ADVANCING
RACIAL
EQUITY IN
EARLY
LEARNING
In Washington, we work together so that all
children start life with a solid foundation for
success, based on strong families and a
world-class early learning system for all
children prenatal through third grade.
Accessible, accountable, and
developmentally and culturally
appropriate, our system partners with
families to ensure that every child is healthy,
capable and confident in school and in life.
― Washington Early Learning Plan
WA Early Learning Plan Vision
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Opportunity Gap: Evidence of the
opportunity gap can be seen in children less
than a year old
WaKIDS: When looking at 2012 WaKIDS
results by racial groups, the range of
students with the characteristics and skills of
entering kindergartners in cognitive
development spanned from 62% to 80%
State Testing: In 3rd grade reading, white
and Asian/Pacific Islander students
outperformed Black, Hispanic and American
Indian students by 21-27 percentage points
on the 2011-12 state exam
Racial Inequities Begin Early
100.0%
Percentages of Students Who Demonstrate
Characteristics of
Entering Kindergartners by Race
90.0%
80.0%
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Asian
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
Black or African
American
Hispanic
40.0%
Native Hawaiian
30.0%
Two or More Races
20.0%
White
Not Provided
10.0%
0.0%
Social Emotional
Physical
Language
Cognitive
Literacy
Math
The Opportunity Gap is Evident in the
First Few Weeks of Kindergarten
4
The number of people of
color in WA is expected to
grow from
1-in-5 in 2000 to
1-in-3 by 2030.
Among the largest and most
quickly growing groups are
Asian Pacific Islander,
Hispanic/Latino, and those
identifying as “two or more
races.”
Nearly 20% of WA's
children, ages 5 to 17, speak
a language other than English
at home.
In 2000, WA had about 1.5M
children under age 18. Of the
estimated 29% increase in the
number of children from 2000
to 2030 (about 450,000),
81% will be children of color.
Our Demographics are Rapidly Changing
Washington
State Early
Learning Plan
Knowledge
of Racial
Inequities
Willing to be Disturbed
OPPORTUNITY to
Eliminate Race as
a Predictor of
Progress and
Success for
Children Birth to
Age 8
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Data across multiple indicators show
that – from day one – children of color
in Washington are more likely to be
poor and further from opportunity

Statewide attention to income equity is
long-standing, while attention to closing
the opportunity gaps related to race
has been more limited
Racial Equity v Equity
Reframing our work through a
racial equity lens engages us in
courageous conversations that
help us:
 Learn from our experiences
 Foster healing
 Uncover policies, practices and
behaviors that sustain unequal
outcomes for children
Forms of
Racism
Individual
Institutional
Structural
Using a Racial Equity Lens
This approach supports the needs of a particular
group while reminding us that our fates are linked.
Targeted Universalism
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Developed from April 2012-March 2013
Input from about 150 individuals who
participated in 7 statewide conversations
Why it matters:
o Provides collaborative vision and approach
for all levels of WA’s early learning system
o Identifies and helps us act on what we know
about the best way to implement the
policies, practices and cultural perspectives
to realize the outcome we envision for
children of color
o Articulates how individuals, organizations
and institutions can take both individual
and collective action to reduce the
opportunity gap
Racial Equity Theory of Change (RE-TOC)
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Increase community voice and
influence for those furthest away
from opportunity
Inform practice with diverse
measures and diverse stories
Make decisions that genuinely
meet the requirements of
communities of color
Design and implement systems
that respond to children’s diverse
situations
Building Blocks of the RE-TOC
Community of
Practice
 Advancing Racial
Equity Grants
through Thrive by
Five Washington
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Putting the RE-TOC in Practice
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Slow Down
Listen
Be curious about your community and work to
understand your role in it
Create space for conversation
Ask powerful questions that generate curiosity and
invite creativity
Think about who is not at the table and how to get
them there … or how to be invited to their table
Consider different partners for your work
YOU Can Make a Difference
“While early childhood
education has the proven
potential to prevent
educational inequity, if not
dramatically improved, it
will do the reverse and
perpetuate it.”
― Sharon Lynn Kagan, “American
Early Childhood Education:
Preventing or Perpetuating Inequity?”
Equity Matters: Research Review No.
3, April 2009