New Early Childhood Education History Project Features State Kindergarten Histories from CE International

Stacked books

A new initiative called ECHOES (Early Childhood History Organizing Ethos and Strategy) showcases the history of early childhood education and care in the United States. 

Among other historic materials and information, the project features kindergarten histories that were published between 1935-1940 by the Association for Childhood Education — known today as Childhood Education International. 

The kindergarten histories profile each of the 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Alaska and Hawaii. They document the first communities to establish kindergartens in each state and trace progress from start to incorporation in the public school systems. 

Explore these histories as part of the ECHOES initiative here.

ECHOES was developed by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment to share information about past and current efforts of teachers, parents, and other social justice activists seeking quality education and care for young children in the United States. The project seeks to answer the question, “How did we come to have our present-day early care and education system?”