Too Small to Fail
Surrounding families with early language and learning opportunities and partnering to prepare young children for success in kindergarten and beyond
Too Small to Fail is celebrating more than a decade of impact. Read our new report
The Challenge
Today, almost 60 percent of children in the United States start kindergarten unprepared, lagging behind their peers, in critical language and reading skills.
Our mission
We envision a world where all families have access to high-quality early learning resources, every community is filled with spaces for young children to thrive, and all parents and caregivers engage in language-rich interactions with their children.
Too Small to Fail, the early childhood initiative of the Clinton Foundation, surrounds families with early language and learning opportunities, and supports parents and caregivers with resources to talk, read, and sing with young children from birth to help prepare them for success in kindergarten and beyond.
In Photos: Too Small to Fail
APPROACH
Through national and community-based partnerships, Too Small to Fail meets parents where they are to help prepare children for success in school and beyond. Whether at the pediatrician’s office or the playground, Too Small to Fail aims to make small moments big by creating opportunities for meaningful interactions anytime, anywhere.
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1
Activate
We forge unlikely partnerships across sectors and communities, bringing together networks and organizations to surround families with early learning opportunities. Learn more >
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2
Innovate
From laundromats to playgrounds, pediatric clinics to family courts, we’ve developed new and unconventional ways to transform everyday places into language-rich spaces for children and families. Learn more >
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3
Communicate
We leverage popular media and the power of storytelling to raise awareness about the importance of language-rich parenting and shift cultural norms about talking, reading and singing with infants and toddlers. Learn more >
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4
Evaluate
We invest in research and evaluation to measure the impact of our work and identify opportunities to refine, strengthen, and share our program models. Learn more >
DONATE TO TOO SMALL TO FAIL
Your gift will help prepare children for success in school and beyond. With your gift, we can better support parents with tools to talk, read, and sing with their young children from birth.
Partners
Partnerships are the cornerstone of our work. We’re so proud to collaborate with our diverse network of organizations, companies and institutions committed to supporting parents and giving every child the strongest possible start in life. These include:
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Born This Way Foundation
- Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
- Carnegie Hall
- Coin Laundry Association
- Houghton Mifflin
- Harcourt
- Inclusion Matters by Shane’s Inspiration
- KABOOM!
- Landscape Structures
- Lakeshore Learning
- National Black Child Development Institute
- National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- National Diaper Bank Network
- National Head Start Association
- Penguin Young Readers
- Readers to Eaters
- Reach Out and Read
- Scholastic
- Sesame Workshop
- Univision
Parents & Caregivers
When you talk, read, and sing with your child — even before they can use words — you’re building their brain and helping to prepare them for success in school and in life. But it may not always be easy to talk to babies, especially when they can’t talk back. To help, we’ve pulled fun tips and resources grounded in the best science, to help you talk, read, and sing with your child every day.
Childcare Providers
The STRIVE for 5! Early Childhood Educator Bootcamp is a hands-on program designed to give you instant tools and ideas to promote children’s early brain and language development and improve the quality of your early learning environment. We designed the program so that it is easy to use – everything is in one place, and you’ll have direct access to a great support system to ensure your success. Sign up below to get access to the program and start learning today!
Community Leaders
Interested in starting a “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign or enhancing an existing early brain and language development effort somewhere in your community? Sign up to access our Talking is Teaching Communities website, with lessons learned from our local campaigns, information on our place-based strategies, creative assets, training materials, tips for parents, research and more. We hope these resources will serve you well, and are truly grateful to you for joining this effort.
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Parents
If you’re a parent, then you can start using our resources today. Learn more.
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Advocates
If you’re a trusted voice in your community, then find out how you can be an advocate for families. Email us for more information.
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Community Leaders
If you want to create more of these moments in your community, then contact us to see how to build a campaign to engage the people needed to make it happen. Learn more.
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Donors
If you want to create more of these moments across the country, then fund the tools and materials that families, communities and places use to make them happen.
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Storytellers
If you want to capture and share these moments through your own storytelling, then talk to us about incorporating Too Small to Fail messages into your content. Email us for more information.
Our Impact
For over a decade, Too Small to Fail has surrounded families with early language and learning opportunities. Read our new report on our more than ten years of impact, including key programmatic activities, innovations, lessons learned, and plans for the work ahead.
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1.8M
Children’s Books
donated and provided to families in communities that are under-resourced through Too Small to Fail.
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3M
families reached annually
through Too Small to Fail playgrounds, laundromats, and early literacy campaigns.