American Rescue Plan Provides $464 Million for Child Care in Arkansas
The child care industry is critical to our economy’s success. It helps parents enter and remain in the workforce. And it supports caregivers who decide to seek additional education or job training. Even before COVID-19, early care and education providers were...
Tackling Food Insecurity, Improving Outcomes
Patty Barker, Arkansas No Kid Hungry Campaign Director Access to healthy food isn’t a luxury for Arkansas families. It’s a necessity for children’s long-term success. Studies show students who struggle with persistent hunger report lower math scores as well as higher...
What is Home Visiting?
Whether teaching positive parenting skills or helping caregivers secure child care, the Arkansas Home Visiting Network (AHVN) is focused on providing quality, evidence-based services to help families during pregnancy and until their kids enter kindergarten. Tyra...
School Readiness in Cedar Ridge
Photo courtesy of Cedar Ridge School District. How can we measure children’s development? We must rely on insight from those closest to them. Throughout the school year, teachers have the opportunity to witness key facets of students’ cognitive, emotional, physical,...
3 Benefits of Early Childhood Education
When does learning begin? For decades, kindergarten was viewed as the cornerstone of children’s educational and real-world success. But research now consistently shows brain development happens much earlier. In fact, it starts at birth. According to the American...
HealthySteps: Connecting families to resources
Research consistently shows the first three years of a baby’s life are a period of incredible growth and development. That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants receive eight well-child visits in their first 15 months of life. These appointments...
Breaking Down the Iron Triangle of Early Care and Education
If quality child care costs more than most families can afford, why is the child care market not financially stable? When developing a budget or business plan, a child care center must consider the iron triangle: full enrollment,...
Equipping Kids with Life Skills
A long-time youth mentor, Coach Larry Clark, Sr. understands the critical need for all children and families to have access to year-round educational opportunities and supportive services. It’s why he founded Life Skills for Youth (LSY) in 2006. Under his leadership,...
Recapping the 2021 Legislative Session
During the record breaking 108-day convening of the 93rd General Assembly in Arkansas, nearly 1,000 bills went on to become law. Several of them, including the ones highlighted below, were favorable to Excel by Eight’s mission to improve Arkansas families' access to a...
Excel by Eight, Explained: Data Walks
Data walk in Conway County, September 2019 Data is at the root of every Excel by Eight (E8) Community planning process. One key component that guides our local steering committees’ work: public input from parents, educators, health professionals, and other residents....