FTF joins in recognizing the international decade of indigenous languages

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News and happenings about First Things First

October 2022

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First Things First joins in recognizing the international decade of indigenous languages

Preservation, revitalization and support of indigenous language is an important early childhood issue, since research shows that the best possible time to learn a second language is during a child’s first three years.

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Working to connect babies, toddlers and preschoolers to outdoor spaces

Some organizations are becoming more intentional about making nature accessible to everyone, especially young children. Considerations include how to engage today’s parents who grew up in front of screens and may not have had the same outdoor experiences as previous generations.

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Parents say Quality First helped their children with a strong start for kindergarten

First Things First created the Quality First program to help child care providers in the state improve the quality of their programs in ways that help young children learn and grow.

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Save the date for live panel discussions during Native American Heritage Month

First Things First’s Tribal Affairs team, in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages, invites you to join a series of live panel sessions, “Collective Language Revitalization” throughout November.

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News Round-Up

News about early childhood around Arizona and across the U.S.

Del E. Webb family Enrichment Center maintains its 5-star rating – Yavapai College
Prescott eNews, Oct. 4
Yavapai College’s Del E. Webb Family Enrichment Center maintained its stature as one of the leading lights of quality child care in Yavapai County and the state with the renewal of its five-star rating from Arizona’s Quality First program.

The child care crisis just keeps getting worse
Vox, Sept. 7
Waiting lists are getting longer, and child care centers say they’re losing workers to fast-food chains with better wages and benefits. Despite the long wait lists, nearly 90,000 fewer people are working in the child care industry today compared to February 2020.

Native language reclamation through early childhood education: Bringing the Wôpanâak language back home
New America, Sept. 23
Founded in 2016 by the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, the school enrolls children ages 3–10 from any of the four Wampanoag tribal communities served by the project: Mashpee, Aquinnah, Assonet & Herring Pond.

First Things First is Arizona's early childhood agency that funds early education and health programs to prepare young children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.