Congratulations to Trust President Dr. Laura Gerald on her appointment to North Carolina’s Early Childhood Advisory Council.
Appointed by Governor Cooper, council members work to provide leadership in the development of a premiere early learning and development system for children birth to age 8. The Trust has a deep commitment to early childhood development, specifically through Great Expectations, our cornerstone effort to ensure Forsyth County’s youngest children are prepared for success in school and life by the time they finish Kindergarten.
In support of Great Expectations, we have spent the past 18 months investing in a few key early childhood areas, including health improvement and access to quality child care, and talking with parents and partners about what they need to support young children. We are continuing to listen and learn through the Forsyth Family Voices Learning Network, a training to support agencies in their work with parents and to empower parents to become leaders in their children’s education. We are also wrapping up the Family, Friend and Neighbor research—a project that surveyed more than 1,000 parents and 400 caregivers to learn more about children who are not in licensed childcare in Forsyth County. In the coming months, we will work with community partners and residents to determine what these findings mean for how we should work together moving forward. As we continue to deepen our early childhood work, we look forward to learning from other experts across the state and country.