Early Childhood Policy & Advocacy Lab
Parents and caregivers are essential stakeholders who are an important part of building a high-quality, equitable early education system that is aligned with community needs.
Our Early Childhood Policy & Advocacy Lab equips parents and caregivers from across New York State, particularly communities of color and from low-income backgrounds, with tools to inform policymakers and advocate to improve systems that impact families with young children.
Latest Resource
On the Blog: Child Tax Credits Help. The Working Families Tax Credit Can Do Even More.
Parent advocate Amy Lee Funes, a member of the EdTrust-New York and Raising New York’s Early Childhood Advocacy and Policy Lab, writes about how The Working Families Tax Credit is one way that New York State can show a commitment to young children and their families
More Resources
Parent Voices: Two Districts, Two Different Approaches to Literacy Instruction
Literacy stakeholders, including parents and caregivers, are deeply impacted by the choices school districts make regarding curriculum and professional learning. One of the goals of the New York Campaign for Early Literacy is to emphasize the essential role parents and caregivers play in early literacy and to demonstrate how schools can empower families to support their children’s reading development.
Child tax credits help. The Working Families Tax Credit can do even more.
Read more from Amy Lee Funes, a NYC parent, on how the Working Families Tax Credit is one way that New York State can show a commitment to young children and their families.
EdTrust-New York Empowers Parents with the Launch of Early Childhood Policy & Advocacy Lab
The Early Childhood Policy & Advocacy Lab to empower and expand parent leaders’ knowledge of critical early childhood issues, NYC and NYS funding sources, available programs, and resources, and to support parent advocacy efforts.
Parent leaders present plans for how they will advocate for equity in New York State
To cumulate their Parent Advocate Policy Lab experience with Ed Trust–NY, parent leaders presented plans to address a challenge in their communities and apply tools from the Lab. Here are some of the ways these parent leaders will continue advancing educational equity in their communities.
Congrats to our 2023-24 Equity Partnership Program grantees!
Each year, through our Equity Partnership Program, we provide technical assistance and grants to support advocacy capacity to community-based and parent-serving organizations. This year, we made changes to the program to deepen our impact on several key issues and are thrilled to announce eight organizations that will be taking on critical equity work that advances our policy priorities.
Parent Advocate Policy Lab members reflect on how their Lab experience has helped them advocate for educational equity
For the past 10 months, New York State parents have engaged in Ed Trust–NY's inaugural Parent Advocate Policy Lab by attending sessions twice a month and collaborating with each other to help resolve education issues. Throughout the Lab, parent participants developed...