ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Our annual reports provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been accomplished by our organization, children, and families over the past year. Fiscal Year 2022 was historically unusual as BBI managed leadership change and the constantly shifting impact of the pandemic, all while serving our children and families. Together, we navigated vaccine mandates (resulting in the loss of teaching staff), the Omicron variant, and supply chain issues that impacted our access to quality diapers, certain foods for children, and even playground equipment. And in this challenging environment, we are proud to have made great strides forward.
We opened our Evening Care Program – the only Early Head Start evening program in our region – and launched our Infant and Maternal Wellness Initiative through our home-based program to reach families before the birth of a child. We successfully managed the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) re-accreditation process, a “gold standard” distinction earned by only 8% of early childhood education centers nationally. We consolidated our Office of Head Start grants and were awarded a grant to build a teacher apprenticeship program. We built our FY23 budget through a collaborative and transparent process and began to address staff retention and wellness through different initiatives.
All children advanced in each of the eight content areas defined by the industry-standard Child Observation Record (COR) Advantage: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development and Health, Language, Literacy and Communication, Mathematics, Creative Arts, Science and Technology, and Social Studies. Our Language Environment Analysis program found on average BBI children heard over 1,539 adult words per hour, and were engaged in an average of 33 conversational turns per hour, which is above LENA’s advanced level standard of 25 conversational turns per hour.
Collectively, many of our parents returned to in-person programming through our Workforce Development, Family Services, Parent Internship, and Parent Policy Council programs. Individually, others achieved stable housing and employment, maneuvered through crisis situations, and supported their children through their academic progress.
BBI’s Five-Year Strategic Plan
Letters from Our Leaders
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Dear Friends and Supporters of BBI,
It is with both humility and excitement that I share with you our Annual Report for 2022.
Our year was marked by an unwavering commitment to building and strengthening our relationships with our children, families, and staff at Bright Beginnings. The work of educating and supporting young children and families is deeply personal, incredibly rewarding, and always emotionally taxing. To be done effectively, our work requires intentionality about how we build relationships, understand the needs of our community and staff, and support each other in becoming continually better versions of ourselves and our organization.
Program Year 21-22 was a year of transition and change for Bright Beginnings as the organization managed a leadership search and the ever-shifting state of the world. We know that, to best serve our children and families, consistency is key. As an organization, BBI prioritized our human capital by building community with each other through monthly staff team-building sessions focused on developing trust and strengthening our collaboration. We also returned completely to in-person programming for parents, with sessions driven by their voices and needs. Our investment in team and relationship building has resulted in unparalleled retention of staff and children from year to year. With strong relationships already in place between children, families, and staff, BBI expects to soar to new heights for child, family, and staff outcomes next year!
As we continued to listen to and learn with our families, BBI was thrilled to offer new programming that could better address the needs of our community. We formed a group for mothers that addressed their mental health needs while creating a supportive community of peers. Our Partnerships Coordinator and ERSEA Specialist partnered to launch a parent internship program that focused on building skills of marketing, recruitment, and general job force skills like interviewing and resume-building. Our parents helped to fill the seats in both our day and evening care programming as they canvassed the neighborhoods—while at the same time developing skills that will make them highly marketable in a city with as much education choice as DC! Lastly, we opened our fully accredited Evening Care Program in January of 2022 with two children! This program, which serves our families who work non-traditional hours, has now grown to 20 children and we are excited to continue to meet the diverse needs of our community.
In 2022, we built trusting and empathetic relationships by carefully listening and enthusiastically learning. The work of BBI is grounded in knowing, understanding, and valuing each other and our needs so that we can succeed at what matters most: preparing our children to be school-ready and their families to be upwardly mobile.
As we remain true to our commitments, with our increased understanding of each other, we know that we can continue to push our children, families, and staff to reach even greater results. We believe the answers that we need to solve our community’s concerns lie within our children, their families, and our staff. We are committed to creating and providing the innovative programming necessary to find those solutions. In 2023, BBI will continue to invest in developing the voices and skills of our valued stakeholders so we can create avenues for us all to become the best version of ourselves.
Thank you to all of you who continue to believe in and support BBI’s work. We are thrilled at what we achieved throughout this year and believe that our investment in our people will yield results that we have yet to imagine!
Sincerely,
Erin Fisher, Chief Executive Officer
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Dear Friends and Families of Bright Beginnings,
It is my great honor to have served as president of Bright Beginnings Board of Directors for 2022 and to share with you this annual report. The story that is told within these pages is one that is made possible by the ongoing support of individuals (staff, donors, volunteers, and families), corporations, foundations, organizations, and the city and federal governments. Without their time, expertise, emotional, and financial support, BBI simply would not exist. Thank you!
During Fiscal Year 2022, the world emerged from the pandemic and began to define a “new normal.” Bright Beginnings was no exception. Adding to the ever-changing landscape of day-to-day operations was a leadership change, which brought new challenges. Thankfully, after a national search, we realized that the very best person for the job was already a part of the BBI family, and we were proud and excited to announce Erin Fisher as BBI’s Chief Executive Officer on September 15, 2022.
For much of FY22, Erin served as Interim Executive Director. Despite the “interim” role, Erin managed BBI with skill and empathy and proved to be a capable, consistent, and calm leader during a transitional period for the organization. Our organization worked through the difficult challenges of losing teaching staff due to vaccine mandates, widespread illness caused by the Omicron variant, and supply chain issues that impacted our access to quality diapers, certain foods for children, and even playground equipment. However, BBI also made great strides. We re-opened our Evening Care Program in our 4th Street Center (which is the only Early Head Start evening program in our region), we successfully managed the NAEYC re-accreditation process, consolidated our Head Start grants, built our budget through a collaborative and transparent process, and initiated staff retention and wellness initiatives.
Programmatically, BBI thrived in FY22. From the re-opening of Evening Care, the expansion of the Infant and Maternal Wellness Program, the construction of a new playground and sensory room, to the re-launch of educational and cultural field trips, the year was one marked by innovation, growth, and in some ways, a return to normalcy.
BBI is on solid ground financially. I am proud to announce that for the first time, BBI received the Platinum Seal from Candid, demonstrating full transparency to its funders and donors. Our FY22 annual audit was conducted with no deficiencies in internal control or material weaknesses found, and BBI closed the year with an excess of revenues over expenses.
While this annual report is essentially a look back over a successful year, the real promise of BBI is in looking to the future. This future promise touches all of us with an eagerness and excitement to meet the challenges ahead with all of you. As the strategic plan is implemented over the next 5 years, I am confident that our shared vision can be realized: that all children and families in the District are receiving the support and resources necessary to thrive and reach their full potential.
On behalf of the entire board of Bright Beginnings, thank you for your partnership and investment in the DC community.
Best regards,
Nancy P. Register, 2022 Board of Directors President
Testimonial
"I was able to witness the interactions between the students and teachers. From that moment, I knew that this would be the right place for [us]. My son and I have grown tremendously while at BBI...[they] have been proactive with the needs of my family, especially for my son."
— Brittni, mother of BBI student
2022 Year in Review
In FY22, Bright Beginnings provided education and wrap-around services at no cost to 260 children and their families living at or below the federal poverty line. Families living in urban poverty encounter multiple traumas over many years–including violence, loss of a parent, and food and housing insecurity–which lead to severe and chronic reactions that impact both the family and our society. Bright Beginnings employs a two-generation approach for long-term success by providing high-quality, accredited, and free early childhood education for children. At the same time,we empower parents with the knowledge and skills to be their children’s first and best teachers, to have economic stability and mobility, and to be mentally and physically healthy. Access to quality early childhood education is proven to have a positive impact on a range of academic and life outcomes for children, with gaps in learning becoming harder to remedy as children age.
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Health and Therapeutic Services
BBI screened all 260 children for developmental concerns. As a result, there were 123 parent consultations that provided vital support during experiences of family crisis, illness, or domestic violence. One hundred eighty consultations with staff were held to create social-emotional strategies to support challenging behaviors in the classrooms. One hundred twenty-eight in-house treatment sessions were offered to students to provide support with transitions, to build frustration tolerance and increase self-help skills, or to utilize coping skills. Lastly, 18 families were referred to Healthy Futures and PIECE programs and to outside community mental health providers through the family’s insurance. In August 2022, a total of 62 children received vision screening from the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington DC; 13 children had their hearing screened by a Speech-Language Pathologist from Mind Your Language LLC; and Gordon Dental of Gaithersburg, MD provided on-site dental screening and cleaning to 100 children and was back for the second round in May 2023.
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COR Advantage Kindergarten Ready Count
BBI’s education program promotes curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking by using the High/Scope curriculum. The “Plan/Do/Review method,” a cornerstone of High/Scope, allows children to plan their activity, act on decisions, and discuss what they accomplished with a teacher. This method allows each child to develop at his or her own level with the support of trusted adults.
BBI ensures ongoing evaluation of each child's growth and development using High/Scope's Child Observation Record (COR) Advantage assessment tool. Child assessment data is used to support curriculum development and to develop individualized instruction and wrap-around services to meet the unique needs of each child.
In FY22, all children advanced in each of the eight content areas defined by the industry-standard Child Observation Record (COR) Advantage: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development and Health, Language, Literacy and Communication, Mathematics, Creative Arts, Science and Technology, and Social Studies.
Impact: Taking into account the overall average for each content area, 79% of Bright Beginnings’ Early Head Start students and 89% of Head Start students met or exceeded the national average at the end of the school year. Out of the 13 students enrolled in the Pre-K 4 classroom, nine students were kindergarten ready by the end of the school year.
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Evening Care
In January 2022, BBI re-launched our free evening childcare program to better support families with caregivers who work or attend school during the evening hours. We had offered evening care in previous years, but had to limit care hours due to staffing constraints, health and safety concerns, and lower daily enrollment during much of the pandemic. BBI began offering evening care hours again because parents–particularly mothers–expressed the need to have childcare during alternative hours as they reenter the workforce. We now offer additional hours of childcare for up to 24 children, ages birth to three, from 4 - 11 p.m., Monday - Friday. Bright Beginnings is one of the few licensed center-based care facilities in Wards 7 or 8 to provide free childcare after 7 p.m., and the only Head Start agency in Region 3 to do so.
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Infant and Maternal Wellness
In 2021, we expanded home visiting services to address the increasing infant and maternal mortality rates among Black families in Wards 7 and 8. We specifically engaged mothers experiencing domestic violence, mothers over age 40, teen mothers, and first-time mothers, providing services such as safe sleep coaching, lactation consulting, doula support, nutrition support, and prenatal yoga sessions to improve health outcomes for Black mothers and infants. During this inaugural year, six newborns were welcomed into the BBI family, all with a healthy birth weight. Partnerships for our infant and maternal wellness initiative were established with Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, Mamatoto's Village, Hillcrest Children and Family Center, and Healthy Babies. A community open house was held on July 20 to engage the community and promote the services.
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Parent Internship Program
In FY22, the Parent Intern Program progressed in terms of curriculum, job opportunities, goal setting, and workforce partnerships. Nine parents participated in the program, and the curriculum implemented allowed many teachable moments. We added professional development days to the curriculum to ensure our parents were receiving continued career training after joining the workforce. Our interns learned how to build their resumes, acquired critical job searching skills (including through reliable job search websites), practiced interview techniques, and completed career interest surveys. Through informational data collection, we learned that 33% of our parents are entrepreneurs. They worked toward goals to support their businesses and we carefully designed marketing, web development, and business planning strategies to help them grow their businesses. To support the wide range of our parent interns’ interests, we hosted our first Job and Career Fair in March 2022. Parents had the opportunity to explore a variety of job opportunities and participate in workforce trainings based on data we collected with our Family Services team.
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Family Services
In Spring 2022, BBI’s Family Services Program launched a three-part financial literacy series with expertise provided by Truist Bank. The first session was titled "Banking on Your Success" and was followed by sessions covering the importance of having a bank account, savings and budgets, and establishing and building up credit. The Truist representative provided high-impact, personalized support to participating parents.
“Mother's in Progress” was also launched in Spring 2022 – a free six-week support group session facilitated by a licensed social worker from Changing Tides Counseling. Dinner and childcare were provided for each participant who attended in-person. A virtual option was offered as well. “Mothers in Progress” offered practical tips on building a healthy physical and mental lifestyle, demystified the stigma around mental healthcare, and built a social support network for the participant mothers.
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Partnerships
Collaboration is critical to meeting the complex needs of families experiencing housing instability. BBI’s long-term partners on this front include multiple District organizations. BBI partners with the Equity in Learning Initiative, understanding that achieving equity in education encompasses more than interactions happening on an individual level. Building Bridges offers trauma-informed direct services for program participants. The DC Diaper Bank makes a weekly contribution of diapers and essential baby and adult hygiene products. Hearing, speech and language, vision, and dental screenings are provided through partnerships with University of the District of Columbia, Society for the Prevention of Blindness and Gordon Dental. Partnerships for our infant and maternal wellness initiative were established with Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, Mamatoto's Village, Hillcrest Children and Family Center, and Healthy Babies.
In partnership with the Junior League of Washington, BBI distributed new shoes, coats, clothing, diapers, and grocery gift cards to each family in the center- and home-based program. Several strollers, cribs, toddler beds, and bedding sets were donated and distributed as well. With support from the community and a number of corporate partners, BBI received more than $20,000 in donated educational and motor-skill-building toys, including tablets, toddler walkers, and bikes that were distributed to the children.
Our Stories
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Infant and Maternal Wellness: Anya
Anya always dreamed of having a large family. After becoming pregnant with her fourth child, her experiences with trauma in previous births led her to seek support from BBI’s Infant and Maternal Wellness Program. She was connected with Crystal Jackson, BBI’s Birth and Postpartum Doula. Anya was able to articulate clearly to Crystal her expectations for the birth plan and delivery. The morning Anya’s water broke, she learned that the obstetrician she had been working with abruptly stopped practicing. Crystal jumped into action and instructed Anya which hospital to meet her at for the birth. Anya arrived first and was in triage. When Crystal arrived, Anya explained that the hospital wasn’t able to honor her birthing plan. Crystal advocated for Anya and worked with hospital staff on meeting her expectations. At one point, the delivery team wasn’t able to find the heartbeat, and instructed Anya to stop pushing. Crystal was able to soothe Anya and be an invaluable source of support. Eventually, Anya delivered a healthy baby girl, and her birthing plan was largely achieved with the help of Crystal as her advocate. Crystal reflected on Anya’s delivery and said, “I am always up for the challenge to stand in the face of these quiet oppositions and be a buffer, so that the birthing person can stay focused on the task at hand: birthing a baby with as much peace and joy as possible.”
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Health and Therapeutic Services: Jackson
Jackson enrolled at BBI in 2018 when he was one year old and progressed well. At the age of four, he began to show signs of off-task behavior. He lacked boundaries, started walking on tables, and became physically and verbally aggressive. Jackson was a brilliant child – he met or surpassed development milestones, and teachers often remarked at his intelligence. But something inside of Jackson was festering and expressing itself in concerning ways. BBI’s Child and Family Support Specialist worked with BBI teachers on in-classroom management using the Head Start model of redirection, combined with rewards and consequences. A good day would give him free will to go to the playground or have a book read to him. A challenging day might prompt a visit to the “Cozy Corner” in the classroom – a space with weighted blankets and sensory items where a child can go to regulate himself or herself with support from an adult. Sometimes a phone call to Jackson’s parents also calmed him down. With parental support, the Child and Family Support Specialist also worked with Jackson directly on labeling and channeling his emotions. By the end of Jackson’s final school year, he had learned tactics to regulate himself and his days of needing intervention were drastically reduced. Jackson started kindergarten in the fall of 2022 and his mother reports he is doing well.
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Health Screenings: Xavier
Xavier came to BBI in November 2021 at the age of four. His father had relocated to the Washington, DC area in search of support for his son and himself, which he found in BBI’s 2-Gen approach. BBI staff immediately noticed that Xavier was not responsive or expressive, and used very few words to communicate. It was hard to understand him, and his speech resembled that of someone with a hearing impairment. Through BBI’s routine hearing screenings, it was found that Xavier had an obstruction in his ear. He was urgently referred to an outside audiologist, as well as Early Stages, an evaluation center in DC that works with families to identify and address development delays and disabilities in children aged 2 to 5. While at BBI, Xavier worked with our in-house speech pathologist from Mind Your Language on his speech, language, voice, and fluency. When Xavier finished the school year and aged out of our program, he was in the process of having his ear obstruction cleared. His word bank and speech dramatically improved, as did his comfort level in talking and expressing himself.
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Evening Care: Natalie
Natalie has a clear vision for her future. She wants to own a childcare center and be a social worker for young children. Natalie knew that to reach her goals, she would need professional training and academic credentials, as well as childcare for her young daughter. She started doing research and discovered Bright Beginnings’ job posting for an evening care lead teacher. Natalie accepted the job, in part, because she felt BBI’s mission aligned with her personal beliefs. As an employee and a BBI parent, Natalie embraces all that BBI offers. She meets regularly with her family advocate, who provides support to work through personal challenges, and makes use of the weekly distribution of diapers and wipes through the Family Services Department. Natalie also participates in Parent Café, which has given her a network of other BBI families who provide social and emotional support. Natalie is on her way to realizing her dreams. We asked what she’ll remember most when she’s a childcare center owner, and Natalie said, “I will remember how BBI provided me with a place of employment to be self-sufficient, while helping me grow professionally by providing me free trainings and coursework. I will also remember how all the staff were welcoming and looked out for me and my child.”
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Workforce Development: Sad'e
“On a scale of 1 to 10, I am a 9.5 since joining BBI,” says Sad’e. “My boys have grown up here and I now have a 2-bedroom apartment in NW DC, and I love teaching. The only reason I’m not a 10 is because I’m still saving to buy a car.”
Life wasn’t always a 9.5 for Sad’e. Four years ago she was a single mom, struggling to raise her child and hold a job. She was living in an unsafe neighborhood and didn’t have the resources to pay for childcare. It was a robbery at gunpoint that finally prompted her to make drastic changes. Sad’e’s stepmom recommended BBI as a chance for her to access quality childcare and focus on her education and well-being. She immediately signed up and entered BBI’s Workforce Development Parent Internship program. Through this program, she completed her Child Development Associate (CDA) license and is getting ready to sit for the final exam. As Sad’e was working towards her CDA, Workforce Development staff worked with Sad’e on mapping her career and life goals, making sure she received the resources needed. Through this process, she also realized her entrepreneurial spirit. Sad’e started her own candle business, which she sees as therapy for managing the trauma she experienced during her home robbery.
Now a full-time substitute teacher at BBI, Sad’e wants to foster her love for children by becoming a Lead Teacher while she continues to grow her candle business. Her 5-year-old son graduated from BBI last June and her 2-year-old son is currently enrolled at BBI and thriving. Life is pretty good these days for Sad’e. All she needs is the car to make it just about perfect.
Head Start by the Numbers
Our Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide children with a learning environment that helps them develop socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively so that they will not only be school-ready but kindergarten prepared. BBI received a total of $181,714.03 in emergency COVID-19 relief funding in FY22, which helped stabilize daily operations.
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260 Children Served
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100 Dental Screenings
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135 Medical Examinations
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100% of Eligible Children Served
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15,600 Meals Served
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100% of Students Made Progress Toward School Readiness
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54 Children with Developmental Concerns Served (by Referral)
Looking Ahead
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In early 2022, BBI’s board formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee for the first of three discussions with Howard Ross, a lifelong social justice advocate and one of the world’s seminal thought leaders in uncovering unconscious bias. The goal was to begin a conversation on how the BBI board may be more community oriented and reflect the lived experience of the individuals we serve. During the first of three conversations, norms were created for courageous conversations, and stories were shared about our DEI journey and what brings us to the work of Bright Beginnings. Lastly, goals, key terms, and definitions for DEI work were established. By the end of the three-part series facilitated by Ross, the BBI board will have accomplished 1) trust in human partnerships and relationships 2) collaboration via readings, videos and cluster meetings, and 3) agreed upon system and structural changes and a common understanding of what DEI looks like in Ward 8 of DC.
Once the DEI work is completed at the board level, the committee will work with BBI leadership on the implementation of this work at all levels of the organization, including in our classrooms. The classroom work is particularly relevant as BBI seeks to build equity for our students and break the preschool-to-prison pipeline. In addition to classrooms, DEI work will improve BBI practices in the areas of human resources and hiring practices, salaries and compensation, and professional development.
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BBI’s Strategic Plan was developed with three key principles: innovation in our work for our children and families, advocacy for our community, and growth and improvement for our organization. To ensure that we are turning our Strategic Plan into real action, BBI has partnered with Innovare SIP to develop an implementation plan to guide our day-to-work in advance of our goals. In partnership with BBI’s leadership team, Innovare will implement a Continuous Improvement Methodology to track progress toward our goals and objectives and provide important information on effective team structures, goal setting, learning cycles, and equitable data usage. You can view BBI’s Strategic Plan here.
Testimonial
“BBI rallied around my granddaughter and daughter and provided valuable resources for both of them… I don't know where my family would be without you.”
— Teresa, grandmother of Amani, a 2022 BBI graduate
