—  ECFC Events  —
Webinar | Transactional to Transformational: The Impact of Inclusion, Authentic Engagement and Power Sharing
This event was held on August 29, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
ECFC, Strategies for Children, and the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation
In March of 2020, during the first few weeks of the COVID-19 lockdowns, a small group of advocates launched daily 30-minute check in calls as crisis response and connection for advocates and leaders in the early education and care sector. Hosted by Strategies for Children, a trusted voice and advocate in the Massachusetts early education and care community, Â The 9:30 Call provided a unique venue for much needed information sharing, knowledge building, networking, policy and political updates, and helped cultivate real-time feedback loops between local practitioners and state-level advocates, funders, and policymakers.
Four years later, the 9:30 Call has evolved in beautiful and unexpected ways to become a unifying and inspirational force for the early education and care field. While the experience holds lessons for implementing similar community engagement strategies in other places, the heart of this story is the impact of inclusion and power sharing that gave momentum to creating a web of trust across and between providers, nonprofits, advocates and government leaders.
ECFC, Strategies for Children, and the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation hosted a discussion to explore the transferable (and transformative) elements of The 9:30 Calls, that tell a deeper story of creating space for authentic discussions where every voice is equal and valued, and of bringing people and systems together to align for shared problem solving and progress.
Moderator: Brian Dixon, Grants Manager & Program Officer, W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation
Discussants [Bios]
- Amy O’Leary, Executive Director, Strategies for Children
- Paula A. Echeverri Durango and Harold Blanco, Co-owners of Paula’s Barn, Inc., a family child care program in Springfield, Massachusetts; members of Strategies for Children’s  Advocacy Network Cohort 3, and Co-hosts of The 9:30 Call at Night in Spanish.
- Sara R. Slaughter, Executive Director, W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation
- Keami Harris, Chief of Equity and Strategy, Early Childhood Funders Collaborative
Event Takeaways
Our discussion focused on the community engagement and equity elements and lessons from The 9:30 Call. To learn more about the origin story, mechanics and outcomes of the work in advance of our discussion, we recommend reading/watching:
The 9:30 Call:
- Elevating Voice Continuum used for The 9:30 Calls to ensure they were creating space for those with lived experience and include different perspectives.
- From Crisis to Enduring Community Action, Case Study Report written by Minna Jung with support from the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation,
- Recording of the virtual celebration of The 9:30 Call Case Study and 4th Anniversary featuring providers, funders and government leaders side by side sharing their perspectives on The 9:30 call experience.
- The 9:30 Call YouTube playlist for the calls recorded and posted.
- Sign up for the 9:30 Call to receive the weekly schedule and zoom link.
The 9:30 Call Advocacy Network & 9:30 Call in Spanish at Night
- Our Advocacy Network in Action (June 13, 2024) Paula A. Echeverri Durango and Harold Blanco (Paula's Barn) reflect on what brought them to child care and Strategies for Children. This article includes information on the work Paula and Harold formalized, ECCHO-Latino (Educadores Comprometidos por la Calidad de la Educación Infantil en el Hogar – Latino), using WhatsApp to create a community where people can share questions and answers (starting with 7 people, the group now has about 50).
- The growth and promise of The 9:30 Call at Night in Spanish (July 18, 2024) [English] [Spanish]
- Follow Paula’s Barn on Facebook and Instagram