Early Childhood Partners

Four icon shapes arranged in a pattern. Decorative.
Woman speaking in group during conference session

Building a Unified Vision

Creating a successful early childhood program starts with a shared goal. This goal, or vision statement, is a short, powerful affirmation about what your community wants for the youngest children and their families. It’s more than just words; it should be a guiding force that shows what you believe in and how your collaboration will work together.

Illinois’s vision for early childhood is for every child to enter kindergarten safe, healthy, ready to succeed, and eager to learn. While it’s important to align the collaboration’s vision to the state’s vision, your vision will more specifically address your community’s needs and interests.

Engaging Early Childhood Partners

When shaping this vision, it’s crucial to have the input of a diverse group of community stakeholders. This process is an opportunity to build strong relationships, which is key to collaboration and community systems development. Consider who is at the table and who might be missing. Strive for diversity across racial, ethnic, and economic lines, and ensure that voices from all community sectors are heard and valued equally. This means not just inviting diverse stakeholders but actively engaging them in every phase of the collaboration.

Relationships are the Heart of Collaboration

The power of collaboration comes from stakeholders developing solutions to early childhood issues with the community and incorporating its diverse perspectives. Collaboration leaders must build relationships and trust among collaborations members and minimize barriers to participation.

Questions to Consider

It’s important to be aware of the groups involved—who’s there, who’s not, and who is at risk of being erased. Consider racial, ethnic, linguistic, geographic, economic, and family factors:

  • Parents
  • Families
  • Child care providers
  • Health care professionals
  • K-12 school system members
  • Vertical layers (like a school system with board members, superintendents, and teachers)
  • Leaders in the community
    • Local businesses
    • Service agencies
    • Religious groups
    • Elected officials
    • Influential community members

While diversity of the people in the room is important, it’s simply a starting point. The collaboration should give all voices in the room equal authority, so that individuals commonly left out of the decision-making process, such as parents and community members, have the space to be heard and inform the direction and work of the collaboration with their lived experiences.

Getting outside of your building and meeting with parents and providers is one important way to ensure you’re considering a wide range of perspectives. Help people see why their participation is important by showing how their work impacts—and is impacted by—the collaboration.

IAFC Logo mark

Create a Plan

Every collaboration deserves to have a clear plan that incorporates cohesive data and a deep analysis of root causes to community issues. Learn how to start a plan, use collaboration tools, and assess outcomes.

Plan Your Collaboration

Purple teardrop background shape
Purple half circle background shape