate you acting quickly considering this recent communication from the Administration for Children & Families (ACF). If you have questions, contact [email protected]

06/03/2026

Pride Month is a reminder of something early childhood educators practice every day: every child deserves to belong.

In early care and education, we create environments where children are safe, valued, and respected for who they are. We teach kindness, empathy, inclusion, and acceptance—not because it's political, but because it's foundational to healthy child development and strong communities.

Our classrooms welcome children from different backgrounds, cultures, family structures, abilities, languages, and experiences. Every child deserves to see that they belong. Every family deserves to know they are respected. Every educator deserves to work in an environment where they are valued.

The earliest lessons children learn about differences are often the most powerful. When young children learn to be curious instead of fearful, kind instead of judgmental, and inclusive instead of exclusive, we build stronger communities for everyone.

This Pride Month, we celebrate the diversity of the children, families, and educators who make Delaware's early childhood community stronger every day.

Because high-quality early care and education has always been about creating places where everyone belongs.

05/22/2026

Excited for this duo of leadership for Kids Caucus.

05/22/2026

Thank you Rep. Debra Heffernan for years of support and prioritization of kids - especially early education!!!

05/21/2026

Good things are happening too! This field is amazing and resilient but exhausted.

05/20/2026

Full article in the comments:

Lucinda Ross, a giant in Delaware early education set to retire this year, spoke to the same.

"Please understand that you have an audience here that has gone through a few market surveys already, and the rates have not changed, and the rates are not meeting the demands of our profession" the St. Michael’s School and Nursey director told the meeting. "So waiting another year or two, it just, I don't think it's reasonable."

The state's largest proposed investment in affordable child care this year has drawn some fiery attention from the same community it's meant to support. See link below ⬇️

📸 Benjamin Chambers/Delaware News Journal

05/20/2026

This National Small Business Month, we’re recognizing the more than 800 early care and education small business owners holding Delaware together every single day.

These are not “cute little businesses for people who like kids.”

They are highly regulated small businesses operating on razor-thin margins while managing rising costs, staffing shortages, shifting state and federal requirements, and public policies that directly impact whether they survive.

Every day, early childhood programs care for and educate tens of thousands of Delaware children so parents can work, businesses can hire, and the economy can function.

Without early care and education, Delaware’s economy would come to a screeching halt.

And yet, the industry remains consistently overlooked and undervalued — despite being one of the biggest drivers of workforce participation and economic stability for working families.

In fact, lack of access to affordable, high-quality child care is now one of the top reasons Delaware businesses struggle to attract and retain young working families.

Early care and education is economic infrastructure.
And it’s time we started treating it like it.