Alignment Rockford Covid-19 New Report

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – The school year has started again, but for some of the community's younger learners, the work toward academic success began nearly four years ago. A recent report from Alignment Rockford, the Ready to Learn Early Development Instrument report, sheds light on how the Covid-19 pandemic is positively impacting young children ages zero to five in Rockford.

“Parents and caregivers are a child's first and best teachers, and this report essentially confirms that providing parents and primary caregivers with sufficient and consistent opportunities to spend time with their children doing constructive, developmentally appropriate activities is a protective factor,” says Emily Klonicki, executive director of Alignment Rockford.

Activities such as shared reading, chores, singing and playing benefited young children during a turbulent time that was critical for young children's brain development. The goal now is to replicate the positive effects of the pandemic that the report revealed and scale them up to the community level.

“We are trying to increase community support in early childhood. That means enriching the environment of families with young children with resources and supporting them with everything they get when their child starts school and is linked to the kind of institutional support that is not available in early childhood,” says Klonicki.

One way Alignment Rockford achieves this goal is through strategic partnerships. The Ready to Learn Coalition is a community-wide early childhood initiative comprised of organizations, businesses and individuals working to create systemic change. A new program, the First-Time Parents Program in partnership with the Discovery Center Museum, is a shining example of how Alignment Rockford envisions community partners supporting early childhood development.

“We know that when we help our parents, it ultimately helps our community and helps make it stronger,” says Heidi Holcomb, community partnerships manager at the Discovery Center Museum.

The program offers first-time parents a free membership to the Discovery Center Museum and a networking group where they can connect with other parents.

“If we can reach out to our parents right at the beginning and let them know that they are not alone and that there are many people here in Winnebago County rooting for them, we will feel the impact of this in our community for years to come,” Holcomb says.

Hannah Baker, a first-time mother participating in the program, says the community and support the program provides has made a significant difference in the development of her son, Maverick.

“I've seen a change in Maverick with each milestone he's reached,” Baker says. “I see them change more and more after participating in groups.”

Alignment Rockford says the insights gained from the new report will ultimately be used to drive change and continue to advocate for the well-being and development of every child in Rockford.

“In a perfect world, families with young children are supported in every way by their community,” Klonicki says. “Depending on where you are in the puzzle, we are all part of the early childhood solution, so every parent in that community has the resources and support they need to give their child the best opportunity and enable every child to reach their potential.”

Click here for more information about Alignment Rockford and the Ready to Learn Coalition.

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