Transforming Early Child Care in Your Community Boot Camp (Spring 2026)

Description: 

The Transforming Early Child Care in Your Community Boot Camp will take early child care stakeholders through the Community Change process. The Community Change process involves 5 phases: Assessment, Planning, Acting, Evaluating and Sustaining. We will explore each of these phases in terms of early child care. This highly interactive series consists of 8 virtual sessions, peer to peer learning and a final project. The final project will be built along the way. Participants should expect to spend 2 hours in each session and 1 hour between sessions each week. Participants must commit to attend at least 7 out of 8 of the classes and the completion of a final project. Individuals will earn a certificate of completion. 

Wednesdays, April 29- June 24 12:00pm-2:00pm 

• April 29- Introduction to Early Child Care Data
• May 6- Understanding Your Community's Early Child Care Story
• May 13- Creating Your Community's Report Card
• May 20- Leveraging Community Assets to Lead Early Child Care Change 
• May 27- Introduction to Collective Impact for Early Child Care
• June 3- Introduction to Ripple Effects Mapping
• June 10- Becoming An Early Child Care Advocate in the US
• June 17- NO CLASS / WORK ON FINAL PROJECT
• June 24- Class Final Project Showcase

Audience: 

This class is open to anyone in the North Central Region (IA, IL, IN, KS, MN, MI, MO, OH, ND, NE, SD, WI), but is highly recommended for Business Leaders, Economic Developers, Extension Professionals, Child Care Directors, Child Care Educators, Child Care Community Advocates, Civic Leaders and Employers. Multi-stakeholder classes create richer conversations. Multi-sector conversations are where the magic happens.

Clock Hours: 

Missouri Residents- MOPD Clock Hours Can Be Earned For Each Session

Fee: No Charge

This project is made possible through a fellowship grant from the North Cenral Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD).