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Top Takeaways is a series of recaps from important conversations, town halls, webinars and virtual events about early learning.

On July 21, hosted three philanthropic leaders for a conversation about early childhood philanthropy amidst COVID-19. Dan Wuori, director of early learning, moderated the panel, which featured:

• Elliot Haspel, of the and Early Learning Nation contributor
• Eva Roberts of the
• Elliot Steinberg of the , which produced two upcoming documentaries on early childhood, Tomorrow鈥檚 Hope and Starting with Zero

Here鈥檚 what we heard during the webinar:

1. We have our work cut out for us. 鈥淚t鈥檚 remarkable,鈥� Haspel deadpanned, 鈥渢o have achieved a system that works for literally nobody.鈥� He pinpointed the power dynamic in early learning, compared to what鈥檚 happening in public education with teachers and teachers鈥� unions standing up for their right to a safe workplace, as a central concern.

Steinberg worried, 鈥淚f the children facing the greatest circumstances of risk don鈥檛 get quality educations, the gaps we鈥檙e seeing will only persist.鈥�

2. The narrative is evolving. Initially, according to Roberts, child care educators overwhelmed the listserv of in search of reliable information about coronavirus. These days, she said, the narrative is shifting from how can we get back to work? to how can we get back to work without compromising the quality of early-childhood education? Or even improving it鈥攂uilding back better, to invoke a motto that many policymakers and social entrepreneurs have adopted.

Trailer for Tomorrow鈥檚 Hope, produced by the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation

3. Foundations are listening to their grantees. Many of the field鈥檚 major philanthropies are supplementing their long-term funding priorities with emergency responses to the pandemic.

Roberts said the leaders receiving funds from her organization have asked for more flexibility with how they deploy their grant dollars. They鈥檙e also asking for technical assistance with things like obtaining paycheck protection program (PPP) loans, as very few early childhood education providers have solid relationships with banks.

4. We aren鈥檛 going to grant our way out of the crisis. Roberts said the philanthropic sector鈥檚 combined funding to support early childhood education is 鈥渁 drop in the bucket鈥� compared to what government can do.

Haspel mentioned to improve the quality and availability of early-childhood education and .

He also pointed to a that found, 鈥淰oters overwhelmingly support specific federal financial assistance for the child care industry, with eight in ten voters saying the child care industry should receive 鈥榯argeted financial assistance from the federal government.鈥欌��

Trailer for Starting at Zero: Reimagining Education in America, produced by the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation in partnership with Harvard Graduate School of Education and Firestarter Interactive

5. Public-private partnerships offer reason for optimism. This is an ideal moment to bring foundations, governments, chambers of commerce and corporations together to achieve impact.

鈥淧eople have never appreciated early childhood more,鈥� said Roberts. 鈥淲e can really democratize the issue.鈥�

For an example of what such partnerships can bring about, Steinberg pointed to Alabama, citing a noting the state鈥檚 progress: 鈥淪upport for preschool is strong among state leaders, their preschool program meets all 10 of NIEER鈥檚 quality standards benchmarks, and enrollment has expanded by 28 percentage points since 2002.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.