I reported this story on behavior challenges in elementary school from a first grade classroom while trying to ignore a 6-year-old repeatedly head-butting my legs like he was a baby goat. Teachers are amazing! hechingerreport.org/biting-kicki...

Follow @jackiemader.bsky.social and the @hechingerreport.org for reporting on the impact of ICE actions on young children and their education.

A few months ago, a toddler carried a small, empty chip bag into a shelter. At some point during intake, he set it down. A staff member threw it away, and when the boy realized it, he was inconsolable. “This is the only toy my child has,” the mother said. hechingerreport.org/homelessness...

Since January, I've been tracking how immigration is affecting the child care industry. This report brings stunning numbers to what I've heard: 39,000 foreign-born child care workers have been driven out of the profession due to increased immigration enforcement hechingerreport.org/immigration-...

Eighty-five percent of parents said they trust their child’s pediatrician on vaccine information — a level of confidence that cuts across political divides, including among MAGA Republicans, according to a Washington Post-KFF poll.

It's October 10th, and summer camp registration has officially started here in Austin, Texas 😱

More than 42 percent of 3- to 5-year-olds with ADHD are prescribed medication within a month of their diagnosis. This means parents are missing a crucial treatment step recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, meant to (and proven to) help families: hechingerreport.org/many-childre...

My account was hacked so no, I don’t have suggestions for Halloween makeup per ”my” wild retweets (sorry!). I do have a new story up though, in which I traveled to rural Ohio to see how communities that voted for Trump feel about Head Start uncertainty: hechingerreport.org/rural-americ...

America's child care system relies on immigrants. Without them, it could collapse. Important story from @jackiemader.bsky.social on how the Trump administration's policies will make it harder for families to access care and impact kindergarten readiness over time hechingerreport.org/americas-chi...

Child care teachers in the US make about $32,000 a year. This (and tough working conditions) has created mass child care teacher shortages & extremely high turnover rates.Our child care industry has long relied on immigrants, especially in big cities. My latest: hechingerreport.org/americas-chi...

“I think something people don’t always recognize is that summer is the hungriest time of year for families." hechingerreport.org/young-childr... @jackiemader.bsky.social explains why

Important #earlyed solution story by Liz Bell: www.ednc.org/06-24-2025-e...

Important reporting: www.wweek.com/news/schools...

The concept of inclusion raises the ire of the Trump administration — with research that includes the words inclusion or disability under federal scrutiny — Nebraska is a case study of what can happen when schools prioritize it: hechingerreport.org/nebraska-inv... via @jackiemader.bsky.social

A buried provision in the "big beautiful bill" effectively penalizes single parents who receive SNAP, or food stamps, as compared to households headed by married couples. Wrote about this today. But I shall thread for those who don't want to click! www.axios.com/2025/05/28/t...

Thrilled to work with such amazing colleagues. @hechingerreport.org won 6 of 17 categories at the @edwriters.bsky.social 2024 awards! 🥂 to @jackiemader.bsky.social @lizhech.bsky.social @sarahbutro.bsky.social @jonmarcusboston.bsky.social and...

This is my scoop that she's asking RFK about: the administration is sitting on hundreds in millions of funding for childcare that's legally owed to states www.the74million.org/article/offi...

The other day I spent 27 minutes with four editors agonizing over a 5-word headline for an upcoming story. And then there's stuff like this: www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

First, Head Start payments were delayed. Now, federal child care subsidy funds: www.the74million.org/article/offi...

Unlike funding for preschool and older children, which largely comes from state sources, funding for programs that support babies and toddlers mostly comes from the federal government. Here's how proposed cuts will trickle down to hurt infants and toddlers: hechingerreport.org/as-conservat...

Promoting strong child-caregiver relationships is central to the HealthySteps model. 👨‍🍼 Excellent reporting from @jackiemader.bsky.social on "serve and return" interactions and why they're so critical for early childhood development! www.kqed.org/mindshift/65...

If Head Start is eliminated, there will be massive consequences in many of the rural communities that voted for the Republican ticket. About 46 percent of all funded Head Start slots are in rural congressional districts, compared to 22 percent in urban districts. hechingerreport.org/as-federal-d...

Head Start grantees have been telling me that their funding requests have been kicked back for not including enough "justification" of why they are drawing down their funds. Today, ACF sent an email to grantees that their funding will be now approved or denied based on those justifications

As we watch the slow starve of Head Start, legislators around the nation are continuing to push for child care deregulation rather than investment. My latest from my early childhood newsletter this week: hechingerreport.org/states-try-t...

Re-upping this past story of mine for added context on how federal Head Start provides funding to support small, home-based programs. When I visited rural Colorado, one provider saw her quality improve and income double thanks to a Head Start partnership program: hechingerreport.org/a-little-kno...

"The authorities were dressed casually and only presented identification when asked by the principals of the schools..[they] quickly hid their credentials when the principals attempted to write down their information" edsource.org/2025/lausd-d...

Any favorite books for kids about autism that show positive traits and are relatively explicit in talking about autism vs. more vague? We've been a bit underwhelmed trying to find books. We have "A Friend like Simon" and "My brother Charlie" but still looking for more/better options..thanks all!

Evidence-based practices that foster reading comprehension are lacking in classrooms by @jillbarshay.bsky.social hechingerreport.org/proof-points...

Five years ago, I profiled Shemonica Flemings, the brave and loving owner of a child care program in central Texas. To open her program, focused on serving children with disabilities, she took out nearly $80,000 from savings. Where is she now? Read our post-pandemic update below #childcare #ece

@jackiemader.bsky.social writes about something too often missing from early education classrooms -- talk between teachers and kids. via @hechingerreport.org hechingerreport.org/lets-talk-te... #earlyed #education

My colleague @jillbarshay.bsky.social broke down the latest funding cuts and the impact on early ed for us: hechingerreport.org/how-early-ed...

A growing number of cities, states and individual programs are pouring resources into training teachers and evaluating programs on how warm and responsive they are: hechingerreport.org/lets-talk-te... via @jackiemader.bsky.social

The federal Head Start Facebook page has been shut down as of March 6th #HeadStart #earlyed

In change of plans, White House is now saying not expect the executive order today. bsky.app/profile/matt...

as part of a larger conservative push to deregulate child care, Idaho is set to become the first state in the country to gut all state-required child-to-staff ratios www.edsurge.com/news/2025-02...

More child care deregulation efforts ⬇️

📢 ProPublica is looking for 5 newsrooms to join our Local Reporting Network! These newsrooms will be part of our 50 State Initiative. Newsrooms in 40 states (in blue) are eligible to apply: https://propub.li/41270AQ Here's what this would mean for your newsroom 👇

Yesterday ~68 people employed in HHS's Administration for Children & Families early childhood offices were terminated. I'm told Office of Head Start lost ~20% of staff; Office of Child Care lost ~25% These workers process grants for preschools/childcare centers, monitor health/safety issues, etc.

Out of the 12,000 civil rights complaints the Education Department has put on hold since Trump took office: • 6,000 relate to mistreatment of disabled students • 1,000 are specific to sexual harassment/violence • 3,200 pertain to racial discrimination

School districts are spending big on custom early learning centers, leaning into research that shows traditional elementary buildings may not be appropriate for young children. A custom facility may impact behavior, learning and even preK teacher satisfaction: hechingerreport.org/districts-ar...

Do you work in #earlychildhood? I have a bi-weekly early ed newsletter with news and research from the field. Sign up here: hechingerreport.org/earlychildho...

Important, stunning story on DOGE's cuts to education research:

Another state--South Dakota--is considering allowing child care workers to qualify for child care assistance as a way to recruit and retain more staff: www.keloland.com/news/local-n...

In America, 1 in 5 child care workers is an immigrant. Some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders threaten that backbone of support. hechingerreport.org/1-in-5-child... via @jackiemader.bsky.social for @hechingerreport.org #earlyed #education #childcare