Good2Know Network celebrates and supports the vitally important work of early childhood care and learning providers with fresh, useful information and ideas, delivered every week via email and social media. Good2Know Network features bite-sized articles designed to help early childhood professionals enhance the quality of their work… and of their lives beyond work.
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Good2Know Network is created and operated by Good2Know Partners, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that supports, inspires, and advocates on behalf of early childhood care and learning providers. Good2Know Network content is provided free-of-charge.
During the past 25 years, advances in brain imaging have provided clear evidence that learning begins at birth, and that brain development occurs more rapidly during the first few years of life than at any other time. A child’s experiences between birth and five-years-old becomes the foundation from which that child can enjoy ongoing success, in school and in life.
Importantly, the experiences that matter most for a child’s early development are the interactions between young children and their adult caregivers. Research reveals that early brain development and foundational learning are set into motion when infants and young children interact with an interested, nurturing adult. Early childhood programs are considered to be high-quality when they are centered on positive adult-child relationships that encourage communication and play-based learning.
Early care and learning providers are thus vitally important to the well-being and life outcomes of young children and their families. Yet, these early childhood professionals typically face enormous challenges, including long work days, extremely low wages, and little time or opportunity for professional development and curriculum planning.
Before launching Good2Know Network, G2K hosted in-depth focus group conversations with more than 70 early childhood care and learning providers. The purpose of the focus groups was to gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing ECE providers and to learn whether an online resource could be helpful to them. Many of the focus group participants said that their long days and lack of support networks meant that their experience with online research was very unsatisfactory. One challenge they all faced was that they were limited to an hour or so late in the evening or during the weekend to read emails and search the internet for resources to support the learning needs of the children in their programs. The ECE providers explained that not only is this process time consuming, but they have no way of validating the reliability of the information they find online.
Good2Know Network was created to ensure that ECE providers would have a regular source of useful information presented in a format that could be easily applied to support the children in their care. Good2Know Network was piloted in San Mateo County, California. In 2022 Good2Know Network redesigned its website to make it easier for early childhood care and learning providers to find and utilize its content. Good2Know Network is now used by providers throughout the United States and beyond. Its content is available in English and Spanish.