Your involvement matters

Working together, we can make New Haven a city where all children have access to high-quality early care and education

Give to NH ChILD

Contribute to New Haven’s Future

The research on early brain development is clear: children who have access to developmentally meaningful; racially, culturally and personally responsive; high-quality early care and education early in life, receive the building blocks for a successful future. NH ChILD has a bold, and attainable, plan to ensure that all children in New Haven have a strong start in life. And with your help we can make it a reality — impacting the future for thousands of children and families, and thus boosting entire communities and the city itself. And the reach extends beyond New Haven. New Haven’s demographics match many urban centers across the nation. As such, NH ChILD is created to be a model, replicable in cities throughout the country.

Your donation supports NH ChILD’s work in both of its pathways — access and quality — including initiatives such as:

Building much-needed early childhood education infrastructure to create 2,500 new spaces for children that will also increase the ECE workforce with 900 new educators
Creating a comprehensive Early Childhood Resource Network supporting programs and empowering all New Haven families with access to early childhood resources, opportunities and community
Developing Funding Models that reduce the gap between the true cost of high-quality ECE and available subsidies, allowing programs to function at high-quality and be affordable to families
Engaging all New Haven families with information, opportunities and resources for Ideal Learning and its incredible impact on a child’s development
Offering all New Haven ECE educators opportunity to increase their skills and experience through our Professional Learning Communities, workshops and presentations
Streamlining the degree-granting process to help all head teachers in state-funded programs obtain their bachelor’s degree, which will be a state requirement by 2029 for all state-funded programs

Learn with NH ChILD

Why the emphasis on early childhood learning? What is Ideal Learning? How can it impact our homes, communities and city?

The first three years of a child’s life — their first thousand days — are foundational for their brain architecture. Their experiences during these early days set the stage for future educational and life outcomes. NH ChILD is committed to ensuring that all children in New Haven — regardless of income or address — have the opportunity to benefit from Ideal Learning, whether at home, in home-based care, or in a center-based program. Though the term Ideal Learning may be new to many, its principles are drawn from well-known and proven early childhood approaches, including Montessori, Reggio Emilia, HighScope, Tools of the Mind, Bank Street College of Education, Friends Center for Children, and Waldorf.

Learn more about Ideal Learning here.

Opportunities

If you are an educator, parent, school or community leader, family child care provider, or anyone who cares for or about young children, we offer workshops and Professional Learning Communities that provide opportunities for you to develop your personal or professional experience with Ideal Learning in early childhood education.

Professional Learning Communities

NH ChILD’s Professional Learning Communities provide opportunities for educators, parents, school and community leaders to come together to explore and develop new knowledge and skills to give children ideal learning experiences. PLCs meet once a month for six months (November 2021 – April 2022). If you are interested in joining, please email info@nhchild.org. View our flyer for the monthly virtual meeting schedule.

Partner with NH ChILD

At its core, NH ChILD is a collaborative effort: formed by an alliance of like-minded organizations; steered by a Board and Council of community leaders; and fueled by the partnership of community programs and community members. We invite your participation! Below please find some examples of how we’re working with our partners.

Child Development Associate Program

Our Child Development Associate (CDA) program — created in collaboration with Elm City Communities, Gateway Community College (GCC), Integrated Wellness Group, Friends Center for Children, and Elm City Montessori — helps new educators obtain their CDA by combining Gateway College’s CDA I and CDA II courses with training in Ideal Learning and racial equity. While open to all, targeted recruitment helps us offer the opportunity to those most in need of assistance on their career pathway.

Early Childhood Resource Network (ECRN)

As one of the core strategies of the ACCESS pathway, our Early Childhood Resource Network (ECRN) is being developed in partnership with the New Haven Early Childhood Council. Featuring a common application and referral systems for families with young children, the ECRN will provide equitable access to resources and create a support system for families and the early care and education workforce. The network is being designed to address the barriers encountered by families, providers and teachers within the existing early care and education system.

Ideal Learning Roundtable

The basis for our work, Ideal learning is a comprehensive approach built upon proven pedagogical beliefs shared across the early care and childhood community. The Ideal Learning Roundtable works collectively toward the equitable expansion of Ideal Learning for under-served young children, families, and communities. The group consists of NH ChILD founding members — Bank Street College of Education, Friends Center for Children, Montessori Leaders Collaborative, North American Reggio Emilia Alliance, Tools of the Mind, and Trust for Learning — and has expanded to include a collaborative of groups championing high-quality early learning opportunities.

Our Partners and Friends

All Our Kin	Glendower Group, Inc.
Bank Street College of Education	Greater Dwight Development Corporation
Calvin Hill Daycare Center	Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce
City of New Haven	Ideal Learning Roundtable
Community Foundation of Greater New Haven	Integrated Wellness Group
ConnCAT	New Haven Early Childhood Council
Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance	New Haven Free Public Library
Early Childhood Resource Center at Connecticut Children’s Museum	New Haven Public Schools
Economic Development Corporation of New Haven, Inc.	Pro Bono Partnership
Educare	Seedlings
Elliptichain	Social Venture Partners
Elm City Communities	The Narrative Project
Elm City Montessori	Trust for Learning
Friends Center for Children	United Way of Greater New Haven
Gateway Community College	University of Connecticut’s PreK-3 Leadership Program