RAPID Survey Project

We found that over the past four years, there has been an increase in the frequency with which parents of young children report frustration in elected officials’ lack of willingness to act to meet families’ basic needs. https://lnkd.in/gcJ_sGUM

It's been a big year for the Stanford Accelerator for Learning! Isabelle Hau reflects on our work in an open letter as she marks her second year as executive director of the Accelerator. Highlights include: ▪ Hau's experience sharing Accelerator insights on AI and education at the U.S. Senate ▪ Research catalyzed at the Accelerator supporting families with young children, advancing high-impact tutoring, and developing a lighthouse model of inclusive education ▪ New classes and programming for Stanford students ▪ A peek at new programs the Accelerator will launch this year 📬 Read the letter: https://lnkd.in/g2hbNepF 🚀 Stanford Center on Early Childhood, RAPID Survey Project, National Student Support Accelerator Photo credit: Trever Tachis

RAPID surveys include questions about where families live to better understand how families’ experiences differ across the country. Families living in rural areas reported much lower access to supermarkets (44%) than families in urban areas (81%). Notably, rural and urban parents also differed based on income levels: nearly half (49%) of the rural families who participated in the survey were lower income, which was higher than the proportion of lower-income families in urban areas (36%). https://lnkd.in/gXiPQgdw

The need to move toward a society that recognises how investing in its youngest members benefits not only the children themselves but all of us together. Read our guest article by Professor Jack Shonkoff, from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, which delves into how businesses have much to gain by supporting greater societal attention to our earliest years. https://lnkd.in/eFmeQZ5g

Since RAPID launched in 2020, we have asked parents this open-ended question: What are the biggest challenges and concerns for you and your family right now? We found that parents frequently raised concerns about food access, and that lower-income families were more likely than middle- and higher-income families to raise these food-related concerns. Among the most prevalent concerns about food access were the high cost of food, difficulty affording food, and concerns about food programs ending. Explore the fact sheet and hear from parents: https://lnkd.in/gXiPQgdw

While the pandemic has affected early learning, other factors, including parental stress, have also affected early learning and school readiness. Read more from Sarah MacLaughlin, Kathy Kinsner and Mike Sherman: https://bit.ly/467kf5A

We're excited to share that, in collaboration with the FrameWorks Institute and Harvard C-CHANGE, we have launched a new research project designed to investigate the most effective strategies for communicating about the many ways that climate change is affecting early childhood development. Learn more about this new project here: https://bit.ly/3LyBmE3

"Financially, I've had a lot of support with the stimulus, grants, and loans. Mentally, my friends and family are a huge help," a home-based provider told RAPID. Explore what helps child care providers support children’s healthy development and what providers shared about their own sources of support in this special Provider Voices Storybook: https://lnkd.in/gDAGvtsU

First Five Years Fund has just released its 2024 State Fact Sheets containing the latest data for each of the 50 states and Washington, DC. In them you’ll find state-specific information on federal funding, availability, and more. Each fact sheet makes the case that investing in child care and early learning has a major impact on working parents, kids, and the economy.

Through this digital Provider Voices Storybook, we illustrate the joys, challenges, and insights that child care providers across the country have shared with the RAPID Survey Project over the past few years. Our open-ended survey questions offered providers opportunities to describe in their own words their experiences caring for children under age 6. We also sought to understand where providers themselves find support. Explore what providers say about their role in supporting children and what helps them to promote positive childhood development: https://lnkd.in/g4xjG2cU