![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/UW-Early-Education-300x200.jpg\")
Pictured (l-r) are Paula Moujalli, vice president of Center for Excellence in Early Education; Justin Tutt, award-winning youth development expert; Symeria Hudson, president and CEO of United Way Miami, and Norie Del Valle, chief impact officer.<\/p>\n
Just days after a national report ranked Florida last among participating states in reading performance, United Way Miami is pointing to a path forward that starts in early childhood classrooms.<\/p>\n
The findings, from the Education Recovery Scorecard led by Harvard University and Stanford University researchers, show Florida students experienced the steepest declines in reading achievement nationwide between 2022 and 2025, underscoring the need for stronger early literacy strategies and sustained intervention.<\/p>\n
The first five years of life are foundational to human development. Nearly 90 percent of brain development occurs during this period, shaping cognitive ability, emotional health and future academic success.<\/p>\n
In Miami-Dade County, United Way Miami supports nearly 9,000 young children each year through early learning programs and trains hundreds of educators to improve instruction and family engagement, helping children build the skills needed to move from learning to read to reading to learn. Since 2007, the Center for Excellence in Early Education has reached 80,000 children and families by promoting research-based practices that prepare children for school.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s ranking highlights the challenges facing many students and reinforces the importance of starting early. That focus was evident at the center\u2019s inaugural conference aligned with the theme \u201cQuality by Design: Intentional Practice Across the Early Years.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 200 early childhood educators and administrators attended the recent one-day event, which featured bilingual breakout sessions and workshops aimed at improving classroom instruction, strengthening family engagement and addressing learning gaps.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlorida\u2019s ranking is a wakeup call, but it is also a call to action,\u201d said Symeria Hudson, president and CEO of United Way Miami. \u201cThis conference shows that Miami can lead by investing intentionally at the earliest stages. When we support educators, we improve literacy, support families and create pathways to opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Miami-Dade County faces widening achievement gaps and workforce challenges, the conference reinforced the connection between early childhood education, academic success and economic mobility.<\/p>\n
Beyond training, the conference included moments that highlighted the importance of trust and connection in early education.<\/p>\n
Sylvia Hubbard, a national Head Start reviewer, shared her story as a young mother in Detroit who initially distrusted the system after learning her children qualified for a United Way-supported Head Start program. She later accepted the support that changed the trajectory of her family and career.<\/p>\n
Today, Hubbard works with families facing similar barriers. Her story drew an emotional response from attendees, including Ana Perez, who reflected on what she sees daily \u2013 families who are frustrated, exhausted and unsure where to turn.<\/p>\n
The conference also featured keynote speaker Justin Tutt, an award-winning youth development expert known as \u201cThe Man in the Black Chucks.\u201d Tutt focused on mindset, resilience and purpose, emphasizing that educators must invest in themselves to effectively support children.<\/p>\n
Through storytelling and interactive exercises, he encouraged participants to challenge negative self-talk, practice self-care and adopt habits that support personal well-being and professional effectiveness.<\/p>\n
His message resonated with educators navigating burnout, workforce shortages and increasing demands. Angel James, a participant, said United Way Miami\u2019s training helped her better support her child with autism and inspired her to pursue a career working with children with special needs.<\/p>\n
United Way Miami leaders say lasting progress will require sustained investment in educators and families. By expanding access to high-quality early learning and scaling its model, the organization aims to strengthen literacy outcomes and support long-term economic opportunities across the region.<\/p>\n
For more information about United Way Miami, visit unitedwaymiami.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ABOUT US:<\/p>\n For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area.<\/p>\n This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.<\/p>\n Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami\u2019s culture. Whether you\u2019re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: https:\/\/communitynewspapers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you have any questions, feel free to email Michael@communitynewspapers.com<\/a> or Grant@communitynewspapers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n Connect To Your Customers & Grow Your Business
\n<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780414665_361_Bugle-Boy.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pictured (l-r) are Paula Moujalli, vice president of Center for Excellence in Early Education; Justin Tutt, award-winning youth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-323221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}