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The Growing Tree, Corrine’s Little Explorers, and Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) invite you to attend our free public screening of No Small Matter on Thursday, September 12, 2019, starting at 6:00 p.m., followed by a panel discussion at about 7:15 p.m. The screening will be at The Growing Tree, 11 13th Avenue in New Glarus. We will have free pizza and drinks available, along with free child care on-site.

No Small Matter is the first feature documentary to explore the most overlooked, underestimated, and powerful force for good in America today: early childhood education. Through poignant stories and surprising humor, the film lays out the overwhelming evidence for the importance of the first five years, and reveals how our failure to act on that evidence has resulted in an everyday crisis for American families, and a slow-motion catastrophe for the country.

Meet Some of the Experts

Tim Markle is the Director of the Southern Regional Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs based out of the Waisman Center at UW-Madison. He is also the parent of a 21-year-old on the Autism Spectrum. The Southern Regional Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs covers 14 counties in south and southwest Wisconsin. We serve families and providers who care for anyone birth to age 21 with a long term physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional illness or condition. Ongoing developmental monitoring, screening and intervention is vital to the long term success of children with special health care needs. In Wisconsin, nearly 1 in 5 children have a special health care need. Nationally, ONLY 30% of children who have disabilities are identified before they start school. This means many children are not being taught the skills they will need but are just passing through the system. Seth Pollack, head of the Child Emotion Lab at UW-Madison says, “One of the things we know about early childhood development is if an issue arises, maybe a speech and language issue, a motor issue, a cognitive issue, the very best thing is to have it identified and treated right away.”

A community that values the early experiences of ALL children will become more aware of those children that might need a little extra help.

Ruth Schmidt, Executive Director, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association: For over 15 years, Ruth Schmidt has led Wisconsin’s largest membership organization for early childhood educators and state affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Ruth has extensive executive leadership experience that includes working with organizations, associations, counties and municipalities. She’s a founding member of the Wisconsin Early Learning Coalition and Wisconsin Partners, a member of the Prenatal to Three Coalition and serves on the planning committee for the UW Prenatal to Five Initiative. On the national level, she is active in Congressman Mark Pocan’s K-12 and Early Childhood Education Advisory Group. Ruth is a leading voice on both state and national levels for strengthening the early childhood education workforce through policy and systems improvement and greater public investments. Ms. Schmidt earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Grinnell College. She is excited to be a member of the panel because, “Fixing a system of early care and education for Wisconsin’s youngest children really IS no small matter. Our families and communities cannot flourish when we don’t have affordable, high quality care for our children. And our children lose out when we accept anything less than the best we can offer. Our children matter…the most.”