Dear colleagues,

This spring brings another change of seasons filled with progress to celebrate—the engagement with the DAP position statement and book—as well as continued resilience and adaptability due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is a season of change for NAEYC too. At the end of April, after nine years, I will be stepping down as CEO. We have accomplished transformative work together: overhauling our affiliate network and membership structure, streamlining early learning program accreditation, and adjusting how we publish, including a set of themed articles in TYC (in this issue it’s math!). NAEYC has expanded its policy and advocacy footprint—making NAEYC and our affiliates decisive leaders at state houses and in Washington, DC.

The Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession has the potential to fundamentally transform the structure of the early childhood education system—centering early childhood educators as the most essential component and finally recognizing you with practice autonomy, professional salaries, health insurance, and retirement benefits. Our focused work on equity, building on decades of work that came before us, is decisive and unequivocal, but approached with humility in confronting our progress and shortcomings. Finally, building on NAEYC’s core strengths sit our new or revised position statements: “Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education,” “Developmentally Appropriate Practice,” and “Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators.”

Most importantly, my heart is full of gratitude for the lifetime of friendships I have made and the extraordinary colleagues I have had the privilege to work alongside. Know that the work you do, each and every day, is the backbone to children’s healthy development and learning, our country’s vitality, and civic and economic well-being. Never doubt that it deserves the professional recognition we each continue to fight for.

Changes can be big and small. As early childhood educators, we’re always reflecting on what is working and what we might adjust. In this issue of Teaching Young Children, learn about how to make changes big and small to the early math learning in your setting.

Continue to learn more about math and other areas of early childhood education through NAEYC’s position statements and books. We hope to see you at an upcoming, in-person conference such as the 2022 Professional Learning Institute, June 12–15. Come to Cleveland, Ohio, to connect with other professionals, explore and expand your practices, and revitalize your passion for the field. Visit NAEYC.org/events/institute to register. We hope to see you there!

Onward!

Rhian Evans Allvin
Chief Executive Officer