Happy holidays, and to those of you who are celebrating today, Merry Christmas! I am so grateful for your readership this year. Reporting on early childhood is an immense privilege, and I appreciate the conversations and story ideas you send my way, as well as the many early educators, experts and parents who have welcomed me into their classrooms and lives.

As 2024 winds down, I wanted to share some of the stories that have resonated most with me this year:

First, cozy up with a cup of cocoa and allow yourself to be transported to Norway, where childhood is seen as a time of innate value and child care programs are required to be rooted in values like empathy and “a belief in human worth.” When I visited Norway earlier this year, I was awed by their entire approach to childhood, which is especially evident in their early childhood programs. Seeing Norway’s approach made me hopeful for what’s possible in early childhood.

We know child care is an exorbitant cost for families in America, but some are lucky enough to obtain free, high-quality care — if they cross paths with the right philanthropist. That’s what I found from a visit to a new early childhood network in Pennsylvania, funded by the Milton Hershey School Trust (yes, of the Hershey family).

Earlier this year, my colleague Sarah Carr reported on a topic that is woefully undercovered. Even though most infants and toddlers are cared for in home-based settings, their providers often don’t know they are entitled to pay. Accessing pay for child care services provided by friends, family and neighbors could make a huge economic difference for these (mostly) women.

Carr also reported this year on a largely hidden issue that has long impacted families of children with disabilities and delays, particularly intellectual disabilities and conditions like Down syndrome. For decades, flawed IQ tests have been used to “gauge young children’s potential and assess whether they are ‘worthy’ of extra help or investment.”

And finally, earlier this month I published the results of a year-long investigation into state efforts to deregulate child careby lowering training requirements, putting teenagers to work as child care teachers and raising ratios and group sizes.As part of that story, my colleague Sara Hutchinson and I uncovered disturbing conditions inside child care programs in many states.

Next year, I’m planning stories on district pre-K investment, early childhood inclusion and elementary classroom management, among others. I’ll also be sharing some examples of what other countries are doing in the early childhood realm, and I will continue to track federal and state early childhood policies. As always, I’d love to hear what’s on your mind. Feel free to respond to this email and I’ll be in touch!

Finally, as a nonprofit news outlet, we rely on the generosity of individual donors to keep the organization running and help fund this journalism. If you are able to donate, please consider making a gift to help support more of this work in 2025.

Wishing you the best in the new year.

Jackie

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