Early Childhood Education

Our Work

High-quality early learning and care — across child care, pre-K, and the early elementary years — are critical to ensure every child enters school ready to succeed and continue learning. Bellwether partners with schools, districts, foundations, public agencies, policymakers, and advocacy organizations to support them in their work to make this possible. We ground our approach in deep knowledge of child development and the early childhood policy landscape.

Our focus areas include:

Strategic Advising: We design and deliver strategic plans, program models, and systems-level initiatives across the early childhood ecosystem, helping partners clarify their theory of action, assess strengths and gaps, and build actionable plans grounded in stakeholder input and aligned to client priorities.

Evaluation Design and Implementation: We help organizations use evidence to understand what works, why, and for whom — and to make informed decisions that accelerate their impact. We build trust-based partnerships with clients across the early childhood space, integrating evaluation into strategy and implementation so insights directly shape programs, policies, and investments.

Research and Policy Analysis: We conduct extensive research and analysis on early childhood issues, both for specific clients and to inform conversations in the field. Our publications are tailored for policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and others across the education sector that use data-driven research in their work.

Writing and Storytelling: We partner with organizations to extend their communications capacity through ghostwriting and content development — including case studies, commentary (e.g., op-eds), and other narrative pieces — that help illustrate the impact they’re making and amplify their voice in the field.

Facilitation: We design and facilitate collaborative processes that lead to durable, systems-level change. Our approach centers community voice, elevating firsthand perspectives and translating insights into actionable strategies.

Our Impact

Child Care Associates (CCA): We partnered with CCA, one of North Texas’ largest early childhood organizations, as it expanded its reach through new service models, for-profit offerings, and an ambitious Head Start redesign. We helped leaders refine the organization’s financial model to forecast revenue and costs across multiple funding streams, align expenditures with strategic priorities, and assess philanthropic needs alongside public and earned revenue. Our support also included scenario planning in a shifting funding landscape and the creation of a multiyear roadmap that integrated financial strategy with organizational capacity-building.

Callaway Foundation: We partnered with the Callaway Foundation to identify the needs, gaps, and opportunities across the early care and education landscape in Troup County, Georgia. Through research, analysis, and engagement with local stakeholders, we developed a long-term strategy to expand access, improve quality, and align public and private investments to better serve children and families.

Mississippi First: We provided research and writing capacity to support Mississippi First in documenting the story and impact of the state’s landmark Early Learning Collaborative Act. Through extensive interviews, legislative research, and analysis, we helped capture how bipartisan leadership, community commitment, and sustained investment transformed pre-K access and quality for children and families across Mississippi.

Our Team

Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Partner

Katrina Boone
Senior Associate Partner

Bonnie O’Keefe
Partner

Lauren Schwartze
Partner