WIDA Early Years 2020 Perspective

With gratitude from WIDA Early Years

The past several months, with all the change, uncertainties and transitions have served to reinforce two beliefs that inform our work:

• We believe that change is possible, can be positive and can lead to promising practices that promote equity for the young multilingual children and families we serve.
• We believe in the work that early care and education (ECE) professionals do to provide young children care and early learning opportunities that help them grow and flourish.

This fall, the WIDA Early Years team was honored to serve and collaborate with ECE professionals representing various state agencies, ECE programs and institutions. They embodied a can do spirit through their commitment to serve young children and families and their willingness to adapt their practice. Their efforts reaffirmed these beliefs.

We invite you to pause with us for a moment and feel the gratitude we send through this message to the ECE professionals we have had the pleasure of building relationships with over the past year. We want to say thank you

• To the early childhood teachers and providers who adapted to virtual learning and spent time recording and posting videos of engaging read alouds, songs and activities for the children and families they serve
• To the early childhood providers who remain on-site in the midst of uncertainty, opening their doors and arms to children so their families can continue working  
• To the early childhood coaches who are doing their best to meet the rapidly changing needs of teachers working in remote or hybrid learning models
• To the early childhood state agency leaders and staff who are establishing internal and external collaborative relationships to ensure the needs of multilingual children and their families are met
• To all the early childhood trainers and higher education faculty who spend hours developing professional learning offerings and teacher education coursework that highlight promising practices for supporting multilingual children and their families during this time of constant change

And last, but definitely not least…

• To the families of multilingual children who continue to demonstrate an unwavering dedication to their children’s education and development by navigating obstacles and rapid changes to the care systems on which they depend

We know this year has been very different for everyone, and often very difficult. However, no matter the challenge, we have seen you rise to the occasion. We honor your persistence, flexibility, commitment and your advocacy for multilingual children and their families. Thank you for partnering with us and for sharing our belief in a more equitable future, where all our multilingual children and their families feel a sense of belonging in our early care and education programs and settings.

WIDA Early Years Team