​Tarsha Jordan, a dedicated family child care provider in our community, shared with OSSS an email she sent recently to fellow Family Child Care (FCC) Program leader, Nancy Harvey. Nancy is also a part of the bargaining committee for Child Care Providers United. As Tarsha eloquently describes, California family child care providers are now seeing the results of their historic victory to establish the nation’s first retirement fund for FCC providers, a critical step towards their financial security and recognition of their vital work.

​The first Oakland Early Learning Symposium for the 2024-25 year, Baby Steps: Shifting to Care for Younger Children, focused on the changing early learning landscape in Oakland and the Bay as Universal PreK and Transitional Kindergarten roll out across the state. 

​“What does fatherhood mean to you?” and “What do you most want for your child’s education?” These are among the questions that participants in an Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) early learning event recently pondered together. The event, “Fathers and Father Figures Kindergarten Readiness Conversation and Celebration,” was the brainchild of teacher Ms. DaMonica Robinson, and was held at OUSD’s Lockwood Child Development Center. 

High quality early learning and care opportunities lay the foundation for school readiness. Therefore, connections between school districts and early childhood programs are critical to successful community partnerships that support positive child and family outcomes.