As you read this, you’re taking your first steps toward changing your school district’s system to better serve young children, their families, and the professionals who work with them.

While systems change* may sound daunting, this guide is designed to break down the steps of change, make change approachable, make change achievable, and, most importantly, make change impactful for children.

Starting with Equity

We approach change by starting with and maintaining a focus on equity*. We believe that persistent gaps in achievement and life outcomes are attributed to persistent institutional biases* that are both intentionally and unintentionally upheld. Preschoolers are expelled at rates more than three times higher than school-aged children and nationally, Black children are about three times as likely to be suspended from preschool than their White peers. In Oregon, we see disproportionate expulsion rates for children of color and children experiencing disabilities (Burton, M., Green, B.L., Miao, A.J., Pears, K.C., Scheidt, D., & Tremaine, E. 2020). And we’re believers in the adage that Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.

In rural Oregon, equity includes issues of race, language, income, gender, and ability. These equity issues are complicated by issues of geography, transportation, government investment, and access to resources.

In order to change systems with equity in mind, we need an accurate understanding of how the system is currently designed, with multiple perspectives informing our understanding. Thus, the first section of this Improvement Guide is focused on building a diverse team. In the second section, the team takes on the task of analyzing the current school system and describing the root causes* of problems in the system. In the third section, we describe an approach for designing and testing solutions to address those root causes. Finally, we share ideas and inspiration for early learning solutions through our Change Library.