Advancing Equity in Childhood Education is a critical race theory-aligned position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, an early education advocacy and grantmaking organization. Notably, support for the development of the statement was provided by the Bainum Family Foundation, a left-leaning private grantmaking foundation located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Background

The National Education Association for the Education of Young Children, founded in 1926 and based in Washington, D.C., is the largest membership association for educators who teach children aged 8 and younger with roughly 60,000 members and 52 affiliates. ¹ The organization offers accreditation for early childhood education programs, conducts education and policy research, and advocates for particular classroom teaching styles and methods. ^{2 3}

Some of the organization’s advocacy is aligned with critical race theory. For instance, in 2020 the organization issued a message titled “We Stand Together,” that condemned “generations of injustice” and alleged “structural bias” in education, advocating for the adoption of critical race theory concepts such as equity, and criticizing the response of law enforcement agencies to violent Black Lives Matter movement protests in the summer of 2020 as “weaponizing of white privilege.” ⁴

To that end, in April 2019 the national governing board of the association adopted a new position statement on early childhood education, “Advancing Equity in Childhood Education,” one of five position statements developed by the organization to “define developmentally appropriate practice,” “set professional standards and competencies for early childhood educators,” clarify the organization’s understanding of teachers’ code of ethics, and “outline standards for early learning programs.” ⁵

Contents

The Advancing Equity in Childhood Education position statement features sections outlining the document’s purpose; recommendations for early childhood educators; recommendations for administrators of schools, centers, family child care homes, and other early childhood education settings; recommendations for facilitators of educator preparation and professional development; recommendations for public policy makers; a short three-page evidence section (one page of which is an enumeration of principles); and a brief conclusion. ⁶

Among other things, the statement aims at reducing biases “based on race, class, culture, gender, sexual orientation, ability and disability, language, national origin, indigenous heritage, religion, and other identities” allegedly “rooted in our nation’s social, political, economic, and educational structures,” which are “both individual and institutional.” To that end, according to the document, such a reduction would help to address what it describes as “the uneven distribution of power and privilege inherent in public and private systems nationwide.” ⁷

Ultimately, the statement notes that its recommendations are “needed” in order to “provide high-quality early learning programs” and “eliminate differences in educational outcomes as a result of who children are, where they live, and what resources their families have.” ⁸

People

According to the acknowledgements section of “Advancing Equity in Childhood Education,” the statement’s development involved the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice/Diversity and Equity Workgroup as well as its Early Learning Systems Committee. Moreover, the document notes that those two bodies were “primarily supported” by association staff members: Barbara Willer, a senior adviser; Lauren Hogan, managing director of policy and professional advancement; and Marica Cox Mitchell, deputy executive director. ^{9 10 11 12}

Funding

The only nonprofit noted in the acknowledgements section of “Advancing Equity in Childhood Education,” cited for its support of the project is the Bainum Family Foundation, a left-leaning private grantmaking foundation located in Bethesda, Maryland, founded by the late Maryland hotel tycoon Stewart Bainum. ¹³

1. “Membership Benefits and Options.” NAEYC. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/get-involved/membership/benefits
2. “About Us.” NAEYC. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/about-us.
3. “Accreditation.” NAEYC. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/accreditation
4. McClain-Terrell, Ann; Evans-Alvin, Rhian. “A Message From NAEYC: We Stand Together.” NAEYC. May 30, 2020. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/blog/message-from-naeyc
5. “Advancing Equity in Childhood Education.” NAEYC. April 2019. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/advancingequitypositionstatement.pdf
6. Advancing Equity in Childhood Education.” NAEYC. April 2019. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/advancingequitypositionstatement.pdf
7.  “Advancing Equity in Childhood Education.” NAEYC. April 2019. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/advancingequitypositionstatement.pdf
8. “Advancing Equity in Childhood Education.” NAEYC. April 2019. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/advancingequitypositionstatement.pdf
9. “Advancing Equity in Childhood Education.” NAEYC. April 2019. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/advancingequitypositionstatement.pdf
10. “Lauren Hogan – Managing Director of Policy and Professional Advancement.” NAEYC. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.naeyc.org/about-us/people/executive-team/lauren-hogan
11. “Bainum Family Foundation Appoints Brenda Henry, PhD, as Senior Director, Programs; Marica Cox Mitchell as Director, Early Learning,” Bainum Foundation. June 13, 2019. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://bainumfdn.org/bainum-family-foundation-appoints-brenda-henry-phd-as-senior-director-programs-marica-cox-mitchell-as-director-early-learning/
12. “Barbara Willer.” ResearchGate. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barbara-Willer-2
13. “History.” Bainum Family Foundation. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://bainumfdn.org/about/history/