NOW LEARNING COMMUNITY
Berkeley Early Education and Care Collective
Berkeley County, South Carolina
About Us
The Berkeley Early Education and Care Collective (BEE Collective) was formed in 2017, to build an integrated mental health framework to increase the social-emotional development outcomes of children, birth to 6, in Berkeley County, SC. The Collective began by addressing exclusion and expulsion in early learning settings that disproportionately affects Black boys. The group also supports family resilience from the beginning, through doula services, reproductive health information and parent groups. The Collective tackles bias in the early education system and engages community to lead the way towards solutions.
Mission
The mission of the Berkeley Early Education and Care Collective is to ensure that every child enters kindergarten socially and emotionally ready to learn, that every educator has positive well-being and the tools to handle challenging behaviors, that families are resilient and that our community reduces mental health stigma for all ages.
Vision
Our vision is to build upon the assets of our hardest to reach children, parents and educators so that we can co-create beloved community in early education where everyone is treated with dignity.
Lead Partners
Other Partners
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Birthing with Purpose
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Nurse Family Partnership
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Head Start
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Community Organizers
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Tri-County Play Collaborative
Learning Community Goals and Strategic Priorities
During the learning community, the Berkeley Early Education and Care Collective is focusing on the following goals:
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Increase and improve quality and competency of those providing care to children
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Collecting, analyzing, applying, and sharing data for continuous improvement of service delivery
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Engage the community on a path from input to empowerment, where those most affected by the issues are leading the charge and effectively resourced
During the learning community, the Berkeley Early Education and Care Collective is focusing on the following specific priorities:
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Promote health literacy with a mental health focus
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Lay the foundation for a socio-emotional development system of care for early childhood that includes supports for children, families and primary caregivers
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Address bias in early education systems and develop an anti-bias culture of support
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Identify and implement effective modes of communication that engage lay people and professionals in information and data discovery, sharing and decision-making
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Engage the community on a path from input to empowerment, where those most affected by the issues are leading the charge and effectively resourced
Highlights
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Blog post:"Community Champion Spotlight: Richie Simone Lee" by Tiffany Rodriguez (March 26, 2020)
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Blog post: "Transforming Early Childhood Mental Health Stigma in the Lowcountry Region of South Carolina" by Adrienne Troy-Frazier (February 26, 2020)
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Podcast Episode, "Building Beloved Community for Children and Families in South Carolina" (December 13, 2019)
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Read Berkeley County First Step's 2019 Annual Report, highlighting key BEE Collective initiatives
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"Tri-County Organizations Launch Partnership to Improve Early Childhood Education and Care in Berkeley County," The Chronicle (August 9, 2018)
For More Information
Phone: 843-863-3030
Berkeley First Steps Executive Director: Adrienne Troy-Frazier; atroyfrazier@berkeleyfirststeps.com
BEE Collective Project Director: Alexa Stephens; astephens@berkeleyfirststeps.com