Letter From Abbi
Dear Friends of The Playing Field,
For nearly nine years, we have been intentionally addressing barriers to access of high quality early care and education services. These barriers include cost, transportation, and high rates of preschool expulsion. (Two hundred and fifty US preschoolers are suspended or expelled each day.)
The Playing Field has grown from a single location to three. Within the next year, we hope to complete and open our 15,000 square foot Early Learning Lab. With our partners at The Road Home Dane County and Plumbers Union Local 75, this site will offer affordable housing, career training, and high quality childcare in a coordinated effort. The new space will provide much needed childcare to Madison and allow us to replicate our diverse enrollment model on the east side. We will also have more capacity for educator training and observations.
We need your help to complete this important project. We originally anticipated construction costs of four million dollars. We set our fundraising goal at five million dollars to include a million for ongoing program support. However, construction costs have continued to increase and current estimates leave little for program operations.
You can help in several ways.
- Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn. Share our posts.
- Invite us to speak at your local organization.
- Donate to our campaignā The World We Imagine.
We are very grateful for all the people who make our work possible! Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of our mission!
Abbi
Meet Everett
The Playing Field has added a new member to our School Family! Everett Mulroe is our new Director of Development. This is a new and much needed position for our growing organization. This was made possible by a grant from Madison Community Foundation. They provided us with a capacity building grant to partially fund this new role for two years and we are quite grateful!
Everett has dedicated nearly a decade to educational nonprofits. Her journey began with volunteering at a literacy nonprofit in Chicago while studying journalism at DePaul University. This passion for education led her to Teach for America, where she taught 2nd grade in rural Mississippi and saw firsthand the critical role of early childhood education.
After returning to Madison to be closer to family, Everett made significant contributions at Kennedy Heights Community Center, serving as Lead Early Childhood Education Teacher and Program Director. Inspired by the dedication of the centerās teachers and leadership, she transitioned to the Board of Directors to support the organizationās growth and sustainability.
Most recently, as Grants Manager at Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP), Everett administered nearly $13 million in small business grants while honing her skills in securing funding and building relationships with community and economic development leaders.
Everett is thrilled to join The Playing Field, eager to bridge community and economic development while advancing our mission to remove barriers for low-income families in accessing high-quality early care and education. She aims to integrate insights from childcare experts into broader economic development strategies, ensuring a fair start for children and their families.
Everett is enthusiastic about collaborating with local partners, advocates, and community members. She looks forward to working closely with these stakeholders to advance The Playing Fieldās mission and amplify its impact.
Her goals include advocating for young children, families, and educators through a holistic approach that integrates their needs into broader economic development conversations. Everett is excited to leverage her expertise to foster meaningful partnerships and drive innovative funding strategies.
Conscious DisciplineĀ® eCourse
The Playing Field is committed to serving children impacted by early adversity. Children donāt have the ability to verbalize their stress. They may display anger or aggression and these behaviors often result in expulsion from early childhood programs.
Conscious Discipline has been key to our success in working with children who have been expelled from other programs.
All new staff at The Playing Field participate in a ten session eCourse. The group meets once to view a video together. We then ask them to spend two weeks reflecting on the content, trying new strategies, and journaling. The group then comes together again to share their reflections.
Our Program Director, Michelle Henner has been leading these groups for several years with excellent feedback from participants. The eCourse not only gives our teachers skills for the classroom but, builds strong relationships between staff.
We currently have several new staff participating in the eCourse. Jordan said, āI really enjoyed learning about the safe place. It helped me understand identifying emotions and learning the steps to regulate them so I can help others.ā
Our Executive Director, Abbi Kruse is leading a similar group for providers outside of our organization. With grants from the City of Madison and Rotary Club of Madison, we were able to offer a two day training in March. We were also able to offer the eCourse free of charge to fellow early educators. Each month since, Abbi has been meeting with directors and teachers for discussion and reflection.
When our new Early Learning Lab is complete, we hope to offer more such trainings to our community. The classrooms have been designed with observation areas which will allow others to view Conscious Discipline and trauma sensitive care in practice without disruption to classrooms.
If you would like to learn more about our efforts to expand and our Early Learning Lab School, please see our website.
Fun Photos!
Please enjoy these fun photos from our east side sites.
Children have had fun playing at the Splash Pad.
Children have been enjoying visits from the book bus.
Preschoolers have also been growing their own garden!
One of our parents shared her gender reveal party with our School Family.
