High-Quality Early Learning for All: Defying Delays, Disabilities

Photo by Holly Bohart/Kathleen Charner/National Association for the Education of Young Children

We believe all children deserve an equal chance to reach their full potential and thrive. And when high-quality early learning is available and tailored to each infant or toddler’s individual needs, the sky is the limit. This new book from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (“The Essentials: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom”) reflects this ideology — explaining how to best support young children with developmental delays or disabilities in the classroom, emphasizing the importance of an inclusive culture and showcasing how two centers (one of them being our practice partner National Children’s Center, Inc.) are implementing these practices to deliver life-changing results.

“Children with delays or disabilities deserve the same high-quality education alongside their same-age peers who do not have a disability. [They] have a great deal in common with every other child, and they deserve the same developmentally appropriate programs that are supported by research on how young children learn and develop.”

National Children’s Center, Inc. (NCC) serves hundreds of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities by providing a wide range of community-based, personalized services, including an inclusion-focused Early Learning Center (located in the District of Columbia’s Ward 8) that serves 195 children. Complete with a robust special education curriculum, a sensory gym and onsite specialists such as physical therapists and psychologists, the NCC’s Early Learning Center provides comprehensive wrap-around supports so every child can succeed. Because of this great research-driven work, the Foundation has partnered with NCC as part of our strategy for creating 750 high-quality seats in Wards 7 and 8. We were proud to see their work and several photos highlighted in NAEYC’s book, and we look forward to our continued work together.

Read an excerpt

Learn more about this new book

Learn more about NCC’s First Annual Inclusion Conference, happening on Saturday, August 26, 2017