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Shortly after the election, Bettye Caldwell sent a message to Exchange highlighting the role early childhood programs played in the election of Obama and challenging our field to take on the charge "Yes We Can!" Here is the introduction to her message that can be read in its entirety on Exchange's home page....

"America has inaugurated a new President, and, thanks to modern technology, we were all there. Actually there should have been a special grandstand for early childhood personnel along the parade route with a poster in front proclaiming: “We helped achieve President Obama’s Victory.” Probably few of the pundits analyzing voting patterns will give the early childhood field much credit for the victory, but we deserve our share. This realization came to me on election night as I watched those exultant young adult voters in Grant Park in Chicago, many of whom were voting for the first time, celebrating their role in the victory. And, indeed, they had a right to do so, as young adults overwhelmingly chose Candidate Obama and helped put him over the top. As I watched their glee I could not suppress the slightly arrogant reaction, “Those are my children, and the children of countless co-workers in early childhood, grown up and functioning as effective citizens.” Granted, not all of them attended one of our programs, but many of them undoubtedly did. And, without the kind of start we helped them obtain, they might not have cared who got elected. We not only believed in them, but we set about designing programs and conducting research to demonstrate the correctness of our beliefs. It was a good feeling, and every worker in the child care and education vineyard should share it. President Obama may not know about our role in his election, but we should be aware of and celebrate it."

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Exchange is proud to sell Debra Sullivan's book on developing new leaders, Learning to Lead: Effective Leadership Skills for Teachers of Young Children. Learning to Lead combines accessible leadership theory and practice with important topics and issues such as human development, diversity, anti-bias, work with families, and social change. Each chapter is built around a combination of theories, examples, and reflection questions — all designed to prompt self-evaluation and personal leadership development.

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