Will McCoy: Building Empathy through Diverse Educational Experiences The concept of diversity in education, life experiences and professional backgrounds demands a deep commitment to fostering inclusivity and innovation. It encompasses a broad spectrum of differences—cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and experiential—and emphasizes the importance of creating environments where diverse perspectives are not only valued but also integrated into the educational framework. This leadership philosophy treats diversity as a dynamic asset that enriches the educational sector, cultivating empathy and mutual respect among all members of the community.

Young kids take part in various programs to help ensure healthy development, to get them ready for the classroom, and to help families needing child care. Because these programs often have their own data systems, policymakers, program administrators, and researchers often don’t have a complete picture of these various programs, making it hard to address broader questions that require a more holistic view. An Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) collects information across early childhood offerings in a state to report metrics securely.

For state agencies, nonprofits, policymakers, and other partners, serving the needs of families during early childhood is not only important, but extremely complex. While everyone agrees that ensuring the best possible outcomes is paramount, collecting and organizing data to track children’s progress, needs, and access to early childhood services can be daunting. Data sources are often siloed and/or incomplete, presenting significant barriers to answering deeper questions that can’t be addressed with a single program’s data, such as: How many children are eligible but not served by any funded early childhood programs?

With over a decade of collaboration with states, municipalities, and nonprofits to improve child and family outcomes, 3Si recognizes the power of uniting insights and solutions across states and organizations that are attempting to solve a common problem. This is why we built the CUSP Network – a pioneering community of practice made up of state and local early childhood agencies and their key partners. All states and municipalities that have implemented CUSP (3Si’s industry leading ECIDS solution) are part of the CUSP Network.