The Early Childhood Research Center
Spotlight
The University of Louisville has received a $190,000 grant from the PNC Foundation to help bolster the region’s early childhood education sector through an innovative workforce development program. The grant will enable UofL’s Early Childhood Research Center (ECRC) to implement a Child Development Associate (CDA) and Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) credential program curriculum.
Engaging Exchange Protecting Play Online Conference
"When we protect play and stand back to observe it with interest, we come to understand what it really means to believe, document, observe, revere and tell the stories of young children’s everyday lives. We document the time when Tanesha told us to be quiet because her babies were sleeping. We write about the time Muhammad asked me if he could do my hair for me and then proceeded to do so, all the while talking to me about what he was going to do. We learn to write stories instead of behavior management plans. We bear witness to the child’s engagements for the first time in some ways with their world. And as Terry Tempest Williams says, “Bearing witness is not a passive act.”
Imagination Library
The Imagination Library of Louisville (ILL) mails a free, high-quality, age-appropriate, monthly book to children from birth to age five in Louisville to help them develop a love of reading and get ready for kindergarten. ILL is the local program partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The ECRC is collaborating with the ILL to initiate our second annual parent survey to measure the impact we were having. For the families who participated in the 2024 survey, the ILL program has positively impacted reading behaviors in the home, enhanced the home literacy environment and provided books that are enjoyed. The 2025 parent survey will be released this summer – watch for more information soon!
