McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Winonah LaGrande, Katie Gaul, & Erin Cetera | September 7, 2021

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

Hispanic culture is rich and diverse across the United States and around the world! What began in the United States in 1968 as a week-long celebration of the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America has grown into a month-long celebration acknowledged from September 15 to October 15.


During Hispanic Heritage Month, early childhood program administrators and leaders can highlight and celebrate the cultures and contributions of the groups and individuals with whom they work: community members, children and families, and colleagues. Additionally, Hispanic Heritage Month provides an opportunity to highlight the need to meet cultural needs, such as enhancing educators’ preparedness to build on children’s linguistic and cultural strengths. Finally, it offers a chance to develop partnerships or solidify relationships with other organizations focused on providing equitable educational environments.


The Hispanic community is expansive and varied, and the Hispanic population in the United States has grown by 23% from 2010 to 2020. Researching the historical and current impact of Hispanic community members on the field of early childhood education yields a wealth of information, from ideas about supporting the use of children’s home language to celebrating to ways to prioritize family engagement, from supporting educators as they begin their careers to enhancing the skills of those who have worked in the field extensively. Books for children can help guide classroom activities, families can contribute knowledge about Hispanic festivals, and leaders can connect staff and families to supportive resources about the benefits of bilingualism and celebrating ethnic identities.


Developing cultural understanding of your program’s Hispanic families and staff members is an ongoing process for program administrators. Every enrolled family and staff member needs to be provided a sense of belonging, community, and interpersonal inclusion. Educators who can share their backgrounds, talents, and ideas are most able to provide the same support for their students. Wise administrators build time for sharing and collaboration into daily interactions with and among staff; they also consider individual backgrounds and strengths as they plan professional development to ensure expertise and culture are honored.


One of the most powerful ways to celebrate everything that children bring to their classrooms is to support and encourage the use of home languages in centers and schools. Teachers demonstrate they honor a child’s culture when they foster their home languages within the classroom. Teachers show this respect by reading stories, singing songs, and leading activities in children’s home languages. If they are unable due to limited language knowledge, other Spanish-speaking members can take the lead. Parent participation within the classroom serves as a language model for students and a means to integrate the child’s culture within the classroom community.


It is also essential to intentionally begin English as a second language instruction using researched-based instructional strategies during the preschool years. As children acquire English as a second language, there are often misunderstandings around proficiency. Although a child may speak English fluently, it does not correlate to academic learning in their second language. Children can use English as a second language within a social text within a year or two; however, it takes four to nine years to acquire an academic second language.


There are many benefits to fostering home language use with English as a second language supports in the classroom over time. Children who develop a strong foundation in their home language can more easily transfer their knowledge and understanding while learning English. Learning a second language builds connections in the brain and flexibility, leading to cognitive gains. Bilingual children have opportunities to access information in two languages and, therefore, are likely to make gains cognitively, linguistically, culturally, and academically, which may lead to greater economic opportunities. Read more here: Early Language and Literacy Development Critical to Academic Achievement. When home language use is supported, it cultivates a relationship between school and home, a positive sense of self and culture within children, and stronger family bonds.


It’s essential to support teachers’ understanding of individual histories and beliefs about education and to help them learn about cultural patterns and beliefs of groups. This can help them understand the students and families they work with and select the best teaching strategies to meet their needs. You can find more about this in the resource How to Develop a Cultural Understanding Within Your Program.


Classroom assistants may sometimes be the main point of contact with enrolled families and students, especially when they share the same home language or cultural background. This may mean that they learn essential information about families’ wishes for their children; they also have the opportunity to reassure families that their children’s needs, especially for social-emotional learning, are being met in the classroom.


Program administrators can regularly evaluate whether their staff members are able to meet the needs of enrolled children and their families. How have they been supported to learn about cultural practices and develop skills for communication? Do language barriers exist that are limiting participation? Families whose backgrounds differ from those of the staff may feel intimidated or uncertain about interacting with those they see as professionals and “in charge” in center- or school-based settings.


Partnering with community organizations to provide supports for families with these concerns and using online resources can help programs to prioritize family engagement that is culturally and linguistically responsive. In Chicagoland, one of these community organizations is Latino Policy Forum. Online resources can be found in the Head Start Early Childhood Knowledge and Learning Center here and here. As the school year opens, celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month can be a great way to begin intentionally supporting colleagues, children, and families year-round.


Links to additional resources are provided below:


Winonah LaGrande is an Assessor and Training Specialist and a member of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Over her 15 years in the Early Childhood Education field, Winonah has worked in Chicago Public Schools as well as private early childhood programs with diverse populations.


Katie Gaul is an Assessor and Training Specialist and a member of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Katie has 30+ years of experience working with children, families, and teachers in various educational settings. She holds an ESL certificate and spent eight years working in Hispanic communities.


Erin Cetera is an Assessor and Training Specialist and a member of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. She has 25 years of experience directing early childhood programs in a variety of settings and communities.

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The Ants Go Marching

By Cara Murdoch • February 16, 2026
In early childhood education and care (ECEC), we know that some of the simplest ideas can carry the biggest lessons—and many of us have been singing “The Ants Go Marching” for years without realizing it might also be a leadership guide. Ants may be tiny, but their colonies run on teamwork, communication, flexibility, and a clear sense of purpose—all things ECEC programs rely on every day. By taking a closer look at how ants work together to support their colony, early childhood leaders can discover practical and familiar ways to strengthen teamwork, value every role, and lead programs where everyone is marching in the same direction for children and families. Ants are busy creatures; they work with a purpose and know their jobs in the colony. Ants exhibit teamwork and collective effort. Ant colonies demonstrate intelligence, division of labor, communication systems, and cooperative behaviors. They can recognize and respond to the colony's needs. They overcome their challenges through trial and error, learning from their experiences, and sometimes even develop innovative strategies. In the ant colony, individual ants work together as a unit, each with a unique role that determines the colony's survival and success. The ant colony functions just like a superorganism, where the actions of each individual ant are a part of the highly efficient system that supports the whole colony. This concept of collective action is closely related to human teamwork! Ants have a lot to teach us, as we work in ECEC. teamwork Just as ants collaborate, relying on their communication and coordination to complete tasks, humans thrive when working together, as each individual brings their own unique skills and perspectives to their “colony.” Ants depend on each other. Each ant has a specialized job, and the colony relies on the cooperation and coordination of all its members to thrive and survive. Each ant’s contribution, no matter how small it may seem, is vital to the success of the colony as a whole, and the strength of the group is built on the cooperation of each individual. Similarly, in ECEC programs, teamwork — working together and helping one another —leads to better results than trying to do everything alone! When we collaborate, we pool our strengths, share our knowledge, and support each other, which can lead to more creative and efficient solutions. Each person in the program brings unique skills and perspectives, filling gaps and helping compensate for one another’s weaknesses. This shared effort allows your program to tackle tasks and achieve goals that would be difficult, if not impossible, for one individual to accomplish on their own... just like in an ant colony! Adapting to face challenges Ants are highly adaptable creatures. Have you ever watched a disrupted colony hurry to move the uncovered eggs to a protected space? They respond quickly to changes or disruptions in their environment. Their ability to quickly assess new situations and adjust their behavior will help the colony continue to function efficiently, even when the unexpected happens. Their adaptability is the key to their survival, allowing them to overcome obstacles and thrive. Early childhood programs also need to adapt to challenges. When unexpected changes occur, each person needs to be flexible and find new ways to contribute to the program's success. Just as ants adjust, programs must reassess their strengths, collaborate, and develop alternative solutions. Adaptability is essential for proper teamwork! honoring individual roles In an ant colony, different ants take on very specific roles. There are worker ants, soldier ants, and the queen ant. Each ant’s role is crucial to the success and survival of the colony, and all roles are interdependent; they work together to achieve common goals. This division of labor that exists in an ant colony can be compared to the different roles and unique talents found in an ECEC program. Just as ants rely on each other to perform specific tasks, each ECEC team member brings their own expertise and skills to the program. In a project or workplace setting, one person may excel at brainstorming creative ideas, another might be skilled at organizing tasks and managing timelines, and someone else may be particularly adept at technical skills or problem-solving. This diversity of roles within a team ensures that every aspect of a project or goal receives focused attention. In center-based programs, there are the director, teachers, kitchen staff, and other roles as needed. The diversity of roles in a program helps to ensure that the program is successful and thrives. clear purpose and goals In an ant colony, survival is the common goal. The colony’s success depends on each member performing its specific role. Their unwavering focus on the survival of the colony is connected to their success. It demonstrates the power of their collective action, driven by a clear and unified goal. ECEC programs thrive when they are aligned around a shared and clear purpose and goals. When program members understand and commit to their common goals, the well-being and growth of children and families, their efforts will become more effective and coordinated. Just as ants bring different strengths to the program, each person brings different strengths to the program. It is alignment around shared goals that enables the program to overcome challenges and succeed. When everyone in the program is clear on the goals and helps work together toward them, the whole program becomes more focused, resilient, and motivated - just as an ant colony becomes stronger when every member is working toward survival! Ants work together harmoniously to achieve their common goals; they set aside individual competition in favor of colony cooperation. Each ant focuses on its specialized task. This spirit of ant cooperation is key to the colony's survival and success, as it enables the colony to accomplish more complex tasks than any single ant could manage alone. ECEC programs can benefit from adopting a similar approach that emphasizes collaboration and shared goals over individual achievement. In an ECEC program, when members support each other and work together, they can leverage each person’s strengths to accomplish more than they could individually. Instead of competing for recognition or resources, each member can focus on the program’s success, fostering a more positive and productive environment. learning from ants Ants have so much to teach ECEC programs when it comes to cooperating and working together as an effective team. Whether it's knowing your own role and abilities, supporting each of your fellow team members, communicating clearly and effectively, being flexible, or avoiding competition, the ant colony is an excellent example of these qualities! Let your ants go marching!!! Ant Life, author unknown I am just an ant, A small life is what I live, But I have dreams for bigger things And so much more to give If only I could grow A foot or two would do I could live a life That others look up to.
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