Author: Nelson Rosario

The decision to host the 78th OMEP World Assembly and World Conference in Poznań, Poland, in July is subtly controversial. It appears to be a logistical decision at first glance—a European city, convenient transit, and academic facilities. However, Janusz Korczak, a pediatrician and educator who spent his life arguing that children are not future citizens waiting to become real people, was born in Poznań. Right now, they are actual people. When you consider what OMEP 2026 is truly attempting to achieve, that seemingly insignificant distinction has significant political implications. The theme of the July 13–18 conference is “When a Child…

A recent study from the Brookings Institution contains a statistic that sticks with you. Nearly 43% of children with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders in Pennsylvania alone—one state, not the entire nation—received no treatment at all. Not insufficient care. not postponed medical attention. Nothing. Furthermore, according to the paper itself, Pennsylvania outperforms the majority of the country. It’s difficult to forget that detail. Take a moment to consider this: kids who have already been flagged by parents or schools as having difficulties continue to fall between the gaps. The prevalence of the mental health crisis among young children may not…

OMEP’s 78th World Assembly and Conference will take place in Poznań, Poland, sometime in mid-July 2026, bringing together researchers, educators, and policymakers from around the globe. The theme, “When a Child Speaks…” Korczak’s Inspirations for Education and Children’s Rights, has a literary quality. However, the events that take place in those Polish conference halls have actual repercussions for preschoolers in the United States, and they won’t be distributed equally. A few states are already in a position to welcome this change. Others are far away. Despite carrying out important work, OMEP, the World Organization for Early Childhood Education, is one…

The Swiss mountain town of Davos hosts a gathering of about 3,000 of the world’s most powerful individuals each January. heads of state. billionaires in technology. economists who write articles that influence the market. They discuss geopolitical risk, trade conflicts, artificial intelligence, and climate change. At 2,500 meters above sea level, they shake hands over coffee and refer to it as cooperation. What happens when a four-year-old is locked in a room for crying too loudly is something they hardly ever discuss and almost never make the official agenda. Klaus Schwab, a German engineer and business professor, founded the World…

The way educators and child rights advocates have begun discussing sustainability has a subtle urgency. Not the kind that recycles. Not the kind that leaves a carbon footprint. The kind that poses a more difficult question: if nearly half of the world’s children never receive early childhood education, what kind of society are we creating? That is the central question in OMEP Spain’s peace declaration, which makes the case that sustainable development is impossible while young children continue to be the world’s most underfunded priority without much diplomatic softening. The figures are unsettling. Approximately 88% of children worldwide finish primary…

Something is subtly noticeable when you drive through Darien, Connecticut on a Tuesday morning. The parking lots at the school are packed. The fields are kept up to date. The lighting in the hallways, the teacher-to-student ratio, and the guidance counselor’s genuine time to sit down with a sophomore and discuss college all have a certain laid-back vibe to them. Every year, Darien spends about $15,400 on each student. About $10,500 is the national average. That figure falls short of $8,000 in some rural Kentucky districts. There has always been a gap. The rate at which it is expanding and…

When you walk into practically any childcare facility on a Tuesday morning, you’ll notice that everything appears to be peaceful. Bright colors, tiny tables, and a teacher kneeling on the carpet to teach a three-year-old how to hold a crayon. What that teacher brought into the building is something you won’t see, something that is rarely discussed in budget meetings or policy rooms. She works a second job on the weekends. a manager who hasn’t spoken to her in months. a nagging suspicion that she might not return after summer. The term “essential workers” has been used so frequently to…

There are times when something changes in professional settings, but it doesn’t always happen loudly or with applause. Instead, there’s a collective silence that indicates the room has just taken in something that can’t be fully expressed. Approximately 800 educators, researchers, and policymakers found themselves in a setting that felt more like a reckoning than a panel discussion during the children’s mental health session at the OMEP World Conference. These global gatherings have been organized since 1948 by OMEP, the World Organization for Early Childhood Education, which was founded in response to a post-war need to safeguard the most vulnerable…

Somewhere in Oroville, California, a coach changed the trajectory of NFL history by knocking on a door at the end of a dead end. It’s not overstated. Aaron was just another Chico kid when Butte College football coach Craig Rigsbee traveled the short distance to see the Rodgers family. He seemed gifted, but not gifted enough to pique the interest of any major Division I program. There was no call from the major universities. And that silence must have hurt for a teenager who had given the game his all at Pleasant Valley High School. Aaron’s mother wasn’t exactly enthusiastic…

Most people remember one teacher long after they graduate. Not because of a specific test or chapter in a textbook, but rather because of something more difficult to pinpoint: a listening style, an almost unreasonable level of patience, or a tendency to make the difficult seem doable. It’s difficult not to wonder what made that individual different from every other teacher who entered a classroom. Effective teachers have a greater impact on student achievement than school facilities, resources, or even school leadership, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute. That’s a startling conclusion, and it begs the question, “What…