Trust for Learning

06/04/2026

Insightful and spot on.

What would it take to treat early care and education as ongoing essential infrastructure, not just an emergency resource?

Read this powerful paper from our colleague Dr. Tobi Ade and Dr. Marcy Whitebook from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, UC Berkeley which reminds us that we shouldn't wait for the next pandemic before we recognize that child care and its workforce are part of our social infrastructure.

The predominantly female early care and education (ECE) workforce has long shouldered daily responsibilities for young children’s health and well-being,

06/01/2026

A baby's brain is the foundation for a lifetime of learning and development. On June 9 at noon ET, our friends at ZERO TO THREE are bringing families from across the country to Washington, D.C. for !

During this 10th anniversary event, families are telling Congress 'It's Time to Think Babies' and invest in good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences.

Strolling Thunder Rally

📍 Upper Senate Park at 12pm EDT

https://www.thinkbabies.org/strollingthunder/

05/20/2026

05/20/2026

Last week, more than 100 ideal learning educators, leaders, funders, board members, and policy experts gathered with us in St. Louis, MO for our 2026 Gateway to Ideal Learning convening!

Thank you to Urban Sprouts Child Development Center, our Reggio-inspired partner, and its founder Ellicia Lanier (also one of our board members) and to ALL the staff at Urban Sprouts for creating such a magical and inclusive experience, and for sharing your beautiful space with us. To say that we left inspired is truly an understatement. We were in awe! environments are unquestionably possible for all children. It takes intention, perseverance, creativity, and love, but Urban Sprouts is living proof that this kind of work is possible, powerful – and should be replicated.

Enjoy this video recap of our time together!

05/18/2026

Happy 61st Birthday to Head Start! For more than six decades, Head Start has stood for something powerful: that every child deserves dignity, belonging, joyful learning, and the opportunity to thrive.

At the Ideal Learning Head Start Network, we are honored to bring ideal learning environments to Head Start children and their families, and to work alongside leaders, educators, and families who continue to carry this vision forward every day — nurturing children’s curiosity, relationships, culture, and full humanity.

05/08/2026

REMINDER!
The National Day Without Child Care is Monday, May 11th. We encourage you to find out if there are events in your area and if you can, promote, attend, and support these efforts. There are ~100 events nationwide with more coming online. Here's a link to a map from Community Change Action to connect to an event near you: https://www.communitychangeaction.org/what-we-do/child-care-health-equity/childcare-changemakers/day-without-child-care/

05/06/2026

First Five Years Fund has a new series of fact sheets which provide state-specific data on how CCDBG works, who it serves, and how it is funded.

For example:

*️⃣ In 22 states, families can save more than $1,000/month (on average) using CCDBG subsidies.

*️⃣ In 12 states, a family’s maximum CCDBG co-pay for child care is less than $100 a month.

*️⃣ Due to limited federal funding, 39 states are serving less than 20% of the children who qualify for CCDBG subsidies.

You can find data specific to your state at this link: https://www.ffyf.org/2026/04/30/ccdbg-state-sheets/

FFYF has a new series of fact sheets which provide state-specific data on how CCDBG works, who it serves, and how it is funded.

05/05/2026

Greener Neighborhoods & Birth Weight | Grants & Job Opportunities - http://eepurl.com/LTfdxk09_W

04/30/2026

All Our Kin’s CEO, Jessica Sager, recently gave a powerful talk at TEDx New Haven, about the power of family child care – standing at the nexus of equity, education, and the economy.
Watch that video and check out other ideal learning news in this month's IL roundup:
- https://mailchi.mp/trustforlearning/april-2026-newsletter

04/23/2026

What a fabulous idea! Join if you can 👇