Problem

Children display incomparable brain plasticity and learning in early childhood. Due to racial and SES inequities, gaps in skill acquisition can start as early as pre-K for BIPOC children when compared to white children. Successful childhood interventions are imperative for teaching children cognitive skills, such as literacy and speech, and noncognitive skills, such as focus and social aptitude. Lack of access to social and educational capital at a young age can predict worse outcomes later in life.

For lower-income BIPOC families, cultivating an enriching early childhood experience can be further hindered by expensive pre-school systems, lower quality public schooling, and the burden of child care to working families. Early childhood initiatives have a high potential to reduce racial inequalities — one study even argued that having a higher quality kindergarten teacher could result in $320,000 more in total lifetime earnings.

Key Terms

Child Care: AKA day care — defines the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks to eighteen years. Child care can comprise of at-home care, pre-school, child care centers, intergenerational or neighborhood-sourced care.
Brain Plasticity: AKA neuroplasticity, is a term that refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. Early childhood has been described the "golden age" in brain plasticity, where kids are like sponges to learning languages, skills, sounds, etc.
Microschools: Microschools are an alternative to traditional schooling where schooling systems are neighborhood-led with less than ~10 kids. Many microschools were created during COVID-19 as "pandemic pods." Microschools all look different, but generally include pooling of resources (i.e. time, money, teaching) from parents involved in the microschool.

Solutions

1. E-Learning Platforms

Digital learning platforms may democratize access to quality education by moving beyond or integrating with local school systems.

Existing Solutions

Free, high-quality content, such as Khan Academy Kids, can democratize access to learning for underserved families.
Interactive, social learning that connects the student with their peers, parents, and teachers has led to interactive platforms such as Flipgrid and Nearpod.

What needs to be done?

<aside> ➗ Teaching STEM & analytical skills: Analytical, problem-solving skills are critical to later success in life. BIPOC children traditionally have fewer touchpoints into STEM education, which underscores the importance of learning technological literacy earlier on in life. For example, Matific is a K-6 platform that teaches math skills and problem-solving techniques through games.

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<aside> 🌐 Closing the digital divide: It's critical to increase connectivity and tech access for lower-income students working remotely or completing online assignments at home. A tech-enabled solution could include innovations and optimizations in information and communications technology (ICT) in order to provide affordable connectivity solutions for BIPOC communities.

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2. Empowering Parents

When a child is age 0-5, most learning occurs within the home with the caregiver as the teacher. However, caregivers might be exhausted, overworked, or ill-equipped to teach in addition to other household responsibilities.