Listen to early childhood educators, consultants, and authors Makai Kellogg, Jacky Howell, Sabina Zeffler, and Magy Youseff discuss their book Reflection, Perspective Taking, and Social Justice: Stories of Empathy and Kindness in the Early Childhood Classroom.

DEY Executive Director Denisha Jones joined The Literacy Cooperative as part of That's a Hard No Podcast to discuss the power of play in the lives of young children (and everyone else). The school day has become completely structured and full of academics, but how young is too young? Are our schools leaving opportunities for creative growth? Our kids are coming home overwhelmed and exhausted, let's talk about the benefits of free play and how to bring learning back to basics. Listen to the discussion here.

Have you listened to the latest DEY Dialogue? You can find each episode from our new series here!

This year, we are hosting a virtual organizing meeting on Saturday, November 16, at noon EST. Our theme is Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education and Care, and we are looking for presenters to provide an overview of local efforts. Is your state pursuing universal Pre-K or enacting childcare expansion legislation? What challenges are you facing? What concerns do you have? How can we help? If you're interested in providing a brief overview of early childhood education and care expansion in your state, please send an email to denishajones@dey.org by November 1, 2024.

We invited our DEY National Advisors to make short introductory videos. Take a few minutes to get to know our amazing group of early childhood practitioners, advocates, and scholars. To learn more about our National Advisors, read their bios here.

Susan Linn, Ed.D.

Founding Director, Fairplay (formerly Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood)

Melinda Marshall



Family Childcare Provider

DEY was well represented at the USA IPA The Right to Play...Right Now 2024 Conference in Greenville, South Carolina. DEY National Advisor Kisa Marx received the Child's Right to Play Advocacy Award, and DEY Founding National Advisor Dr. Edgar Klugman posthumously received the Doctor of Play Award.

One session included a tribute to Dr. Edgar Klugman, featuring his final book project, The Global Healing Curriculum Project- Bridging Intergenerational Trauma to Hope, Health, and Wellbeing. DEY looks forward to the next IPA USA conference in Louisville, KY, in 2025!

In honor of Banned Book Week, we put together this video highlighting our Banned Book Club features! Each month, we will feature a banned book in an effort to combat censorship and encourage the sharing of diverse books with young children. If you're interested in joining the Banned Book Club, email denishajones@dey.org.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Heather Bernt-Santy, Jim St. Clair, Peter Rawitsch, Denisha Jones, and Anne Olcott for hosting a Facebook fundraiser for DEY!

You can also help DEY raise funds by hosting a birthday fundraiser through Facebook! Check out this silent video from Project Coordinator Zoe Kim and read her How-To Guide! Remember, every dollar helps, so even if you don't meet your goal, your efforts will go a long way!

Check out our Advocacy Spotlight, a series dedicated to highlighting advocacy efforts around the country to advance early childhood education.

Visit our Advocacy Map to view more advocacy efforts. Do you know of early childhood advocacy happening in your community? Add it to our Advocacy Map!