On Oct. 10, thread hosted No Small Matter: A Summit on the Economic Impact of Early Care and Learning in Alaska at the Marriott
Anchorage Downtown. This biennial event saw more than 150 early childhood experts, advocates, policymakers, and business and community leaders assemble
for a day of information, storytelling, networking, and design thinking around one of Alaska’s largest economic drivers: early care and learning.
Highlights from the Day Include…
- The day started with a special welcome from U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan,
followed by critical research sharing on the economic impact of early care and learning from the McDowell Group and the Alaska Children’s Trust.
The McDowell Group also released its preliminary Alaska economic impact report,
highlighting the industry’s impact on the state’s workforce, as well as the burden child care costs has on many families. - Discussion at the Summit turned to Alaska’s early care and education workforce wages, with representatives from John Hopkins sharing survey results from Alaska’s educators around compensation and wage disparities.
- At the close of the Summit, each attendee considered one small step he/she would take to move early childhood education forward in Alaska, transforming
a day’s worth of lively conversation into actionable and measurable steps.
Presentations and resources from No Small Matter are now available on thread’s website. Click here to begin.