The Early Learning Coalition is a broad-based and diverse coalition representing child care and early education, Head Start and Early Head Start, programs serving children with disabilities and special needs, and public schools. WECA is among the statewide organizations represented on a Leadership Council and an active participant in Coalition activity.

Members of the Coalition believe that all Wisconsin children deserve a Great Start: access to high quality early learning experiences and nurturing care so they are happy, healthy, eager to learn, and prepared to succeed. We recognize the need for sufficient state financial resources to ensure that affordable high quality care and education is available for families that need it.

If you believe in a "great start" for all children, WECA encourages you to join as an individual member of the Coalition's grassroots campaign: Great Start: Early Learning Matters. Membership is FREE and open to everyone. It is our goal to build a membership where we can express our power in numbers too large for politicians to ignore!

To join as an individual or if you are part of an organization that would like to join (such as an affiliate, a support agency, parent group, or program), go to: www.greatstartwi.org and sign on. In addition to membership, you can find out more about the campaign, learn why early learning matters, have access to important facts and data to some of the research on the benefits of high quality early education, and learn about opportunities for greater involvement if you choose. Members will receive monthly e-communication.

The goal of the Coalition is to promote public policies and investments that make high quality early care and education a top priority in our state. To this end, we have created a Great Start policy agenda for the 2009-2011 state budget. Click here for a summary of this agenda and our position on the Governor's budget.

Organizational Members of the Early Learning Coalition:

• Disability Rights Wisconsin
• Madison Area Accredited Early Childhood Association
• Milwaukee Child Care Alliance
• Parents Plus
• School Administrators Alliance
• Wisconsin Association of School Boards
• Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association
• Wisconsin Child Care Resource and Referral Network
• Wisconsin Council on Children and Families
• Wisconsin Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Early Childhood
• Wisconsin Early Childhood Association
• Wisconsin Family Child Care Association
• Wisconsin Head Start Association
• Wisconsin Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Association