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EC-REACH connects people in Chicago’s early childhood ecosystem: families, caregivers, providers, program leaders, city leaders, data analysts, and researchers. 

Together, we will surface important questions, share our collective insights, spark new collaborations, and use the tools of research to strengthen Chicago’s early childhood ecosystem.

And we’re excited to collaborate with you today.  

If you’re a Chicagoan and an early childhood educator, service provider, parent, agency leader, policymaker and/or passionate community member…   

YOUR questions can guide community-driven research that directly benefits children, families, educators, and providers in Chicago’s early childhood spaces.

If you’re a Chicago researcher—and committed to producing accessible, useful research findings for early childhood communities and systems…

YOU can partner with the people in Chicago’s early childhood system in work that truly makes a difference for children and families in Chicago.

1. Save the date! Chicago Early Childhood Research Conference: June 10, 2024

Join fellow researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and passionate community members for Chicago’s first early childhood research conference in over five years. We want YOU to be there when we come together to:

• Engage in sessions that draw connections across the newest research evidence and evidence-based practices and policies;
• Meet and connect with colleagues over breakfast and lunch; and
• Sow the seeds for new collaborations around the most pressing issues facing Chicago’s young children and families.  

We have 150 seats available in the beautiful, light-filled Simpson Querrey Center on Northwestern’s Streeterville campus. Click here to register, and mark your calendars today for this free, one-day conference on June 10.

2. Help set EC-REACH’s first research agenda

We believe that research should be equitable, usable, actionable, and inclusive, so we’ve designed the agenda-setting process with these values as our foundation.

Over the next six months, we’ll bring together parents, community members, providers, policymakers, and researchers all over the city to identify their most pressing questions and to consider how to go about answering them.

There are many ways to make your voice heard in this process! 

Sign up here to join the research agenda task force or contribute in other ways.

3. Citywide Early Childhood Research Roundtables

This virtual meeting space is an informal way for researchers, evaluators, and analysts to connect and support one another by offering friendly, constructive feedback on works-in-progress.

• Want to hear what other early childhood researchers in Chicago are working on?  
• Are you working on a project that would benefit from some friendly external feedback?  
• Would you like to meet and connect with new colleagues?  

Click here to receive calendar invites, and to sign up to share your work. All early childhood topics, disciplinary approaches, methodologies, and questions big or small are welcome. The first three roundtables are scheduled for:

• Wednesday, May 22: 12:00-1:00, Dr. Kate Zinsser, Catherine Main, and Dr. Megan Roberts presenting
• Wednesday, July 24: 12:00-1:00, presenter(s) to be determined — could be you!

Special thanks to Sebastián Kiguel, research associate at Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC). Sebastián kicked off our roundtables on January 31 by sharing his ongoing work with statewide Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) data.

• Connect with us on Facebook and LinkedIn for week-to-week updates, and for opportunities to connect with other early childhood stakeholders across Chicago.
• Sign up for our email updates to join our community of families, providers, city leaders, data analysts, and researchers who connect and collaborate throughout the year
• Spread the word by sharing this site with one person who might be interested in EC-REACH and encourage them to add their name to our mailing list. 

Get in touch! We always love to hear from you at ecreach@northwestern.edu—and we will always respond.

The mission of Early Childhood Research Alliance of Chicago (EC-REACH) is to unite diverse partners across sectors, agencies, and institutions to co-construct and conduct action-oriented research that promotes equitable solutions for early childhood policy and practice in Chicago. 

EC-REACH is hosted by the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University under the leadership of: 

• Executive director Maia Connors, 
• Senior advisor and advisory board chair John Q. Easton, and 
• Co-faculty directors Terri Sabol and Diane Schanzenbach. 

We work in close collaboration with the Chicago Early Childhood Integrated Data System (CECIDS) team at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Early Learning Funding Equity.