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Building a strong organization capable of catalyzing support for early childhood takes committed leadership. It’s my pleasure to let you know the following people were recently elected to the Best Beginnings Board of Directors: Gara Bridwell, a professor of early childhood education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Lorie Morris, chief executive officer at Alaska Read More

The Children’s Hospital at Providence enrolls new babies born at their facility in Imagination Library – and covers the costs for their first year. The program began with a generous gift of $100,000, supporting approximately 300 newborns each month through 2011. Since then, The Children’s Hospital at Providence (TCHAP) has provided $25,000 to support enrollments Read More

How many times have you heard a baby described as a thirsty sponge or a blank slate? The problem with these analogies is that they downplay the active role parents and other adults have in helping a baby develop into the happiest, healthiest, smartest person she can be. Babies are born with billions of neurons. Read More

I’m very pleased to report that Alaska’s governor and legislators took great steps toward promoting school readiness by appropriating more funds this year to support young children and their families. Their growing awareness of the importance of these investments is due in large part to the efforts of many individuals, early childhood experts, and organizations Read More

For parents with children of a certain age, summer means one thing: kindergarten looms. I identify all too well, since our two older grandsons will start kindergarten this fall. There are lots of resources available, but the sheer volume – and, let’s face it, the “academic-speak” in which much of the materials is written – Read More

I confess. I’m going to boast about Best Beginnings. I prefer to think of it as simply relating how the work we’re doing with friends, allies, and partners is attracting notice, nationally and around the world. Most recently, I received an e-mail from Tom, a Londoner who had seen an article in the “Bristol Bay Read More

Before plunging into the New Year, I thought I’d take a glance back at 2011. And what I saw prompted a double-take. Wow. Here’s a sampling: Founders Lunch – In early March, Best Beginnings held a Founders & Friends lunch in Anchorage. Our purpose was to thank our longtime supporters, welcome newer friends, and give Read More

I participated recently in a workshop at the Association of Alaska School Boards conference. The topic was school readiness. I asked the school board members how they would define “ready for kindergarten.” People’s response to this question typically includes skills such as knowing the names and sounds of letters; knowing numbers, shapes, and colors; being Read More

…and brought along a few of their friends? Oh, you’d be happy. You’d feel valued, appreciated, and thrilled. But you’d also be worried. Will there be enough food? Will there be enough room? Will everyone have a good time? That’s the story of Anchorage Imagination Library. It’s growing and growing and growing, and the original Read More