PUBLIC Version

From WEPOWER's Charli Cooksey: 

For too long, an underfunded and poorly designed early childhood education system in St. Louis has limited our collective ability to thrive.

This morning, we gathered with the community to release The Playbook—a blueprint for addressing the racial and socioeconomic inequities that exist in the St. Louis region for our youngest children and their families.

The Playbook is the work of WEPOWER's Tomorrow Builder fellows, a diverse group of 14 community members who have deep commitments to early childhood education but may not always be at the decision-making table.

Over the last year, the Tomorrow Builder fellows have closely examined the ECE landscape in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. They engaged the most-impacted communities to identify the gaps in the system and propose solutions.

The magnitude of the problem—and the transformational power of remedy—cannot be ignored.

The Playbook proposes bold, actionable solutions to address the fragmentation and woeful lack of funding that plagues our ECE system. Together, we have the chance to:

• Give access to life-changing early childhood education for infants and children of lower-income families, often people of color, who are currently excluded.
• Make an investment that will help children avoid special education services, grade repetition, early parenthood, and incarceration, resulting in cost-savings for our region.

Tackling a broken system requires radical collaboration and the energy of community members who are committed and courageous enough to do so. With your help, we can drastically improve outcomes for thousands of our youngest, most vulnerable citizens and change the future of our region. Are you with us?

• Share The Playbook with a friend (or all of your friends!).
• RSVP to participate in WEPOWER’s Community Organizing Training for ECE Change on January 18, 2020.
• Sign-up to receive information on future opportunities to get involved in ECE efforts.

With deep gratitude for your partnership in this critical work,
Charli

Charli A. Cooksey
pronouns: she/her/hers
Founder and CEO of WEPOWER
314-348-0392 | website