Autumn Arrives with a Whirlwind

Years of community work by many individuals and organizations is paying great dividends. The Foundation for Early Learning is pleased to be supporting local early learning planning in Clark, King, Spokane and Thurston counties through our Getting School Ready! TM approach. We're also excited to join with other partners who are building community capacity for early learning through a variety of mechanisms.

One such mechanism is the Governor's Early Learning Summit on November 13th and 14th. The event is designed to build connections among local teams and state organizations and is supported both by the Foundation and the Washington Build Initiative which is part of the state's Kids Matter effort. At the Summit, the Governor will continue to demonstrate her passion for early learning and have a chance to hear from local teams about their efforts. While the Summit is designed specifically to invite local and state teams, others can benefit from the relationships that will be strengthened that day. Check back here in mid-November for updates on the Summit and links to on-line community pages where you can participate.

Another exciting development is the appointment of Jone Bosworth as the new Director of the Department of Early Learning. In short order, Jone has inspired the new agency to take advantage of the momentum in early learning. I have seen Jone in action at the recent DEL retreat and in other settings, and I can tell you that we are in for great things folks.

When the new public-private partnership Thrive by Five Washington hires its CEO, these two leaders can join hands with the Governor and many local leaders who are creating early learning action on the ground. Both Jone and the Governor are very approachable good listeners, so if you see them at an event, introduce yourself.