Welcome to Parenting Takes a Village with Tania, the podcast where we explore how we can support children and families through early education, community connection, and expert insight. I’m your host, Tania, and today we’re diving into a critical issue in early childhood education—preschool expulsions.

Did you know that young children, especially Black boys and children with high rates of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), are disproportionately suspended or expelled from early learning programs? Today, we’ll discuss what’s behind this issue and how BrightSpark Early Learning Services is working to change the system with its Expulsion Prevention Partnership.

Joining us are two experts from BrightSpark:

Maggie Heard – Maggie is the Family Navigation Lead at BrightSpark Early Learning Services and has been working in early childhood education since 2017. Her experience in a variety of child care settings has fueled her passion for making high-quality early learning accessible to families from all backgrounds. At BrightSpark, she supports child care subsidy programs and helps families navigate the subsidy system.

Michael Kasprzak – Mike is the Internal Professional Development Coordinator for BrightSpark and co-chair of the agency’s Expulsion Prevention Partnership. Over his 17 years with BrightSpark, he has served as an early learning coach and coach supervisor. He is deeply committed to BrightSpark’s mission “to nurture and sustain child-centered, antiracist early learning communities.”

Together, we’ll explore why early childhood suspensions and expulsions happen, how they impact children and families, and the proactive steps BrightSpark is taking to prevent them.

To learn more about BrightSpark and their work, visit brightspark.org.