Alliance Early Learning Programs: Providing a Head Start for Children

Every child deserves a strong foundation for future success. Alliance Early Learning Programs aim to provide just that, offering comprehensive early childhood education across multiple locations. Serving the greater Bridgeport, Trumbull, and Stratford areas, Alliance operates 10 early learning sites dedicated to giving children a head start through high-quality learning experiences.

Comprehensive Early Learning Services

Alliance Early Learning programs cater to children aged 6 months to 5 years, with a focus on creating an environment where they can thrive. Classrooms offer nutritious meals and snacks, ensuring children's basic needs are met. Educated and experienced teachers guide children through a curriculum designed to promote active learning and development. Recognizing the diverse needs of families, Alliance provides both full and part-day services. A low-cost sliding scale is available, making early learning accessible to families with varying income levels. The program also welcomes children with a range of developmental and learning needs, adhering to all applicable program requirements.

The Importance of Play-Based Learning

The philosophy behind Alliance Early Learning programs is rooted in the understanding that children learn best through play. Play is not just recreation; it is a crucial component of cognitive and social-emotional development. Through play, children actively engage in thinking and experimenting, discovering how things work and developing problem-solving skills. The activities, environment, toys, materials, daily schedule, and interactions between teachers and children are all carefully designed to support the curriculum's goals and ensure each child has a successful start to their educational journey.

The primary goal of the early childhood curriculum is to cultivate enthusiastic learners. Children are encouraged to be active and creative explorers, unafraid to try new ideas and think for themselves. The program aims to foster independent, self-confident, and inquisitive learners, equipping them with the skills to learn not only within the program but throughout their lives.

Family Engagement: A Valued Partnership

Recognizing that family engagement is critical to a child’s success, Alliance Early Learning Programs actively encourages parents to become involved. Parents are seen as valued partners in their child's education. Opportunities for involvement include:

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Attending monthly Parent Committee meetings.
Interacting regularly with their child’s teachers.
Serving on the Policy Council as a representative of their center.
Participating in home visits, parent workshops, and parent activities.

Fees and Attendance

Families enrolled in fee-paying programs are charged based on the Office of Early Childhood Family Fee schedule. Fees are determined by the family’s gross income and family size and are calculated per child. Discounts may be available for families with multiple children enrolled in the program, according to ELD policy.

Regular attendance is strongly encouraged. Consistent attendance helps children develop good habits, preparing them for kindergarten by enhancing their ability to make friends, follow routines, and learn valuable skills. Research indicates that children who frequently miss preschool may have weaker literacy and numeracy skills.

The Alliance for Early Success: A Nationwide Impact

The Alliance for Early Success is a national organization working to improve early childhood outcomes in all 50 states. They provide expertise and connections in various early childhood policy areas. Their resource centers offer state advocates and others access to research, briefs, data sets, and state policy examples, facilitating informed planning and decision-making.

EarlyEdU Alliance: Competency-Based Education

The EarlyEdU Alliance offers competency-based courses in early childhood education, combining theory and research with field-based learning. These courses are available to Alliance Member faculty affiliated with higher education institutions. The Media Library serves as an alternative when field-based settings are not feasible.

The Competency-Based Educator Development Model (CEDM) utilizes video analysis, formative feedback, and collaborative learning to enhance teaching practices. The Intentional Teaching Framework (ITF) emphasizes the "Know, See, Do, Reflect, and Improve" components, using direct practice with children to develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions. These courses empower teachers to know what to do, recognize effective teaching, apply practices in the classroom, reflect on what works, and continuously improve.

Alliance faculty can contribute to enhancing existing courses and developing new ones. In-person versions with media-rich PowerPoints and asynchronous online delivery options are available. EarlyEdU Alliance courses align with the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators, as well as state competencies.

Course Offerings: Building Skills for Early Childhood Professionals

The EarlyEdU Alliance offers a variety of courses designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of early childhood professionals:

Professionalism and Ethics: Focuses on identifying strengths, values, responsibilities, and goals as early childhood education professionals. Topics include professional development, current standards, trends, and cultural competency.
Child Development: Helps participants understand children’s developmental trajectories, with an emphasis on brain development. Participants learn to create environments that promote physical, language, social-emotional, and cognitive development.
Observation and Assessment: Addresses all stages of observation and assessment, from planning and collecting information to analyzing data to inform teaching. Includes strategies for working with families and adapting assessment for children with disabilities and dual language learners.
Resilience: Teaches skills, strategies, and routines for living a happy, fulfilling, and successful life and adapting to challenges. Topics include resilience research, practices for cultivating resilience, and strategies for working in early childhood settings.
Positive Behavior Support: Provides evidence-based strategies for promoting social-emotional development and preventing and addressing challenging behaviors in children ages birth to five. Participants will implement strategies that support positive behavioral support and reflect on their classroom strategies.
Health, Safety, and Nutrition: Focuses on teaching practices, classroom activities, partnerships with families, and program policies to ensure that all children are healthy and ready to learn. Topics include physical, mental, and oral health, lesson planning, adapting health plans for children with special needs, and collaborating with families.
Math and Science: Increases participants’ ability to implement strategies that support logic, reasoning, math skills, and science knowledge in the early childhood classroom.
Social and Emotional Development: Covers interactions that support social-emotional well-being in well-organized classroom environments and high-quality instruction.
Approaches to Learning: Explores early childhood learners’ approaches to learning using the central organizing ideas of self-concept, engagement, and self-expression.
Family Engagement: Focuses on developing relationships with families that support positive family and child outcomes. Participants observe evidence-based practices, try out strategies, and reflect on their experiences.
Inclusion: Participants will learn evidence-based research and practices for fostering the social and emotional, cognitive, and motor development of young children with varying needs and abilities in inclusive settings.
Interacciones y entornos educativos (Spanish): A Spanish-language course addressing interactions that support social and emotional well-being in well-organized educational environments with high-quality pedagogical instruction.
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: A survey course of infant and early childhood development using an infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) framework.
Practice-Based Coaching: Introduces the components of Practice-Based Coaching (PBC), including planning goals, engaging in focused observation, and reflecting on and sharing feedback about teaching practices.
Language and Literacy: Unites theoretical knowledge of language and literacy development in young children with practical application of evidence-based strategies in early childhood settings.
Supporting Multilingual Learners: This course is all about supporting children who are multilingual learners and their families in early childhood environments. Session topics include partnering with families, culture, language development, screening and assessment, language program models, interactions to promote literacy using “The Big 5,” and more. Woven throughout the course are ongoing opportunities for participants to reflect on issues of language as they relate to each area of study.

French Preschool at L’Alliance New York

L’Alliance New York’s Preschool, located at the Manhattan Campus, offers a French immersion program for children ages 2½ to 5. Founded in 2012, the Preschool aims to foster learning as a multicultural exploration of curiosity, combining French and American teaching methods. The mission is to provide a joyful and energetic entry into school life while introducing children to the French language. The program helps children become independent, inquisitive, and open to new experiences through age-appropriate activities and group play. Children with limited or no previous exposure to French quickly begin to absorb and understand the language through daily routines, visuals, and gestures.

Staten Island Alliance: Creating Supportive Learning Environments

The Staten Island Alliance aims to help parents and school staff create supportive learning environments that enable children of all ages to succeed academically. Working groups plan and implement strategies that improve outcomes for North Shore families and children. The North Shore of Staten Island is home to a rich and diverse population in New York City.

St. Nicks Alliance: Supporting Children and Families

St. Nicks Alliance operates free after-school centers and summer camps enjoyed by nearly 1900 elementary and middle school students each year. The BK Story Voyager is the flagship of St. Nicks Alliance After School Centers. Small World Early Childhood Center provides full-day on-site child care services to children two to five years of age. Career GPS provides workplace success for young adults ages 16-24 who are out of school and out of work.

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St. Nicks Alliance offers free, public programs that nurture family connections, provide practical guidance, and create joyful opportunities for child-directed play and learning, recognizing that parents and caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers.

The Alliance is Hiring: Seeking an Executive Director

The Alliance for Early Childhood is seeking its next Executive Director, beginning June 2026, to steward the mission, strengthen partnerships, and guide the next chapter.

NY Early Learning Alliance: Business Support for Child Care Programs

The NY Early Learning Alliance offers business coaching, child care management software, and enrollment and marketing software to help child care business owners and directors streamline tasks and fill seats faster.

Head Start and Early Head Start Programs

Alliance offers various Head Start and Early Head Start programs funded through the federal government for eligible children. These programs support low-income families with early childhood education and comprehensive services, including health, nutrition, family support, mental health, and disability services. Families are assigned a Family Advocate who builds a relationship with the family, completes a Family Development Plan, and provides referrals to local agencies. Home visits are completed by the Teacher and the Family Advocate.

Programs include:

Federal Head Start: A full-day/full-year service completely funded by Head Start.
Head Start Wrap-Around: Operates as Head Start with early morning and late afternoon hours funded by Early Start CT.
Part Day Head Start: A part-day/full-year service completely funded by Head Start.
Federal Early Head Start: A part-day/full-year service completely funded by Early Head Start.
Early Head Start Wrap Around: Operates as Early Head Start with early morning and later afternoon hours funded by Early Start CT.

Trauma Informed Therapeutic Care (TLCC)

This full day/full year preschool program provides services to children impacted by abuse and/or neglect. Children/families must have an open case through the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and be referred by their DCF Worker. The Alliance Family Advocate conducts home visits, referrals, and coordinates services with DCF. Families are mandated to participate in workshops/trainings, parenting classes, etc. A licensed clinician provides trauma-informed mental health and behavioral health services.

Early Start CT

This program is a state-funded early care and education program for children who meet the age, income, and residency requirements. Early Start CT requires 60% of enrolled families must have an income that is at or below 75% of the state median income level and uses a standardized family co-pay scale to determine fees. An Outreach Worker is assigned to each family to provide referrals, promote family engagement, and follow up on attendance concerns.

Educational Alliance: Serving Lower Manhattan for Generations

Educational Alliance (EA), founded in 1889, is a Jewish institution that partners with neighbors throughout Lower Manhattan, offering educational, social, and cultural services.

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