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Proximity Experts
Envisioning the Ideal
Families, educators, and administrators spend the bulk of their time working within the confines of the existing child care system, patching up the current system because reimagining it has been an unaffordable and seemingly unattainable luxury. But WeVision EarlyEd pushes us to make the ideal real. We invited these proximity experts to explore an ideal system that works and adds up for everyone.
in Proximity Experts’ words:
THRIVE, GROW, AND EVOLVE
The WeVision EarlyEd initiative is designed to challenge us all—particularly those with the most privilege and influence. It challenges the “it is what it is” mentality to instead address “what it should be.” WeVision EarlyEd pushes us to step resolutely into the future and claim it. It provides the gathering spaces, tools, and time that are needed to define the ideal system and prepare to make the ideal real.
Imagine a system that supports families, educators, and administrators every step of the way—all in support of each child’s healthy development. We know what these experts want from a child care system that works and adds up for everyone. They told us.
The Ideal Experience
- Child-centered
- Quality-centered
- Math that “adds up”
- Appropriate resources
- Simple and streamlined processes
- Connected to public schools
- Viable choices
- Collaboration
- Easy access to information
- Quality drives regulations
- Fair
- Decentralized regulations
- A seat at the table
- Fewer hats
- Constructed by the people in the system
- Unified language/shared vocabulary
- Advocacy for self and others
- Adult well-being
WHAT FAMILIES WANT
Families most want viable and quality options. They want to be able to choose care from a family member, a trusted caregiver in their community, and/or an ECE professional in a licensed program. They want options that meet their child’s needs, are affordable, and are close to home or work. They want a system that helps them understand their options so they can find the right fit. In this ideal, partnerships between families and early childhood educators are a priority; they share information about each child’s development and plan intentional experiences based on this information. Bottom line: Families are treated like the full-fledged educational partners they are.
WHAT EDUCATORS WANT
Educators want consistent support, fair compensation, and a clear path for advancement and growth. They want to be healthy (physically and mentally) and fully prepared to support the individual needs of children and families. They want to be able to support child outcomes that are rooted in the science of child development. They imagine a system that supports educators every step of the way. Bottom line: Educators are treated like the professionals they are.
WHAT ADMINISTRATORS WANT
Administrators want help at the front end of establishing their programs, clearer facility licensing rules, more flexible regulations, and more opportunities to partner with peers to share services, such as accounting and facilities management. They imagine a system that supports them in launching their program, with a streamlined process that provides training, mentors, clear guidelines, and access to clear criteria for how to develop a quality program. Bottom line: ECE administrators get the kind of support that is commonplace in other publicly funded sectors of the economy.
WeVision EarlyEd pushes us to step up resolutely into the future and claim it.