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Dear Groundwork Friends & Supporters, It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I've taken the helm of Groundwork Ohio. Boy, time sure does fly! Reflecting back on 2017, I realize just how much we've accomplished. Our year-one goals were to re-establish Groundwork as the statewide leader for early childhood education policy and advocacy and I believe we have done just that and much, much more. Together we've...R EAD THE FULL LETTER HERE!

Groundwork Ohio's Chief Operating & Policy Officer Provides Testimony at the Ohio Statehouse This week, the Study Committee on Ohio's Publicly Funded Child Care and Step Up To Quality Program held a hearing at the Ohio Statehouse, inviting Groundwork Ohio and other child care experts to provide testimony. During the hearing, members of the committee heard from Lynanne Gutierrez, Groundwork Ohio's Chief Operating & Policy Officer, who shared the challenges families face, as well as why Ohio must invest more in quality child care and early learning opportunities. We look forward to continuing to engage with the study committee as they move forward with their recommendations for Ohio's quality child care system and explore ways to ensure families and young children have access to quality, affordable care! Read the Testimony>> Get to Know Groundwork: Beth Hess, Director of the Center for Early Learning In our latest installment of our "Get to Know Groundwork" series, we are introducing you to Beth Hess, Director of the Center for Early Learning. Beth joined Groundwork Ohio last week and we're thrilled to welcome her to the team. As Director of the Center for Early Learning , Beth will lead the Center’s work to build and transform systems that advance early learning, promote equity, and prioritize prevention through policy development, research, and collaboration. Read our Q&A with Beth to learn more about why she's a passionate early childhood advocate and what her vision of the future is for Ohio's youngest children and their families! Get to Know Beth>> Apply to Join the Groundwork Ohio Team! Groundwork Ohio is hiring for THREE exciting roles within our growing organization. The deadline to apply to the listed positions is Friday, June 17. Apply today to join an amazing and dynamic team! Director, Communications Director, Advancement Manager, Advancement View Our Job Postings >> Update: Big Win for Rosemary's Babies Company Groundwork Ohio is thrilled to share the exciting news that the Ohio legislature included $250,000 for Rosemary’s Babies Holloway House in the Capital Budget bill . HB 687 passed both chambers and is awaiting the Governor's signature. We are inspired by Rosemary Oglesby-Henry in getting this funding ask included in the bill draft, and we were thrilled for the chance to support these efforts during the request process. The funds will be used for the Holloway House and Resource Center and offer supportive housing to teen parents. Rosemary Oglesby-Henry is the founder and CEO of Rosemary's Babies Company , a Cincinnati-based impact organization (501c3) committed to helping teen parents master the concepts of self-leadership to leave a legacy. Rosemary herself was a teen parent and has dedicated her life to changing the outlook for teen parents. Learn More About Rosemary's Babies Company>> Ohio House approves bill allowing doula services to be covered by Medicaid Defense Department Implements Early Childhood Education Curriculum The Child Care Paradox: How Child Care Providers Balance Paid and Un-Paid Caregiving Why K-12 Teachers and Their Students Need Investments in Child Care Want to increase your impact?  Share this message with family, friends, and colleagues now!

This week, the critical work Ohio's Cradle to Career Initiatives do in their local community was highlighted through a collaboration from Learn to Earn Dayton and the Summit Education Initiative (SEI) . Learn to Earn invited state legislators, superintendents, early childhood advocates and community leaders, among others, to a "Cradle to Career Experience" created by the Summit Education Initiative. The simulation looked at student indicators of success through the life course, from kindergarten readiness to persistence in college and career. The simulation required legislators and other leaders to assume the role of a child in Montgomery County and follow them through their life with all their unique success and challenges. Students then moved along a continuum of prosperity and hardship to demonstrate how children with different advantages and challenges move, or don't move, towards prosperity alongside their more privileged peers. The audience acted as advocates, distributing resources to support the success of all children. The experience was enlightening and the thoughtful learnings from the simulation inspired critical discussions about how local and state policy can promote success for all kids. The bottom line? All kids need resources, but kids with higher needs need more resources to achieve prosperity. NEW POLICY RESOURCE Public Perceptions of Baby Brain Development: A National Survey of Voters This research tested messages and policies about the importance of supporting the emotional development of young children ages zero to three with voters. -ZERO TO THREE #ECEINTHENEWS What Pre-K Means for Your Pre-Teenager "High-quality prekindergarten has powerful long-term cognitive effects." - New York TImes

Last week, early childhood education stakeholders and Groundwork partners convened at the Statehouse to give testimony before the Senate Education Committee concerning proposed Senate Bill 216- Public School Deregulation Act in an effort to protect the Ohio's statewide Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) from being eliminated. Groundwork Ohio joined over eight independent stakeholders testifying this week in support of preserving, and even improving, the existing statewide KRA. Stakeholders included Kindergarten teachers, statewide and local early childhood education advocates and private philanthropy. It was clear that advocates from across the state are opposed to language in SB 216 that undermines the state's ability to asses all of our youngest learners and measure the success of Ohio's early childhood system. In Groundwork's testimony , Executive Director Shannon Jones said, "It is no coincidence that only 40% of Ohio Kindergartners come to the classroom ready to learn and only 43% of Ohio adults have a postsecondary degree or credential that they need for the jobs that will be available. This gap cannot be closed unless we understand and respond to it when it first emerges, which is before Kindergarten." Groundwork asked the committee to "invest in our future workforce by preserving the statewide Kindergarten assessment that allows us to measure our progress before, during and after Kindergarten so that we can close this attainment gap. The KRA is one of the most critical measures we have to ensure our state’s economic future." All testimony from the December 6th hearing can be viewed here. Watch the Full 12/6/17 Hearing >> The Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a new report, Social Determinants of Infant Mortality: A new approach to reduce infant mortality and achieve equity: Policy recommendations to improve housing, transportation,education and employment . Review the Report , Executive Summary, and Snapshot , by clicking the image above. The report was created with the support of an advisory group of which Groundwork Ohio participated. The report recognizes that access to healthcare is necessary, but not sufficient to responding to Ohio's infant mortality challenge. To hear Groundwork Ohio's response to the release of the report, listen to an interview with Executive Director, Shannon Jones here.

Dear Groundwork Team: I am happy to have the opportunity to share with you from sunny San Diego where I have spent the last two days at the ZERO TO THREE Annual Conference, learning from and connecting with 3,500 other early childhood advocates and practitioners from across the nation and world. Even out on the west coast, it was easy to find our people (and of course take a required O-H-I-O picture). It was great to meet and spend time with Cindy Oser, Cleveland-based ZERO TO THREE, Director of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (I-ECMH) Strategy, Jeanine Gergel, Associate at the Bruening Foundation, Todd Barnhouse, Groundwork Steering Committee Member and Executive Director of the Ohio Resource and Referral Association along with 4C for Children staff from Cincinnati. As Groundwork considers and plans for all of the opportunities we have to elevate our work and the needs of Ohio's youngest children in 2018, it has been inspiring to pause and learn with experts who share our objective to increase investments that support the development of young children. We are going bold in 2018 as we prepare for the state gubernatorial election and other special projects that we can't wait to share with you. Hearing about other states' early childhood stories and their system's progress has been invaluable to fully appreciating Ohio's assets and challenges to making Ohio the best place to be a kid. ZERO TO THREE has incredible resources and I encourage you to learn from them with us. Some of the most interesting research that was shared was in the field of infant and early childhood mental health. Positive interactions with adults are critical for babies to make meaning of their surroundings and relationships. Watch this short Still-Face Experiment video to see for yourself! Have a fantastic weekend and #ThinkBabies, Lynanne Gutierrez (I got married last week!) Policy & Advocacy Associate ZERO TO THREE designed the Think Babies campaign to promote enriching early experiences and a strong foundation for development from the start. When we Think Babies, we build a better future for us all. Learn more and act now by clicking the image below.

Dear Groundwork Team: As we reflect on all the things we are thankful for this Thanksgiving, we want to express our gratitude to you for all you do to support Ohio kids. Please have a safe and fun holiday celebrating with your family and friends. Shannon Jones Executive Director

Senator Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering) joined lawmakers and education leaders on Tuesday to announce reforms aimed at addressing cycles of poverty by helping keep students with disciplinary concerns on the path to diploma attainment. The SAFE Act (Safe Alternatives to Fair Education), which will limit suspensions and expulsions of Ohio's youngest children in Preschool through Third Grade, is expected to be introduced soon. Groundwork Ohio has served as an interested party by participating in policy planning meetings as the bill has been developed. View the full press conference below and learn more from Cleveland Plain Dealer's 36,000 suspensions for Ohio third graders and younger could prompt ban on harsh punishments.

Dear Groundwork Team: I spent part of my week at the Partners Summit for the Alliance for Early Success . As we are already busy laying the groundwork for a successful 2018, I was grateful to glean information from other states and our national partners in this work, particularly as it relates to election advocacy strategies. As part of the Summit, I participated in the annual meeting of the national Home Visiting Advocates Community of Practice where our agenda focused on the impact of the Maternal, Infant and early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) reauthorization on home visiting advocacy across the nation and election advocacy strategies. Many may not realize that CHIP isn't the Only Program for Children and Babies that Congress Let Expire . MIECHV is a critical component of Ohio's evidence-based home visiting programs that are driving outcomes for babies and families across the state with a total of 10,132 visits to families living in poverty in FY17. As we continue to educate our congressional delegation and advocate that they act quickly to reauthorize MIECHV, we have created a new resource featured below to support our advocates across the state that are helping us push for action on this important issue. Shannon Jones Executive Director NEW RESOURCE: Support your MIECHV advocacy by downloading and sharing this two page fact sheet on why Ohio families need MIECHV to be reauthorized now!

Dear Groundwork Team: This week, I was happy to be invited by PNC Bank Regional President, Dave Melin, to join PNC and the Dayton community for their Economic Forecast Luncheon. The event brought together area business leaders invested in Ohio's economic future. PNC understands that we cannot talk about Ohio's future economic prosperity without looking at the state of early learning in Ohio. It is not mere coincidence that only 40% of Ohio kindergartners come to school ready to learn and only 43% of Ohio's working population has a post-secondary degree or credential. This is unacceptable when we consider that, by 2020, 65% of jobs will require more than a high school diploma. Our kindergartners are our future workforce, and we are calling on business and community leaders to demand that early childhood becomes a priority in our state in order to secure economic prosperity in Ohio. Please help us elevate this demand far and wide as we continue to share the business case for early childhood education across the state. Shannon Jones Executive Director Pictured below on the left is Dave Melin, PNC Bank Dayton Regional President and on the right is Shannon Jones, Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio.

Dear Groundwork Team: Another week has passed and we have certainly not let the grass grow under our feet! Groundwork and our partners have been sharing the quality early childhood story and the critical work we do across both the state and the nation. At the Statehouse, I was grateful to be invited to give testimony before the Speaker's Taskforce on Poverty and Education, a very engaged panel of education experts and legislators chaired by Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima). Meanwhile, our local partners from Cleveland (Rebekah Dorman, Director of Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood, Invest in Children and Michelle Bledsoe, Coordinator for PRE4CLE ) and Dayton (Robyn Lightcap, Executive Director of Learn to Earn Dayton and Charmaine Webster, Preschool Promise Manager at Learn to Earn Dayton) presented at the National League of Cities on their local work and investments to advance early childhood education. Then last night we celebrated with Groundwork Executive Committee Member Eric Karolak, CEO of Action for Children, during Action for Children's annual celebration of early learning in Central Ohio, "Small Steps Big Benefits, Celebrity Spelling Bee". Today, we closed out the week by participating in and learning from a powerful agenda at the Summit Education Initiative's Second Annual School Readiness Summit, "The Early Childhood Effect" sponsored by PNC. As we reflect on this week, we could not be more proud of our friends in this work and the opportunities we are creating together to advance early learning and prioritize quality early childhood education in Ohio. Thank you for all you do for kids and enjoy our pictures below. Shannon Jones Executive Director

Yesterday, the Ohio Business Roundtable (BRT) renewed their commitment to Ohio early childhood education by announcing a bold new goal, that by 2025, 90% of children will be kindergarten ready, with the release of their new report, "What Difference Are We Making? An Assessment of the State of Early Learning in Ohio." Along with the report, they also shared an FAQ . They found that at the beginning of this school year, only four in ten Ohio children entered kindergarten ready to learn and for families living in poverty, the results were way worse. In achieving their goal, the BRT believes that the core driver to kindergarten readiness is access to quality, cost-effective early-learning experiences and recommended that Ohio do the following: 1. Fast track significant state investments to take proven programs to scale. 2. Relentlessly pursue quality programs that make a difference. 3. Strengthen leadership, giving it authority to sustain effective cross-system leadership.

Joint Education Oversight Committee Hearing: Quality early childhood education lead the day at the Ohio Statehouse yesterday. Shannon Jones, Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio, Robyn Lightcap, Executive Director of Learn to Earn Dayton and leader of Dayton's Preschool Promise, and Michelle Connavino of PRE4CLE presented to the Joint Education Oversight Committee (JEOC) chaired by Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima) and comprised of 5 State Senators and 5 State Representatives committed to the study and analysis of emerging education policy. This early childhood panel, representing statewide and local stakeholders, shared the critical need for increasing investments in early childhood education. Review presentations from Groundwork , Learn to Earn and PRE4CLE here! This unified message was bolstered by statewide and local data that shows how quality early childhood education is driving positive outcomes for Ohio kids including increased kindergarten readiness, a real time insurance that that the state is getting the incredible return on investment contemplated in the creation of our quality system. The overwhelming takeaway was that now is the time for the state to step up and lean into these investments to serve more eligible kids in the programs that we know changes their trajectory of success for life and helps close the gap they experience between their higher-income peers throughout their schooling and beyond. 4C for Children Advocates Visit Columbus: The JEOC hearing room was full of interested stakeholders including a dedicated group of early childhood program directors from Southwest Ohio committed to leadership on this issue through their participation in the Developing Early Childhood Leaders (DECL) through 4C for Children . Prior to the afternoon hearing, these emerging leaders received advocacy training from Groundwork and critical early childhood advocacy insight and special welcomes from Senator Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering), Senate President Larry Obhoff (R-Medina), Senator Bill Beagle (R-Tipp City), Senator Frank LaRose (R-Hudson), Senator Bob Hackett (R-London) and Senator Cliff Hite (R-Findlay). Groundwork and 4C for Children thanks these members for their time and commitment to advancing quality early childhood education in Ohio.