Earlier today, Senator Bernie Sanders and presumptive presidential Democrat nominee Joe Biden announced the members of their Unity Task Force on Education. Forbes writes “The education task force is co-chaired by Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Heather Gautney, Ph.D. Fudge serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Dr. Gautney is a professor at Fordham University and was a senior policy advisor to Sanders’s presidential campaign. She previously served as an advisor in Sanders’s Senate office.” The Unity Task Force on Education is part of the larger Unity Task force designed to unite the Democratic Party.

Of note to the early childhood education world is the inclusion of Hirokazu Yoshikawa who “is a community and developmental psychologist who studies the effects of public policies and programs related to immigration, early childhood, and poverty reduction on children’s development.“

Yoshikawa was one of the writers of the notable book “Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality.”

In addition, he wrote the book “Immigrants Raising Citizens Undocumented Parents and Their Young Children” which I recommend. You can download and read the first chapter of the book for free here:

I also recommend the article he recently co-wrote for the Brookings Institute “What happens after preschool matters for sustaining the preschool boost”

Yoshikawa also often researchers and discusses the trauma related to family separation.

It will be interesting to follow what Yoshikawa contributes to the task force.