Pulling Back the Pre-K Pushout For many years, the educators and staff in the early learning sector rang the alarm on the low wages of the sector and underfunding of programs that are critical to our nation’s economy. Simultaneously, health professionals warned...
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Early Learning
Testimony_Pre-K_Pushout
Testimony Presented to Philadelphia City Council Education Committee Inella Ray, Director of Parent Advocacy and Engagement August 6, 2026 Good morning, Education Chair Isaiah Thomas and members of the Education Committee. My name is Inella Ray, and I serve as the...
What to do about child care
What Do the Experts Say? The buzz around child care is not dying down, especially in this time when families are trying to manage soaring costs of living. Families need affordable child care, and child care providers need a stable workforce to meet families’...
Promises Broken
An About-Face on Child Care “The United States can't take care of day care. That has to be up to a state. It's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis.” President Trump...
Is PHL Mayor Meeting the Moment?
Checking the Boxes for Philly Kids While we always want more, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker continues to invest in Philadelphia children and teens. As a candidate in 2023, she pledged to support the comprehensive Kids’ Campaign agenda, and her new fiscal...
Testimony: Universal PreK, PA House of Representatives
Testimony on Universal PreK Zaina Cahill, Early Childhood Education Policy Director Children First March 3, 2026 Download PDF My name is Zaina Cahill and I am the Early Childhood Education Policy Director at Children First in Philadelphia. I am a certified teacher,...
True or False
Here Are the Facts about Child Care Because a YouTuber posted on social media that he wasn’t allowed in secure child care centers in Minnesota, he claimed fraud. The President reacted to the post and – without any evidence – ordered an immediate freeze of $10...
Budget Wins For Kids
With Disappointment at the Federal Level, Pennsylvania's State Budget is a WIN for Kids. Ask most Pennsylvanians how they would grade the performance of their state and federal representatives and senators and they’d generously give them an F. In our...
This Will Scare You
Sticks and Stones and Names Will Hurt You Troublemaker. Disruptive. Difficult. These labels can follow a child around their whole life with devastating consequences. At a Philadelphia City Council hearing organized by Children First, teenagers shared their...
REPORT: Supporting All Young Learners to Thrive
Exclusionary discipline in early childhood education (ECE), including suspension, expulsion, and informal removals (soft suspensions), disrupts learning during children’s most critical years and disproportionately impacts Black children, Hispanic boys, and children...