51涩涩屋app

51涩涩屋app celebrates the life and mourns the passing of Maurice Sykes鈥攆ormer 51涩涩屋app Governing Board member and coleader of 51涩涩屋app鈥檚 Black Caucus Interest Forum as well as a lifelong leader, teacher, author, champion, questioner, trainer, traveler, friend, mentor, and tireless advocate for children and educators. In public and private, Maurice exuberantly, joyfully, and pointedly demanded excellence, justice, and leadership. He never stopped holding 51涩涩屋app accountable for delivering on our mission and vision, which he believed in with all his heart. Maurice will be deeply missed, and 51涩涩屋app will continue to honor his life and legacy with our ongoing work and commitment to our shared values.听听

Contributions to Early Childhood Education听听听

Maurice was born on February 17, 1945, in Schenectady, NY, where he graduated from Mont Pleasant High School. He attended Wilberforce University as a sociology major and went to graduate school at Antioch University.听听

Maurice entered the field of education as a teacher鈥攁n early step in his journey as a lifelong advocate and thought leader in early childhood education. He served as director of the Tufts University Educational Day Care Center and as a lecturer in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development. Maurice also held a range of roles within the District of Columbia Public School System, including deputy superintendent for the Center for Systemic Educational Change and director of early childhood programs. He was selected as a National Policy Fellow by the Institute for Educational Leadership and coordinated its DC Education Policy Fellowship program.听
听
Maurice led educational study tours to Reggio Emilia, Italy, and was a sought after keynote speaker. His influential publications included the books Doing the Right Thing for Children: Eight Qualities of Leadership and the coedited volume Child Care Justice: Transforming the System of Care for Young Children.听

A Commitment to 51涩涩屋app听听

Maurice was involved with 51涩涩屋app in a range of leadership roles. He served on the 51涩涩屋app Governing Board and was instrumental in enhancing organizational governance by leading discussions that defined the essential principles and commitments required for the Association to achieve excellence and effectiveness as a鈥疕igh-Performing Inclusive Organization. This was a major 51涩涩屋app initiative in the early 2000s. Maurice demonstrated a profound understanding of the principles of governance, emphasizing transparency, integrity, and a commitment to fostering a culture of high performance within the organization. He told colleagues that he was especially proud of this work as it put 鈥渕eat on the bones鈥� of what 51涩涩屋app said it was about, and it raised the level of sophistication operationally around equity and social justice issues.听听

Black Caucus Leadership听

Maurice became cochair of 51涩涩屋app鈥檚 Black Caucus Interest Forum in 2016. His participation lifted 51涩涩屋app鈥檚 oldest interest forum out of one of those low ebbs that happen in the history of organizations run by volunteers. He focused on the achievement gap over the next several years鈥攁n emphasis that was intended to help early childhood educators working in a range of settings and with the youngest children in the birth-to-8 sequence understand how impactful the early years are. His efforts also highlighted the important role that early childhood professionals play within the broader K鈥�12 educational community.听听

With involvement from the Black Caucus, 51涩涩屋app published an issue of鈥�Young Children in May 2018 with a cluster of articles on expanding educational equity and shrinking the achievement gap in early childhood education. Maurice鈥檚 article in this cluster,听鈥�A Reason for Hope: Building Teachers鈥� Cultural Capital,鈥� shared his recollections of a teacher preparation program in the 1960s that taught him to become deeply involved in the community in which he was teaching鈥攁nd to build on its strengths.听

Beloved Conference Presenter听

Maurice presented at 51涩涩屋app conferences numerous times. Below are just a handful of the topics he presented:听

• Making the Ideal Real: Step into the Future of Child Care听
• Child Care Justice: From Advocacy to Activism听
• Strategies for Eliminating the Achievement Gap in Early Childhood Education听
• The Leaders the Children Deserve: Developing Leaders for the New ECE Paradigm听

His contributions through conference sessions, panels, and feedback on position statements regarding critical issues in early childhood education were invaluable, particularly in addressing the鈥痗hallenges faced by low-wage workers鈥痠n the field. One pressing question he raised is how to balance the educational requirements necessary to elevate early childhood education into a respected profession while acknowledging the reality of its low-paying nature. He also highlighted the importance of maintaining diversity within the workforce, emphasizing that the high cost of education often acts as a barrier for individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, who are disproportionately people of color. This affects the richness of perspectives and experiences essential for fostering an inclusive educational environment.听听

One anecdotal comment from a鈥�51涩涩屋app conferee, Stuart J. Murphy, states: 鈥淢aurice sat on a panel at the very first, crack-of-dawn session I attended. I sat near the front, bleary-eyed and clutching my coffee. But then Maurice began to speak and suddenly, I didn鈥檛 need the coffee anymore. He was absolutely riveting, sharing spot-on insights that resonated deeply, all wrapped in a delightful mix of wit and passion for his mission. When the session came to an end, I found myself swept along with the crowd eager to follow him out the door, inspired and energized by his words.鈥澨�

A Thought Leader Who Inspired the Right Thing for Young Children听

Many knew Maurice as a thought leader. He worked tirelessly to implement the ideas of developmentally appropriate practice into the District of Columbia Public School System, and he described the process of making change on a systemic level in an article he wrote for Young Children in 1994. 鈥淐reating a Climate for Change in a Major Urban School System鈥� highlights Maurice鈥檚 brilliance in understanding how educators within a school system can come together to engage in a transformative process to adapt and grow in their understandings and approaches to meet the educational needs of young children (Young Children 50 [1]: 4鈥�7). The article, which can be read in its entirety by 51涩涩屋app members at 51涩涩屋app.org/resources/pubs/yc/archive,听also highlights Maurice鈥檚 powerful abilities as a leader able to enact change within large systems. It contains many lessons that remain true today, including:听

• The need to reprioritize early childhood education at the top of the reform within school systems听
• Clarifying that the system has to change, not just the teachers听
• The need to create opportunities for school principals to better experience and understand developmentally appropriate practices听
• The importance of creating a shared vision around developmentally appropriate practice and seeking common ground to build consistency of knowledge, understanding, and purpose听
• The need to transform the physical spaces and materials in early primary classrooms with furniture, materials, and equipment that offer socialization, exploration, and play as key aspects of teaching and learning听
• Creating a climate for change as one of the first building blocks for sustained systemic change听
• Showing that "doing the right thing for children" is doable听

听Maurice鈥檚 guidance and thinking continue to live on. Read more about his powerful work and memories from many of our friends and colleagues at鈥�.