Research shows that children living in poverty have less access to high-quality early childhood programs, resulting in gaps in vocabulary, achievement, and school readiness compared to children from higher-income families. The presenter seeks to address this problem by creating a global web platform that provides digital access to early education resources and services for families, professionals, and organizations in underserved communities. If provided with $50,000 in startup costs, the platform aims to expand access, increase self-efficacy, promote parental involvement, and improve school readiness by connecting users to resources that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

1. Access Early Ed
Akiea Gross
M.A. Candidate Developmental
Psychology
Teachers College-Columbia University

3. In a perfect world…
Every child attends high-quality preschool for free.
Every parent is involved.
Every early childhood and family organization has
money and manpower.
Every child is ready for school before kindergarten.

4. LET’S GET
REAL: When
it comes to
early
childhood
education,
WE SUCK!

5. The Facts

6. Research shows…
Income Gap Children living in poverty have less access to high-
quality early childhood programming & services
Vocabulary Gap
Achievement Gap
2100 words to 600 words
Is evident before kindergarten,
especially for minority children & those
living in poverty & low-income
neighborhoods
“Less than half of children eligible for HS are enrolled. Less than 5% of children eligible for EHS are enrolled.”

7. The Problem
Low-income
communities

8. The Solution
Increased Opportunity
Increased Success
*Increase Access
Theory of Change
AccessSelf-efficacyParental InvolvementSchool ReadinessAchievement Gap

9. MISSION
We seek to create a global
web platform that
connects parents,
professionals and
organizations in a way
that provides digital
access to early
education resources and
services to people in
high-need communities
and people who service
high-need communities
who otherwise would
not have access to them.
VISION
We believe in holistic, high-
quality educational
opportunities for all;
that early experiences
shape our lives
psychologically, socially,
emotionally, and
cognitively and that
through access to these
experiences, children are
afforded life-changing
and life-sustaining
opportunities.

10. How will we do it?
Families
Professionals Organizations
Web Platform
Web Platform + Partnerships =
ACCESS

11. Potential Partners

12. What We Need
$50,000 in web
development
startup costs

13. “Expanding access to high quality
early childhood education is among
the smartest investments that we can
make.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/early-childhood
BE SMART.
INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE.
INVEST IN YOUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE.
INVEST IN CHANGING THE WORLD.
Why Early Childhood?

14. What You Get
7 to 1 return
Less crime
More education
Higher incomes
Upward Mobility
Data shows that economic return on early childhood investment far exceeds the
cost
Social Impact & Investment

16. Access
Opportunity
Success