Smart from the Start: Dr. Christina Weiland's Insights on Strategic Early Learning Investments, U-M Ford School of Public Policy Lecture

On April 9, 2025, the Gretchen’s House Foundation had the privilege of attending Dr. Christina Weiland’s lecture, "Smart from the Start: Closing Early Opportunity Gaps with Strategic Early Learning Investments,” the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy Inaugural Lecture at U-M’s Ford School of Public Policy.
Dr. Christina Weiland research focuses on the effects of early childhood interventions and public policies on children’s development, with a particular interest in the active ingredients that drive children's gains. She is a Professor at the Marsal Family School of Education and the Karl and Martha Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

“Drumbeat to march to: Access without high quality isn’t real access.”

Dr. Weiland underscored the importance of prioritizing the creation of high-quality early education initiatives, because as she put it, ‘access without high quality isn’t real access.’ This deeply resonated with our Gretchen’s House Foundation team and with our own mission, vision, and values.

We were excited to hear Dr. Weiland’s research showed the critical importance of investing in early childhood education, as these years are when children are most developmentally plastic and make a significant boost in children’s learning capacity gains.

The 'active ingredients' of high-quality early education, according to research outlined in Cradle to Kindergarten by Weiland and colleagues, align with many of GHF’s priorities, including well-supported teaching professionals, pay parity with K-12 teachers, and regular in-class coaching tied to curricula that are evidence-based, play-based, and content-rich.

“It’s us who need to be smart from the start. The kids already are.”

Dr. Weiland's insights on the impact of coaching and the need for high-quality curricula reinforce the importance of our grants and programs aimed at advancing high-quality early childhood education. She said, “Our problem spot is instructional support.” Her research on high-quality teaching strategies and professional development drives our evidence-based commitment to excellence and the support we provide through our Teacher Grant Program and Teacher Exchange Program.

Her research guides all of us along the road to achieving our vision of a thriving and equitable early childhood development community where every child receives an excellent education from highly trained and well-supported educators.

Dr. Weiland began her lecture by celebrating the spirit of The Kohn Collaborative for Social Policy, funded by Hal and Carol Kohn and the Kohn Charitable Trust, which embraces collaboration and promotes a more inclusive, just society for all. This inspires the work of our team at Gretchen’s House Foundation as we strive to fill the gaps to a high-quality early education for all children.

Stay tuned for more updates on our initiatives and how we are working to close early opportunity gaps through strategic early learning investments.