By Tonia R. Durden
Stronger, Better, and More Impactful for the Next 100 Years
Last fall, I led the president’s session at NAEYC’s Annual Conference. Because this was my last conference as Governing Board president, I found myself looking both backward and forward. Through my interactive presentation, “Our Sankofa Moment: Together We Will Advance Educational Equity for Young Children,” I wanted participants to do the same. I wanted to center the concept of Sankofa, a philosophy from the Akan people of Ghana that refers to the importance of learning from the past to build a better future. It is literally translated “to go back and fetch” or “to go back and retrieve what you have lost or forgotten.”
The 2025 session offered both a reflection on the past and a vision of what is possible. Participants drew on the wisdom of NAEYC elders and the innovation of early childhood educators to reflect on how early childhood change agents have advanced educational equity in the past and how they envision moving forward in the future. However, it is my position that we cannot move forward if we are unclear or have no knowledge of our past and legacy as an organization.
In this issue of Young Children, contributors reflect on NAEYC’s 100-year anniversary and how the association’s legacy can inform its future. As we embark on a year of celebration and reflection, I consider how the organization has transformed in just the 18 years that I have been a member.
When I joined NAEYC, I immediately had access to a large network, family, and community of early childhood professionals where we could learn together, work together, and (yes) practice the latest fingerplay and “Tooty Ta” song together. As I progressed in my career, my connections to NAEYC shifted toward higher education and research, and again, I was able to “find my people.” I shifted from practice to translational research and teacher preparation. Another shift happened when I became more actively engaged in contributing to NAEYC and decided to run for the Board (not once but twice) to serve an organization that had given so much to me. Similar to the sentiments in Beyonce’s “Bigger,” NAEYC allowed me to find my place in early childhood education and contribute to an organization with a bigger and greater impact than at the local level. I have grown because of NAEYC while helping NAEYC grow too.
Therefore, when I reflect on 100 years of NAEYC, I believe that we are 100 years strong because each member has found their people and a place of belonging, a place to learn and grow together professionally, and a place to debate, extend, and explore our own curiosities. NAEYC has been a place for us to band together to advocate for our workforce, the children and families we serve, and the early childhood community we hold so dear. NAEYC has been our go-to resource for the latest research-informed practices to improve educator and program quality. Our accreditation is arguably the gold standard that distinguishes early learning programs within their communities. If there is a policy that is harmful or helpful to young children, families, communities, and our workforce, NAEYC is right there advocating for them on Capitol Hill and supporting our local Affiliates.
NAEYC has been the flagship organization in our field—our north star, our champion. But staying true to Sankofa and its emphasis on looking back, it is important to ask: Who is NAEYC?
Before I joined the Governing Board, I imagined NAEYC as a massive early childhood giant with more than a gazillion individuals working nonstop at headquarters. In actuality, there are just a few NAEYC leaders and staff with the heart and will of a gazillion. They bring forth their skills and knowledge in collaboration with many partners, members, and Affiliates to make NAEYC what it is today. Because I have had the opportunity as a Board member and president to engage with our Affiliates, NAEYC staff and leadership, and across our membership, I can now say, NAEYC IS US! And it will take all of us—members, staff, leadership, Affiliates, and Board representatives—to sustain this dear organization for another 100 years.
How can we reach another 5, 20, 25, 100 years? I again go back to the concept of Sankofa: We must first know, then build upon what has helped us reach this 100-year milestone as an organization. In previous columns, I have shared why I believe we have maintained our professional community of early childhood educators for 10 decades. Now take a moment to reflect on your thoughts:
What has kept you connected to NAEYC?
What will keep you connected to and supportive of NAEYC?
How will you—as a NAEYC member, leader, and/or supporter—contribute to our mission, vision, and strategic direction?
This latter question is very important as I charge each of us to consider ways in which we can learn, grow, and develop through NAEYC while also contributing to its growth, development, and innovation. It reminds me of a saying by Kenyan philosopher John S. Mbiti: “I am because we are; and since we are, therefore I am.” NAEYC will be stronger, better, and more impactful over the next century because WE will be stronger, better, and more impactful over the next century.
In closing, I asked my three children to provide us with their own Sankofa wisdom about how we shall move forward as an organization in the next century:
What do you like best about your teachers?
Isaiah (age 5): Om, I like them when they give me centers, and I like them when they give me recess and let me enjoy my recess.
What do you think teachers need to learn to be the best teacher ever?
Frederick (age 7): So, they need to learn how to communicate with their students, and they need to, like, know every single question they ask, so you have an answer to. So, like my teacher, she always has fun activities, and you need stuff to entertain people.
You know I’m the Board president of NAEYC, and we focus on helping young children, teachers, and programs and schools be excellent and be their very best. We are turning 100 years old! What advice can you give us to make it another 100 years of doing this good work?
Zoe (age 9): To keep doing what you are doing. Being nice to teachers and be sure the teachers are doing what they are supposed to and understand what they are supposed to do, correcting them in a nice way, and being good to them.
I encourage each of us to reflect on why we joined this organization and the ways in which we can elevate our contribution and support of NAEYC, our early childhood family. Together, we can set the pathway for another 100 years of serving our workforce, children, families, and communities.
Onward and upwards in early childhood education!
Photograph: Sankofa image © Getty Images
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