ILA’s 2018 What’s Hot in Literacy Report reiterated the significance of Early Literacy, which takes the No. 1 spot as the most important topic for the second year in a row. One of the greatest predictors of lifelong success, early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kinds of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates, and college and career readiness.

Many of the factors that affect a student’s chances of reading proficiently in the early grades are related to economic stability, including food and housing insecurity, summer learning loss, and access to high-quality schools. We can close these opportunity gaps by ensuring that all students have access to high-quality early childhood programs and activities. 

ILA will examine these topics through an intersectional lens at the Early Childhood Educators strand of ILA West 2018. In the meantime, educators can jumpstart their learning using these free online resources.

• ILA’s latest brief, What Effective Pre-K Literacy Instruction Looks Like, authored by early literacy expert Susan Neuman, leading authority on early literacy development, outlines concrete classroom strategies and policy recommendations that promote early literacy achievement among diverse learners.
• Teaching for Change’s childhood equity initiative (2005–2010) hosted teacher training, produced videos, created an extensive online collection of articles on antibias education (bilingual), and developed a web-based collection of related resources, which continue to be available and updated.
• The International Literacy Association’s Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group weekly book reviews and Children’s Choices Reading Lists reflect and serve a diverse and multicultural classroom.
• Denver’s Early Childhood Council compiled a list of 20 Resources to Guide Equity Work.
• Teaching Tolerance’s Starting Small training kit for early childhood educators includes a film, companion text, and teacher’s guide.
• The BUILD Initiative provides information and resources on diversity and equity for early childhood systems building, which can be accessed by its interactive database, known as the BUILD Toolkit.
• The Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework Toolkit: Maryland’s Vision for Engaging Families with Young Children is designed to help providers better recognize and meet the needs of families and support providers to increase the opportunities for family engagement in early childhood programs. 
• Colorín Colorado’s Resource Library is filled with guides and toolkits, tip sheets, research reports, recommended websites, resources organized by state, and more to help educators support English language learners.
• The National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement provides a variety of resources designed to give educators the ideas and tools needed to enhance and improve practice in the area of family engagement

Themed “Literacy: A Pathway to Equity,” the inaugural ILA West 2018 will take place March 16–17 in San Diego, CA. Sessions within the Early Childhood Educators strand will demonstrate ideas and examples illustrating how to make equitable learning a reality for every child in grades pre-K–3. Participants will leave with a tool kit of instructional practices on topics like balanced literacy, assessment for instruction, supporting English learners, and equity instruction in children's literature. Learn more and register here.

Alina O’Donnell is the editor of Literacy Daily.