Moving on with gratitude

'This right here is me. Early childhood is me.'

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As many of you might know by now, I’m leaving EdNC at the end of June to begin a new chapter. In the fall, I’ll start a year-long Spencer Education Journalism fellowship at Columbia University to study some of the first attempts at universal child care across the country.

I would not be embarking on this exciting adventure without a decade of learning from my EdNC team and the early childhood community across all corners of my home state. I am leaving North Carolina (for now) with a heart full of gratitude for the time you all have spent reading, welcoming me into your spaces, and teaching me.

I still remember one of my first child care visits, when I spent a day with Shari Johnson, an infant/toddler teacher at Presbyterian Day School in Durham.

“This right here is me,” Johnson told me in 2019 with an infant on her lap while her 2-year-old students napped on cots down the hallway. “Early childhood is me.”

Johnson showed me, which I eventually learned was backed by research, just how powerful the strong relationship between young children and caregivers can be. Thank you to the countless early childhood educators like Johnson who have taught me about the joy, potential, and magic of the early childhood period.

Thank you to the educators whose sacrifice I witnessed during the pandemic’s chaos.

Thank you to the community college faculty, presidents, and teams surrounding teachers and student parents who taught me about their critical work at the intersection of early childhood and postsecondary attainment. Their insights informed Katie’s and my piece in January 2023, within which experts made the an urgent case for systemic early childhood public investment — and they continue to shape EdNC’s work.

Thank you to the local leaders who in the summer of 2023 drove me around their counties and opened the doors to their programs during a particularly fragile moment. From Alexander to Pitt counties, the reporting behind my “School’s not out” series holds some of my most cherished early childhood memories.

In the last four years, my early childhood partner Katie Dukes and I looked to other states for early childhood policy lessons — in 2023 to leading efforts in Michigan, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Oregon — and in 2024 to states with similar political makeups to North Carolina’s: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Ohio. Thank you to the out-of-state leaders who shared their insights. Thank you to Katie, the best early childhood teammate and travel partner a girl could ask for.

Most recently, I’ve focused my coverage back to pockets of momentum at North Carolina’s local and state levels. I’m grateful to have learned about community-driven efforts from Yadkin County’s years-long journey to create a different kind of child care model to Onslow County’s efforts to find solutions within a military community.

At the state level, Katie and I have been covering the work of the North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education, which Gov. Stein tasked with creating a long-term statewide approach to early learning. At last week’s meeting, co-chairs Sen. Jim Burgin and Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt awarded us with certificates of recognition for our research and reporting. We both thank you.

Thank you to the advocates, researchers, funders, policymakers, educators, and community members who have supported, informed, challenged, and inspired my work along the way. I am grateful for every time you’ve answered a call, given me a story idea or a new perspective, or emailed me your questions or thoughts after reading an article.

This work is both personal and professional. It has led me to reflect on my own early childhood, my worldview, and my role as a first-time aunt, friend, daughter, and journalist. Because of all of you, I am more likely to squat down next to a young child in awe. I am more able to see all that caregiving and educating requires from — and gives to — those who nurture our youngest. I am more equipped to approach each story I tell with humility and strength, vulnerability and confidence. Thank you.

Until next time,

Liz Bell

Email Liz Bell

Liz Bell is the early childhood reporter for EducationNC.