Over the past year, Auburn University’s Office of Professional and Continuing Education (OPCE) has worked alongside the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE) in a statewide campaign targeting young families across Alabama. ADECE’s 90x5 campaign emphasizes that a child’s brain grows and develops faster from birth to age 5 than at any other time in life. These first experiences have a lasting impact on a child’s health and ability to learn and succeed in school and in life. Children learn through the behaviors they see and hear. Interactions with parents and families help children build new skills.
Through strategic collaboration and coordinated marketing efforts, OPCE has helped expand the campaign’s message to families statewide. Outreach initiatives have included a presence at major sporting events hosted by Auburn University, University of Alabama and Troy University, creating valuable opportunities to connect directly with parents and caregivers in high traffic, family-friendly settings. In addition to sporting events, billboards placed across the state serve as consistent visual reminders, encouraging parents to learn more about practical ways to support their children’s early learning and development at home.
Community engagement has also played a key role in the campaign’s success. This past spring, the Montgomery Biscuits hosted a family night sponsored by the ADECE 90x5 campaign, drawing hundreds of families from across the region. The event provided an interactive and welcoming environment where parents could access resources, learn simple strategies for fostering early learning and better understand the lasting impact of everyday interactions with their children. Together, these efforts continue to strengthen awareness of early childhood development and reinforce the importance of investing in Alabama’s youngest learners.
More information can be found at the 90 by 5 website.
