AZ Toolkit is a subscription website packed with resources built specifically for the early ed profession. Let us help put more time in your day! Learn more Slide Our Stories from the Field elevate the voices of early care and education professionals and highlight the rights of children, families, and educators to equity, quality, and desirable early learning environments. READ OUR STORIES

Raising the quality of early childhood education programs in Arizona

We believe that all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. We promote high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research.

The Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children (AzAEYC) is YOUR professional organization in Arizona. Join us!

Teaching young children is one of the most difficult — yet rewarding — professions out there. I joined NAEYC back in 1998 to be part of a group of professionals that felt the same way I did. I wanted to bring Power and a Voice to this overlooked profession. I wanted to connect with professionals that felt the same way I did. My life has taken me through several states. I am a member of AzAEYC to continue that work here in Arizona.

– Kristie Scharer, Instructional Coach, Cartwright School District Early Childhood Programs

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AZToolkit

We’ve updated AZToolkit with important interim guidance directly from the Centers for Disease Control and other trusted sources – specifically for child care programs to help plan, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.

AZ Toolkit is a comprehensive resource for early learning providers designed to save time, increase quality, reduce costs and share knowledge, with the necessary resources to advance through the quality continuum. All in one location!

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Actively Anti-Racist: Resources for Early Educators

“It is simply not enough to declare, “I’m not a racist.” We must be active. We must speak up. We must be actively anti-racist.”

We’ve gathered a list of resources that support educators in teaching for equity.  As we discover more resources, we’ll add them to this list. Learn more. 

Resources

NAEYC AzAEYC WOYC: Week of the Young Child

This year, AzAEYC is trying something new. We’re focusing on on amplifying children’s rights to a new kind of early childhood – the right to joy, quality materials, connections, and relationships. We’re also amplifying teachers’ rights to worthy wages —  and the voices of Black, Brown, and Indigenous early childhood educators, parents, and children. Let’s reinvent a strong, equitable, vibrant early childhood field together.

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AzAEYC appreciates foundational support from Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. The Piper Trust’s investment in AZToolkit was part of a commitment to enhanced child care practices and after school care to prepare Arizona’s young learners, ages birth to age 8, for success in elementary school and beyond. Learn more.