Partnering with Parents in Early Childhood Education

Our vision at FamilyWise is a world where every child thrives. While parents and primary caregivers lay the foundation, it takes a “village” of family, friends, teachers, and neighbors to help a child thrive. Childcare is one of the first opportunities families have to expand that support network, and for more than two decades FamilyWise’s First Step Early Childhood Education Center has nurtured the growth of children and their parents. 

Angie chose First Step for her two children because she lived in the neighborhood and her nephew had a good experience there. “In the years that followed, we came to understand we had lucked out,” says Angie, who kept her two kids in the program for a collective ten years.  

First Step works to build not only an educational foundation but also values and self-confidence. Angie shared how the program helped her children build friendships and learn about other cultures and experiences through peer-learning. She recalled how her son taught the class about sea creatures, and her daughter presented to classmates about a trip to Japan; both experiences allowed them to share pieces of themselves while supporting the education of everyone around them. “First Step gently accustoms kids to the rhythms and rules of a school while encouraging kids to be themselves,” says Angie. 

These opportunities for kids to educate each other create more than just learning experiences; they introduce them to new ideas and lifestyles that shape their own understanding of the world. Angie shared that these “values and preferences showed up in big and small ways,” from her kids’ elementary teachers complimenting the empathy and kindness with which they approach the world to her children’s long-time preference for the mashed potatoes served at First Step. 

Childcare teachers support more than the healthy development of children. Through partnerships with parents, they support the whole family. Michael, a First Step graduate whose child went on to attend First Step, attests to the value of parent-teacher partnerships, saying that he is so thankful that the teachers “helped me with potty training, basic learning skills, and even helped me expand my picky eater’s pallet.” Parenting can be stressful, and it’s a relief for parents to have guidance and support from experienced teachers.  

Every teacher and classmate is an additional support outside the home that helps build the foundation of a child’s life, contributing to lifelong learning and growth. Angie affirms how foundational these relationships are, saying, “We are grateful for all that First Step did for our kids and all that we didn’t have to do because they nurtured and cared for them for so many hours each week in those crucial years when they were becoming who they will always be.”  

The support built through early childhood education centers like First Step provides essential support to families and helps children on the path to a thriving future. Learn more about First Step Early Childhood Education Center here, and learn more about how to advocate for accessible early childhood education by reading our 2025 Family Wellbeing Index.