RAPID Survey Project

"Support from other advocates in the child care industry." Home-based provider "State grant money for child care providers." Center teacher Child care providers share what helps them to support children’s healthy development. Explore more responses in this special RAPID Storybook: https://lnkd.in/dCYX4gG5

In a new advisory from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the significant pressures faced by parents today are highlighted as a major concern impacting both adult and child well-being. His advisory makes it clear that to ensure the mental health and well-being of our youngest citizens, we must support their parents and caregivers. Read how urgent early childhood policy interventions can play a role: https://bit.ly/3XzNeMV

“My role for the child that I care for is simple: I am a loving hand that guides her to enjoy all things learning and fun. We enjoy the day full of fun reading, art, ABCs, numbers, and being creative. It's all about being free to express who she is and learn through play.” - Home-based provider Read stories that showcase the reward, responsibility, and sense of pride and dedication that childcare providers have for their work in RAPID Survey Project’s new digital storybook:

This spring, the Stanford Center on Early Childhood put out a call for organizations to work with the RAPID Survey Project to co-design and implement surveys in their own communities. We received a tremendous response, and are excited to announce the organizations who will collaborate with RAPID to deeply listen to parents of young children in their communities and to take action using the insights and data that parents share. Five organizations were selected as part of the 2024 RAPID Community Voices cohort: 🟡Common Ground Health & ROC the Future Alliance, Rochester, NY 🟡The Early Childhood Alliance Onondaga, Onondaga County, NY 🟡Northside Achievement Zone, Minneapolis, MN 🟡Partnership for Community Action, Albuquerque, NM 🟡Whatcom County Health & Community Services, Whatcom County, WA In addition, and new this year, two organizations were selected as Innovation Communities. These groups will explore, design and implement innovative approaches to listening to parents in their community: 🟡Delta Health Alliance, Stoneville, MS 🟡Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, Fairfax, VA, in partnership with George Mason University All the organizations share a demand for actionable, timely data and insights on the experiences of families and young children in their community and an interest in centering parent voices and experiences in the design of policies, programs, and services that are intended to support them. Read more about RAPID Community Voices here: https://lnkd.in/gDi9Aawt

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