Tyler James Williams partnered with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to amplify early childcare and children’s development in the areas of “lack of funding, workforce shortages, cultural and language challenges, and implicit bias, disproportionately affect children of color and children from low-income families,” according to the official press release.
The Abbott Elementary actor and W.K. Kellogg Foundation have made a concerted effort to aid “educators, caregivers, and communities” with the tools to provide children to excel in the classroom by joining together to “launch a storytelling campaign” to highlight early child care and education advocates. The crusade will spotlight our nation’s educators’ numerous challenges in contributing “equitable learning and development opportunities” for today’s students.
“I’m a storyteller; the best way to influence change is through telling stories. We’re [in] a place politically where we’ve been yelling at each other quite a bit. If we showed what was happening on the ground, it would help touch people’s hearts first before having a political debate, said the Emmy-nominated actor in the interview. “One of the things that I’m here to do is not only bring more of a spotlight to the work being done but also help tell the story. When people see the story, they can be inspired and hopefully give more support to those on the ground doing the work.”
Food manufacturer William Keith Kellogg established the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 1930, presently one of the world’s largest private foundations, and its mission is to administer “funds for the promotion of the welfare, comfort, health, education, feeding, clothing, sheltering and safeguarding of children and youth, directly or indirectly, without regard to sex, race, creed or nationality.”
President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, La June Montgomery Tabron, emphasizes the organization lends support to other institutions that offer training for parents and assists in advocacy around childhood development.
“For example, there are organizations like Parents As Teachers, we support parents in becoming that first teacher, which expands beyond the home and into the school system. But for us at the Kellogg Foundation, children are the focus of everything we do. We know that every child needs to thrive, and the way for them to do that is to have a solid, early childhood experience that allows them to excel in K through 12. So our work is at the school district level; we bring community organizations together so that not only parents are related to the school system, but as the entire community engagement ecosystem. We look at maternal child health [and] making sure that mothers understand how to give children their first food, their first start, and then that continues throughout the entire matriculation of that child,” details Tabron about the holistic approach of the program.
The initiative was first introduced at the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture. Williams and Tabron discussed early child care and education in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court terminating Affirmative Action at the collegiate level and the importance of educators of color.
Williams has received astounding responses regarding highlighting Black male teachers and understands firsthand the importance for children to see this extent of representation.
“I’ve gotten a lot of feedback; as actors, part of our job is to show what is but what could be, and I feel like this is an opportunity that I’m having to not only show what could be but put a spotlight on what is and that’s why this work with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has been so important to me because it’s not fictional. These aren’t fictional stories; these are real. So the feedback has been beautiful from educators, particularly Black male educators, who are in the field and feel seen, represented, and reinvigorated because we’ve been losing educators more recently. I also love the fact that it is putting the seed in people’s minds that they can be more active in the educational system in their community, be it by joining the workforce, being an educator, or just being more attentive to what’s happening,” he said.
Williams brings cultural awareness and calls to attention the challenges in early child education within the campaign by narrating videos, also available on Instagram, and on X formerly known as Twitter.
According to a 2020 report from the Department of Health and Human Services, “the child care sector has lost almost 80,000 jobs, or about 7.5 percent of its workforce, because of the pandemic.” Those statistics are devastating for low-income students who may lag behind in academic readiness, facing “long-lasting effects” compared to children from affluent backgrounds.
Research from The Annie E. Casey Foundation noted, “a child’s vocabulary as early as age three can predict third-grade reading achievement.”
“The challenges faced over the last few years by those who devote their lives to providing children with early care and education have been unprecedented. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that takes away an important framework to addressing deeply rooted historic and systemic racism, it’s never been clearer how critical educators and caregivers are to helping our children, families and communities navigate the many challenges they face to accessing high-quality education and equitable pathways to opportunity,” said Tabron in official statement. “Our goal in this partnership is to showcase and applaud the creativity, persistence and strength of those who have dedicated themselves tirelessly to helping children grow and reach success.”
For more information, visit EveryChildThrives.com.
Read the full article here