Policy

Listening Sessions

Live and engaging community discussions to inform policy through collection of lived experiences. Check our Events page to attend.

Delivering on the Promise

Today, more than 250 preschoolers are  suspended or expelled per day. Black preschoolers are nearly four times more likely to receive one or more suspensions than white preschoolers. This is tragic and intolerable. Exclusionary discipline has no place in learning environments and such educational disparities not only set Black children up for failure, but for the “preschool-to-prison” pipeline. 

To address this systemic issue, in 2017, the National Black Child Development Institute announced a partnership with the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to launch a national campaign to end the “preschool-to-prison” pipeline. The “Delivering on the Promise” Initiative is designed to ensure that Black children truly benefit from early childhood education (ECE) programs by: 1) promoting inclusive early learning environments; and 2) ending harsh disciplinary practices that exclude them. 

Through the partnership, the National Black Child Development Institute supports practitioners and advocates seeking to eliminate suspensions and expulsions and implement positive discipline practices to ensure that young Black children have access to early learning settings that are supportive and affirming.

Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis 

The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) salutes our Affiliate, Black Child Development Institute Cleveland (BCDI-Cleveland), for sounding the alarm and leading the charge to have racism declared a public health crisis in the City of Cleveland. BCDI-Cleveland released its “State of the Black Child Report Card – Ohio” (Report Card) overall recommendation was to declare systemic racism a public health crisis. Following BCDI-Cleveland’s bold and courageous declaration, the Cleveland City Council (Council) introduced legislation to promote racial equity and inclusion in March 2020. The Council unanimously passed legislation on June 3, 2020, declaring racism a public health crisis.

In the midst of a national and international uprising and demand in support of justice and the establishment of the fair and equitable treatment of Black people, NBCDI celebrates the City of Cleveland and positively reflects on the fact that all communities are strengthened by local leaders like BCDI-Cleveland President Gloria Blevins and community-based organizations like BCDI-Cleveland, for it is their acts of speaking truth to power and passionately advocating on behalf of their communities that lead to change.

State of The Black Child Report Card

“Racial Equity in Early Childhood Education”

With the support of local advocates, community leaders, parents, caregivers, educators, and elected officials, NBCDI has designed this report card to serve as a powerful advocacy tool in highlighting and addressing the racial disparities in outcomes for Black children and families.  NBCDI’s State of the Black Child initiative is focused on creating resources that challenge the prevailing discourse about Black children-one which overemphasizes limitations and deficits and does not draw upon the considerable strengths, assets and resilience demonstrated by our children, families, and communities.

The policy recommendations in the “State of the Black Child” Report Cards highlight the racial disparities that affect outcomes for Black children and families. The Report Card provides parents, caregivers, advocates, community leaders and policymakers with high-priority policy recommendations to improve education, health and family support systems for Black children and families. The policy recommendations in the State of the Black Child Report Cards highlight the racial disparities that affect the learning outcomes for Black children and families. This advocacy tool is designed to support parents, caregivers, advocates, community leaders and policymakers with high-priority policy recommendations to improve education, health and family support systems for Black children and families.

Infant and Toddler Community of Practice

“A Community of Practice is a group of people who learn together over time as they work in areas of shared passion or concern. The goal of a Community of Practice is to identify and address shared challenges. By doing so, the community seeks not only to help individual members advance their own work, but also contribute to the larger field.”

Because early childhood education settings are usually the first community a child encounters outside of the home, the characters of this community can be very influential in a child’s development. This is where they learn how to communicate, interact and treat others; therefore, an appropriate community of practice educator will create and foster a community that is conducive to the learners’ needs and development.

BCDI Cleveland is committed to participating and promoting a community of practice for infants and toddlers.