Exploring Early Learning
In this podcast, Carla Garrett, Early Learning Specialist for the Region 6 Comprehensive Center (RC6), discusses early learners and the brain research that informs how to best achieve positive 3rd grade outcomes. Carla also talks about her background and what drives her work, as well as her passion about early learning.
Early Learning Conversations
SERVE spoke with Carla Garrett and the RC6 Early Learning team about the recent cohort that completed the PreK–3rd Grade Distinguished Leadership Institute, and asked them to share with us what that program entails.
Carla Garrett is the Early Childhood Program Specialist for RC6 at SERVE where she provides support, technical assistance, and policy guidance across early learning projects. She has successfully partnered with Dr. Sharon Ritchie and Dr. Eva Phillips to develop the PreK–3rd Grade Distinguished Leadership Institute, now beginning its fourth cohort. She has also been instrumental in leading a collaborative effort supporting local coordination of services among early learning partners using the Every Student Succeeds Act as a lever. Her focus on relationships and passion for appropriate practice contribute to her mission of providing the best possible experiences for young children and their families.
Dr. Sharon Ritchie has been promoting the importance of the early years, alignment, and consistency in PreK through Grade 3 with her knowledge and experience related to research, policy, and practice for over forty years. As the former director of FirstSchool at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Dr, Ritchie is highly recognized and respected for research expertise and professional development support in collaboration with districts, schools, administrators, and teachers. Her current work includes partnering with school communities to focus on improving PreK-3rd grade school experiences for overburdened and under resourced young children and their families.
Dr. Eva Phillips is highly recognized and respected for her expertise in early childhood development, curriculum and instruction, teacher leadership development and a variety of professional development offerings for districts, schools, administrators, and teachers at the national, state, and local levels. Her experience includes teaching in the public schools as well as in higher education. She also served as the early childhood Title I consultant for the NC Department of Public Instruction. During her tenure, she co-led a state-wide, comprehensive teacher leader initiative and co-authored a national resource on effective practices in kindergarten. Her life’s work has been focused on providing and helping others to provide and advocate for authentic, engaging, effective and appropriately challenging experiences for young children, while empowering teachers to embrace and strengthen their own leadership skills. Dr. Phillips has been promoting the importance of the early years with her knowledge and experience for the last thirty-five years.
Part 1. Early Learning Conversations: From Research to Practice
In this episode, Carla, Sharon, and Eva talk about the work they have done together on a variety of local, state, and national projects over the last 20+ years. You can hear the excitement in their voices as they discuss how the key to their important work is all about relationships. Let’s listen in to Part 1 of their conversation.
Part 2. Early Learning Conversations: From Research to Practice
In this episode, Carla, Sharon, and Eva continue the conversation on Early Learning with a deep dive into their work on the PreK–3rd Grade Distinguished Leadership Institute. Learn more about the questions they ask, such as “Who’s at the table and who’s missing? Is there representation from preschool, as well as the early grades?” The guiding principles of their work center on educational equity. Tune in to the conversation!
The development of a child’s brain provides the foundation for all future learning to prepare children for school and for life.
When I began at RC6, leadership provided me with the opportunity to really think about the why around early learning Preschool – 3rd Grade. We assembled a group of early learning leaders representing Preschool through the early grades who determined a need for a state-wide collaborative. Hours were spent thinking about early learning and listening to the voices of the practitioners, which resulted in the development of a White Paper titled “Children Come First: Ensuring School Policies, Practices, and Strategies Lead to Positive 3rd Grade Outcomes.”
The PreK–3rd Grade Distinguished Leadership Institute is focused on the uniqueness of the early childhood years and ensuring equitable access to high quality learning environments. Our collective passion is to provide the most effective and equitable experiences for each and every young child.
The COVID-19 pandemic provided the impetus for us to make explicit the responsibility of education professionals to broaden their repertoires and hone their skills to create schools and classrooms in which all children maximize their potential.
One of our essential strategies is the development of Communities of Practice over the long term. What I really value in this work are the relationships we have built and are continuing to build over time… this is important work and without these strong relationships, change just won’t happen.
To read the white paper, “Children Come First: Ensuring School Policies, Practices, and Strategies Lead to Positive 3rd Grade Outcomes” and supplementary briefs, visit the RC6 Resources page.
Host: Judi Rossabi, Communications Specialist
Production: Curtis Burgins, Communications Specialist