Building blocks, breaking barriers in Oak Park and beyond

Oak Park has long been recognized as a standout place for its forward-thinking schools, tight-knit neighborhoods and culture of resident-led advocacy. But 25 years ago, one group of local advocates stepped up to address a glaring gap in the community: the oversight of networking and resources for families and caregivers of children from birth to age 5. In 2002, the Oak Park-based Collaboration for Early Childhood was founded to meet the need to develop a holistic, community-driven approach to cultivating the development of young children. It does this by engaging and connecting families, local organizations, educators and health providers.  “At the time, a lot of people assumed real learning started in kindergarten, but our organization’s founders knew better,” said Mary Reynolds, a Forest Park resident and the nonprofit’s executive director since 2023. “New research was showing how much brain development happens in the first five years of life; economists were making the case