Meeting with Sec. Hillary Clinton Cements Partnership on Early Childhood Education

The Bay Area Council was honored this week to meet with Sec. Hillary Rodham Clinton and cement our partnership with Too Small to Fail and The Clinton Foundation on a campaign to promote the importance of early brain development and close the achievement gap. The Council in recent months has been working closely with Too Small to Fail, a joint initiative of The Clinton Foundation and San Francisco-based Center for the Next Generation.

Sec. Clinton expressed her hope that the groups will “roll up our sleeves” to develop creative, affordable and scalable ways to close the vocabulary gap among children aged 0-3 and empower them to realize their full potential. She emphasized the vital role of the business community in making this work successful and thanked both the Bay Area Council and CEO Jim Wunderman for demonstrating leadership on the issue over the years.

Wunderman remarked that the research is irrefutable on the importance of investing in early brain development to ensure children’s success later on in life. The Council’s early childhood education work would not be possible without the support of George Halvorson, Chair of the California First 5 Commission and the Council’s Early Childhood Education Committee, and Council member Kaiser Permanente. Kaiser Permanente last year provided a $500,000 grant to fund the Council’s early childhood education work along with support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which hosted the meeting with Sec. Clinton.

Other members that have stepped up with support include AT&T, Wells Fargo, The Sobrato Organization, and Clear Channel Outdoor. Said James Steyer, Co-Founder and Chair of Center for the Next Generation and Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media: “This is a movement whose time has come. We have the leaders to make that happen.” To engage in the Council’s early childhood education work, contact policy Vice President Matt Regan.