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Dea Wright the city鈥檚 鈥渆arly childhood education czar.鈥� True to someone entrusted with czarlike power, she recently banished three dudes who had been standing around doing nothing for far too long. They were literally collecting dust.

The five-foot-tall Chipmunks were 鈥渁 little scary, honestly,鈥� Wright admits.

She recalls encountering the oversized statues on her first visit to the waiting area at the Vel R. Phillips Youth and Family Justice Center. A toddler was running up and down the hallway while his guardians desperately tried to control him with snacks and toys. 鈥淚t was stressful for me, just watching. Imagine what it must be for the people waiting their turn. They already have stress in their lives. If they鈥檙e here, they鈥檙e already going through trauma. Why are we making it worse?鈥�

In trying to change the scene at family court, Wright knew exactly who to call. 鈥淚 reached out to the Clinton Foundation initiative , and they said, 鈥榃e want to work with you on this.鈥欌�� The resulting Family Read, Play & Learn space is warm, welcoming and stocked with books. Unique posters designed in collaboration with Too Small To Fail hang in the space to encourage families to talk, read and sing together.

Ramona Gonzalez, presiding judge for La Crosse County Circuit Court, has championed the Milwaukee experiment and expressed interest in scaling it nationally. This model could gain traction during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as officials reassess public spaces.

“Too Small to Fail is meeting families where they are in everyday spaces like laundromats, pediatric offices and playgrounds to provide them with the tools and resources to support early brain and language development,” said Jane Park, Director of Too Small to Fail. “The early years of children鈥檚 lives are critical in preparing them for lifelong success, and we are grateful for partners such as Dea Wright and the that enable us to continue expanding 鈥淔amily Read, Play & Learn鈥� spaces into courts across the country.”

鈥淔amily Read, Play & Learn鈥� spaces were first launched in laundromats as part of the partnership between Too Small to Fail and the . Evaluation findings showed that children were observed engaging in 30 times more literacy activities compared to the laundromats that did not have these areas.

Wright believes all children should have equitable access to evidence-informed programs and services. The Milwaukee Cares project, which is part of Office of Early Childhood Initiatives, is devoted to bringing language and literacy-rich environments to places like this where the need is greatest. (As of this writing, the Children鈥檚 Court Center in Milwaukee is open for just two hours per day, owing to COVID-19 precautions.)

Learning is happening right now, in the moment, Wright says. How do we influence the learning that we know is occurring? Parents are the child鈥檚 first teacher and are equipped to be responsive. Language and literacy materials shouldn鈥檛 be hard to come by. Colorful, cozy, arm decor doesn鈥檛 have to be expensive. These spaces are reminders to talk, read and sing.

She continues, 鈥淲e know that , it can have a huge impact. Community spaces like this can create those 15 minutes.鈥�

Wright, who describes herself as 鈥渟omeone who cares and someone who can connect,鈥� was born in Danville, Illinois, and moved around a lot with her family as a child, attending nine different schools. In January, she was . Her pro tip for building spaces that people actually use: Listen to what they have to say. 鈥淚 want to be doing this work with people,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ot for them.

Reflecting on the way traumatic events (also known as ) persist in the lives of the young people who endure them, Wright says, 鈥淥ur job is to create memorable moments so that, next week or many years down the line, they can mentally go back to that place and feel good.鈥�

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