Philosophy

The Kids' Place

Vision

The Kids’ Place creates a love of lifelong learning and positive social change by honoring and trusting children, engaging families, and inspiring educators.

Mission

The Kids’ Place works to increase access to high-quality early childhood education that transforms the lives of young children through play in partnership with families and teachers.

Values

• Integrity in Practice:

  Bring playful joy to our work while fulfilling our mission with honesty and equity.

• Leadership in Community:

  Model innovative early childhood education practices and pursue ongoing professional development.

• Learning in Relationship:

  Nurture trusting relationships with one another to build empathy, critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity in a welcoming environment.

• Equity and Inclusion:

  Develop a sense of community and belonging through advocacy, education access, educator compensation, and professional development.

• Professionalism and Best Practices:

  Be leaders in early childhood education based on solid and ongoing research focused on child development.

BOARD STATEMENT ON EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

A commitment to social justice and diversity have been core values at TKP since our beginnings. TKP’s mission, vision, and values are rooted in principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion among our children and families, teachers, staff, board of directors, and stakeholders. As a racially, culturally, and gender diverse community, we work to reflect these values in a variety of ways, including: operating with a tuition sliding scale to honor the socio-economic diversity of our families and provide broad high quality childcare in our community; provide financial and other support to teachers for educational and professional development opportunities; utilize a multicultural and anti-bias approach to learning in the classroom; and ensure that teachers and staff are equipped with the knowledge and tools to provide inclusive and equitable education.

Building on this foundation and expanding our efforts toward equity and inclusion requires honesty about the context of our work. In particular, we recognize the social, political, and economic forces that influence community demographics, and strive to expand access to high-quality early childhood education at TKP and in the Walla Walla valley. We recognize that systemic racism threatens our community in many ways, including access to education and employment, and that it is our responsibility to understand its effects and work actively to dismantle it. We understand that this is an ongoing commitment that will require reflection and actively working toward fulfilling our valued commitments towards diversity, equity, and inclusion.

To ensure we are serving our community in accordance with our ideals of social, racial, and economic justice, TKP must engage in continuous self-examination. Our Board and leadership are actively assessing TKP’s strengths and needs with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we are seeking guidance on how best to incorporate anti-racist tools, language, reflection, and discussion into our daily practices. In addition, the Board is actively prioritizing this work through professional development opportunities, as well as actively seeking out Board members whose experiences -- both professional and personal -- will support TKP’s ongoing work in this area. We welcome community reflection, conversation, and action in charting TKP’s course forward.