BUILDing Strong Foundations

As Executive Director of the Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, my role is to ensure that children and their families are surrounded and served by high-quality early learning services. To do this, we focus on a system that provides quality programming to reach all children, especially those who are most vulnerable.

Catch up on your reading this week! BUILD Initiative shares the latest on racial equity, health equity, suspension and expulsion, immigration, and early learning.

Darlington County, South Carolina. These are the basics about the county: Nearly 42 percent Black or African-American. 56 percent White. Less than two percent Latino. Median income of $34,773. Seventeen percent of residents hold a bachelor’s degree. Thirteen percent of residents don’t have health insurance. Twenty-one percent of residents are living in poverty.

In Lamar, South Carolina, Equity Leaders Action Network (ELAN) fellow Darnell Byrd-McPherson was elected as the first African-American woman mayor. In an age where public discourse and identity politics would have us believe that we are at odds with our neighbors, Darnell’s running platform was simple: she wants to unify the community.

Catch up on early learning, health and racial equity reading.