Ideal Learning 101:

Seeing and Strengthening What Is Already Possible in Head Start

with Dr. Tobi Adejumo of Trust for Learning

Head Start programs already hold many of the values at the heart of ideal learning environments: strong relationships, respect for families, attention to the whole child, and responsiveness to local community context. This session offers participants a chance to step back, name those strengths, and consider how they can be made more visible and more intentional in daily practice. Using the Principles of Ideal Learning Environments as a shared language for reflection, participants will explore what children need to thrive and how those needs can be supported in Head Start settings. Rather than presenting ideal learning as something separate from Head Start, this session will focus on the ways programs may already be doing this work and where there may be room to grow, adapt, or try something new. Participants will also hear directly from examples of Head Start programs that are actively working to create and sustain ideal learning environments. These examples will center real, on-the-ground practice, including how programs navigate day-to-day logistics, communicate their approach within their agencies, and work within Head Start systems, such as funding requirements and documentation processes.

Tobi Adejumo, Ph.D., is the Director of Movement Building at Trust for Learning, where she leads communication, coalition-building, and outreach efforts to expand ideal learning environments for young children. She also manages the Trust’s Head Start portfolio and supports the continued growth of the Ideal Learning Head Start Network. Tobi works with early childhood leaders, educators, and partners to share resources, strengthen practice, and advance systems change. She holds a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education from the University of Colorado Denver and teaches courses on family engagement and child ecology. Her research focuses on early educators’ working conditions and well-being, early childhood quality, child outcomes, kindergarten transitions, and bilingual children. She is especially interested in improving access to high-quality early care and education for immigrant families and other communities that have been historically underserved.