Early Education Leaders held its first statewide conference, “Growing Big Ideas for the Way Forward: Continuous Quality Improvement in Early Education” at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa in June, marking an important milestone in our ongoing partnership to bring leadership development programs to early educators across Hawaiʻi.

Since January, we’ve been teaching our flagship program Leading for Change in Early Care and Education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Our team was on-site all week for the conference, leading workshops and engaging in discussions with local early educators about continuous quality improvement practices, leadership development, and strategies for driving positive change in their programs. The conference culminated with the first-ever Early Educator Leadership Forum in Hawaiʻi—a milestone event that brought together early educators to share their innovations, network with peers, and celebrate their leadership in the field.

The partnership with UH Mānoa continues our commitment to building strong collaborations with higher education institutions that share our vision of developing racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse leadership in early childhood education. Just as we’ve done in Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and other states, we’re working to create pathways for on-the-ground educators to develop their leadership skills and drive positive change in their programs and communities.

We look forward to sharing more about this exciting partnership and the impact it will have on early educators and the children and families they serve throughout Hawaiʻi.