P.R.I.D.E. in Philly

Join First Up Friday, July 26, 2024, 12:00-1:30 PM for the P.R.I.D.E in Philly Environmental Scan Webinar! If you want an in-depth exploration of the discoveries, recommendations, and next steps from the P.R.I.D.E. in Philly Environmental Scan this webinar is one you cannot miss!

The P.R.I.D.E. in Philly Environmental Scan, Understanding Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education is a thorough environmental scan of the Philadelphia area created to better understand racial disparities, attitudes, and awareness of positive racial identity among parents and educators who are seeking the knowledge and resources needed to support young children’s positive racial identity development.

Register below to sign up for this important and informative webinar!

P.R.I.D.E stands for Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education. Young children developing positive racial identity is a key aspect of healthy, whole child development. "For young children within the ages of 3 to 8, having a positive racial identity means feeling good about one’s physical features, heritage, and history. This concept is vitally important to young Black children’s healthy growth and development, and it’s one backed by research. Studies have shown that when young Black children are socialized to see themselves in positive ways, those attitudes can lead to positive outcomes like increased test scores, better factual recall, and improved problem-solving skills. Backed by the knowledge and understanding of this research, the P.R.I.D.E. Program was designed to be a protective factor for young children, ages 3 to 8, who are often inundated with social messages that can lead them to prefer White."

When our children have P.R.I.D.E., they have improved behavior, increased memory recall, and can better grasp factual knowledge and information within school settings, with even more benefits for older children. When our children know, understand, and can celebrate their Blackness, they are better able to navigate and combat the oppression they experience living within a racist society. The P.R.I.D.E. Program's work began in Pittsburgh, PA, as a comprehensive, positive, fun strategy to help the primary adults in young Black children's lives learn P.R.I.D.E skills and experience PRIDE-full environments to help them develop positive racial identity. In an exciting turn, P.R.I.D.E.'s work has expanded to Philadelphia, partnering with First Up, to create P.R.I.D.E. Project Philly.

Participants will:

• Gain knowledge about the history of race, how children are impacted by it, and acquire tools and strategies for responding to racial issues.
• Gain the ability to proactively introduce conversations and activities that enable children to understand racial (physical) differences.
• Acquire ways to use objective learning about race and physical difference to facilitate children's more advanced cognitive understandings of ‘race’.
• Gain a foundation for open conversation about race in the early childhood profession to sustain and build on what is learned.
• Earn 20 PQAS credit for full participation.