Community spotlights: February 2026

Every child, regardless of their race or ethnicity, deserves a fair chance at opportunities and success. We envision a world that ensures no one’s identity determines how they are treated or the life outcomes they experience. 

In February, we highlighted partners and partnerships creating a future we can all root for. Here’s a roundup of news about other partners across our network. 

• The 74 explores how Brynmor Early Education & Preschool transformed a former prison into a thriving early learning center. It provides affordable, high-quality care while offering teachers competitive wages and benefits. 

• A new Class Disrupted podcast episode features Alex Kotran of the AI Education Project. He discusses AI readiness in schools and how education needs to evolve with this new technology. 

• Through the SETA Project, ActionAid is partnering with grassroots organizations to expand equitable education across Brazil’s public school system — training educators, shaping policy and amplifying community voices.  
  
• The Global Fellows Network connects changemakers across more than 40 countries to share ideas and build community. Watch how they’re collaborating in unique and impactful ways to strengthen local leadership. 

 Mexico 

• Groundswell International’s Youth Storyteller Film Festival is hosting virtual screenings and live panels with rural, Indigenous and smallholder-farmer youth who are transforming local food and farming systems.   

Michigan 

• Michigan’s Early Childhood Investment Corporation guides statewide early childhood strategy. It aligns policy, funding and workforce supports to expand access, improve quality and build a sustainable system for children and families.  

• Michigan licensed its first dental therapist in the Upper Peninsula, marking a step toward expanding oral health access in underserved areas while developing in-state training to grow the workforce.  

• HUB 07, a $26-million community center, opened in in Grand Rapids’ Boston Square neighborhood. It will provide access to health care, early childhood education, event space and housing.  

• Michigan churches are building affordable housing to address shortages, but state action is needed to ease zoning rules and support efforts through partnerships and legislation.  

• Michigan’s Rx Kids cash aid program expanded to Detroit, delivering payments to pregnant women and infants. Early data shows the program improve health and housing stability.  

Mississippi  

• Deep South Today and The New York Times named Louisiana and Mississippi journalists as inaugural fellows in a new regional investigative reporting center advancing accountability journalism across the Deep South. 

New Mexico 

• Key legislation impacting children and families advances in New Mexico.  

• Advocates push for a wage and career ladder for early childhood educators.  

New Orleans 

• NPR highlighted Family Connects New Orleans, a citywide program providing free postpartum nurse home visits to all families to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. 

• The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ Prime Time Family Reading program was honored by the Library of Congress for its national impact on literacy and family-centered, humanities-based education.