The period from birth to age five is crucial for a child’s healthy development and learning. Recognizing the importance of early childhood education, leaders in Washington State made a series of smart investments over the past two decades. However, our state is now at a crossroads. While Washington has made a strong commitment to quality, it hasn’t expanded access to quality programs at scale.

This case study examines Washington State’s path towards high-quality early learning, with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Since the foundation launched its early learning strategy in 2005, these philanthropic investments have supported partners in shifting the paradigm by building advocacy capacity, funding research that cemented the state’s commitment to quality, and filling in gaps in state data and measurement systems.