The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) welcomed two members of the California Legislature to early learning sites in September, discussing creative strategies that enhance positive outcomes for children and families.

“These visits demonstrated what is possible when state leaders, school districts and LACOE work together to expand innovative and inclusive early learning opportunities,” said Cristina Muñoz, LACOE chief academic officer. “By aligning resources and investing in educators, we are strengthening classrooms, supporting families and ensuring our youngest learners have the strong start they deserve.”

On September 8, Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco arrived at the Columbia Early Learning Center in Downey in the midst of a sudden thunderstorm. As it turned out, this was her second visit to the site, having participated in the 2017 ribbon cutting as a member of the Downey City Council.

After a tour and a rousing rendition of “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” LACOE staff and partners from the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, which operates Columbia Early Learning Center, shared with the Assemblymember how blending federal and state funding enhances services to children and families. 

Jacqueline, a former Head Start parent who is now an educator at Norwalk-La Mirada Unified, shared how Head Start and LACOE’s Career Development Initiative (CDI) program have supported her family and helped her earn the early childhood education units she needed to build a promising career working with young children. 

Supported by a variety of funding sources, primarily the State’s Early Education Teacher Development grant, CDI, has placed over 150 new assistant teachers in preschool classrooms to date – and helped nearly 100 current educators advance their careers.

A week later, Senator Sasha Renée Pérez visited Arlene Bitely Elementary School in the Garvey School District located in the city of Rosemead to experience two shining examples of state-federal collaborations in action. This was her second visit to a Garvey School District early learning site in 2026, having visited Williams Education Center in June.

Senator Pérez read stories to children in two adjacent classrooms: a Head Start–Transitional Kindergarten collaboration classroom and an inclusive early education demonstration classroom. The latter, supported by the State’s Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program, is designed to build capacity to serve both children with disabilities and their typically developing peers side-by-side in inclusive environments where everyone can thrive together. 

“It was an honor to welcome back both Assemblymember Pacheco and Senator Pérez, and I appreciate our partners at Garvey and Norwalk-La Mirada for hosting these visits,” said Luis Bautista, Head Start and Early Learning Division executive director. “Families and communities have a variety of different needs. By bringing our federally funded Head Start program together with California’s forward-thinking approaches to enhancing early learning, we’re meeting more of these needs and empowering children and families to thrive.”