News

April 6, 2022

Early Childhood League Develops Resources for Families

Trying Together has released a new policy report and early intervention guide for families developed by the Early Childhood League.

About the Early Childhood League

Trying Together teamed up with a group of parents and caregivers to launch the Early Childhood League in 2021. The League aimed to connect parents, caregivers, and community organizations and empower them to advocate for positive changes in early learning policies that affect them and their children. From January through September, members met monthly to discuss communications techniques, community organizing strategies, early childhood education principles, and public policy processes. League members connected to campaigns, such as Start Strong PA, Pre-K for PA and Childhood Begins At Home.

Members joined one of the following committees:

  • Mobilization Committee: The Mobilization Committee focused on grassroots policy issues for children and families. They learned about the three ELPA campaigns and community organizing strategies. Their main projects focused on forming a call to action campaign
  • Tool Kit/ Early Intervention Committee: The toolkit committee compiled an Early Intervention Resource Guide to support families with children with developmental concerns.
  • Policy Committee: The policy committee developed a policy report that outlined the collective advocacy focus of the ECE League. 

Resources

Members of the Early Childhood League created the following  guides for the community:

 

 

News

November 12, 2020

Apply for New Early Childhood League

Trying Together invites parents, caregivers of children, and community organizations to apply to its new Early Childhood League to advocate for positive changes in early learning policies. Online applications are being accepted through December 14, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.

About

Through the generosity of The Grable Foundation and a Remake Learning TOMORROW grant, Trying Together is launching the Early Childhood League in the Pittsburgh Region.

The League will empower marginalized families to work with local organizations and other community partners to advocate for positive changes in early learning policies that affect them and their children. Improvements in local early learning environments will be achieved by members of the League who will receive training from and be supported by Trying Together staff and other experts.

Details

The Early Childhood League will be composed of:

  • a minimum of 25 selected parents and other caregivers of young children;
  • a minimum of five community organizations; and
  • one large institution.

From January through September 2021, members of the League will meet once a month to discuss learning topics such as:

  • communications techniques;
  • community organizing strategies;
  • early childhood education principles; and
  • public policy processes.

With ongoing programmatic support from Trying Together and the TOMORROW grant, the League will acquire the agency to not only develop, but implement their own advocacy plan to further advance the efforts of existing statewide early childhood policy campaigns including: child care (Start Strong PA); pre-k (Pre-K for PA); and home visiting (Childhood Begins At Home).

Individuals interested in joining the League must submit an application and a resume. To apply, complete the application and upload your resume via the online form by December 14, 2020.

Organizations interested in participating should upload their latest annual report and a document including contact information and a brief statement summarizing why they would like to engage in advocacy for early learning.

Chosen participants will receive a stipend for their time.

Share this flyer with your networks.

More Information

For more information about public policy efforts at Trying Together, contact Cristina Codario by email at cristina@tryingtogether.org or by calling 412.567.3673.

News

September 4, 2020

Early Childhood League Launch & Expansion of Recess Advocacy Team

On September 1, 2020, Trying Together and the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative were awarded grants through The Grable Foundation and Remake Learning’s Tomorrow campaign. Through this funding, both entities will work to address early childhood needs in Pennsylvania.

About

Trying Together is a leading advocate for high-quality early care and education in Pennsylvania and a co-founder of the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and Recess Advocacy Team. With funds from the Tomorrow grant, Trying Together will launch an Early Childhood League and the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative will expand the Recess Advocacy Team to engage additional youth, families, organizations, and communities as advocates to address early learning constraints in the region.

“Through the Tomorrow grants, we will be able to work with community members that we may not have previously to learn about their early learning priorities for children so we may support them in mobilizing to take action,” said Cara Ciminillo, Executive Director at Trying Together.

Trying Together

Tomorrow Campaign Project: Early Childhood League

The Early Childhood League will partner with Trying Together, its advocacy partners, and each other to transform early childhood education conditions in the region. Members of the League will include selected parents and other caregivers of young children; community organizations; and a large institution that is to be determined.

The League will achieve improvements in local early learning environments by receiving training, similar to the Early Childhood Advocacy Fellowship, from Trying Together and other experts. Training topics will include:

    • communications techniques;
    • community organizing strategies;
    • early childhood education principles; and
    • public policy processes.

With ongoing programmatic support from Trying Together and the Tomorrow grant, the League will acquire the agency to develop and implement an advocacy plan that further advances the efforts of existing statewide early childhood policy campaigns such as Start Strong PA (child care), Pre-K for PA (pre-k), and Childhood Begins at Home (home visiting).

More information and application details will be available soon. Please continue to monitor the Trying Together website, Facebook, and Twitter page for future updates.

Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative

Tomorrow Campaign Project: Recess Advocacy Team

The Recess Advocacy Team’s mission is to educate and advocate for the importance of recess; engage with children, families, and educators on recess experiences; establish a resource for recess-related advocacy, policy, and best practices; and engage stakeholders in recess advocacy efforts.

By partnering with a regional school district, the Recess Advocacy Team will utilize this funding to support efforts to conduct a needs assessment survey and develop a toolkit for children, parents, and educators who want to serve as recess champions. As a part of the toolkit, funding will also support professional development and training related to advocacy and topics such as:

    • creatively using school space for physical activity;
    • indoor recess ideas; and
    • volunteer recess supervision.

While this partnership will focus on one district, the Team’s outcomes and products will be scalable and designed to be replicated with other school districts to best meet their needs. Additional details will be available soon.

For information on how to join and more, visit the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative website.

About the Tomorrow Campaign

A $1.4 million dollar investment in organizations throughout the region, the Tomorrow campaign is an effort to #RemakeTomorrow, one where every learner is prepared to “create the future of learning” when everyone combines timeless ideas and new ways to learn.

Last spring, the Tomorrow campaign asked 17 nonprofit organizations to boldly imagine what smart risks they might take if they had research and development (R&D) funding – not for covering current activities, but for pursuing experimental ideas, testing new concepts, and finding powerful ways to move their field toward the future of learning.

“Each of these projects represents the imagination and resourcefulness not only of the 17 grantees, but also of the many partner organizations who will join them in their efforts,” says Kristen Burns, Associate Director of The Grable Foundation. “We hope these grants will provide a spark that will help move the entire field of learning forward in our region.”

More Information

For more information, read the full press release.