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DEY works for
a just, equitable, and quality
early childhood education
for every
young child.
Senior Advisors
Nancy Carlsson-Paige
Diane Levin
Co-Directors
Geralyn Bywater McLaughlin
Blakely Bundy
Director of Early Childhood Organizing
Denisha Jones
Director of Communications and Social Media
Gina Contursi
National Advisory Board
Sherry Cleary
Bill Crain
Stephanie Feeney
Doris Pronin Fromberg
Ayla Gavins
Michelle Gunderson
Marcy Guddemi
Denisha Jones
Ed Klugman
Deborah Meier
Ruth Rodriguez-Ray
James St. Clair
Judith Van Hoorne
Founding National Advisory Board
Constance Kamii
Lilian Katz
Maurice Sykes
Visit us on the web:
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Calling all ECE Leaders!
Calling all Play Defenders!
Calling all Protectors of Childhood!
 Are you ready to develop your advocacy skills or to take them to the next level? Do you want to make your voice heard to lawmakers and policy experts? If so then
please join Defending the Early Years at our first Early Childhood Organizing Summer Institute July 7-10 in Washington DC.
The Institute, which will be held at the Easton Hotel, will bring together 20-25 early childhood educators
 and advocates from across the country. The institute will provide early childhood advocates with the opportunity to learn various organizing skills, identify threats to the early childhood profession, network with other early childhood leaders, and develop a platform for protecting childhood that is centered on racial and social justice.
For additional information, email DEY Director of Early Childhood Organizing Denisha Jones at:
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Spanish Translation Now Available
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DEY Continues to Speak Out Against "Online Preschool"
 To the dismay
of Defending the Early Years and other early childhood advocates, the latest trend sweeping the country appears to be "online preschool," sometimes replacing traditional preschool. Advocates of online preschool tout its low cost as compared to brick-and-mortar preschools with well-trained and well-paid teachers. They also declare that it's a way to reach children in remote areas. But we know that screen-based lessons cannot begin to replace appropriate preschool where children interact with teachers and peers and learn through hands-on experiences. Further, we are concerned that by offering online preschool primarily to low-income children, we will further exacerbate educational inequality.
The trend began in Utah in 2015 with the introduction of Waterford's UPSTART online program. Currently, at least eight states offer some kind of online preschool program.
In April, 2019, the Audacious Project, housed at TED, nominated Waterford UPSTART to receive millions of dollars in funding.
Later that month, the North Carolina legislature considered a bill to establish an online preschool pilot program throughout the state.
DEY, often collaborating with our colleagues at Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC), has responded to these threats to appropriate preschool.
Find our responses here.
Help us fight the online preschool trend! Tell your state education committee to reject online preschool and fund the REAL universal preschool that all kids need and deserve! This link will send your message directly to your state's education committee:
https://ccfc.salsalabs.org/universalprek/index.html
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Enjoy DEY's Newest
Mini-Documentary in the
"Teachers Speak Out" Series
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In this mini-documentary, early childhood educator
Kisha Reid
expertly describes how play-based environments spark creativity and are crucial for the developing brain. Watch her students at work and see what is right in early childhood education today.
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