Growing Justice in Early Learning: A Living Practice, Not a Distant Goal

At EveryChild California, we believe fairness and care are at the heart of early learning. Our work supports educators and families who make a difference each day in the lives of children. Building a more equitable system begins not only with policy but with nurturing spaces where respect, dignity, and shared purpose can thrive.

In early care and education, growth is both our mission and our method. Educators help children learn, discover, and grow into themselves. The same steady care that helps children bloom can help justice take hold.

Justice in early learning lives in how we teach, speak, and act. It grows through daily choices and collective effort. It comes alive when communities believe that every child deserves the same chance to thrive.

The ECE Justice Toolkit, created by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE), invites us to see justice as both personal and structural. It traces the deep roots of inequality in care work—from its undervaluing since the time of enslavement and colonization to the racial and gender gaps that remain today. Yet it also offers paths forward.

The toolkit includes:

• Ten guiding questions to review policies through a lens of fairness and equity.
• Historical context linking today’s challenges to generations of advocacy and perseverance.
• Steps for action so educators, researchers, policymakers, and advocates can share responsibility and move together toward lasting change.

At its center, the message is clear: early educators are not only part of the system; they form its core. Their knowledge, experience, and commitment drive progress for children and families.

Justice is not a finish line. It is a practice we renew every day. Each honest conversation, small act of courage, and moment of unity moves us closer to the world we imagine.

EveryChild California stands with educators and communities who cultivate justice through care. Together, we can grow a California where every educator is valued, every child is supported, and every family has what it needs to flourish.

Justice is love put into action, one day at a time.

Stay informed on the latest budget updates and calls to action at:
www.everychildca.org/legislative-resources

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