Our Story

Our community is part of a national Basics Learning Network of communities, all dedicated to The Basics vision. The network is led by The Basics, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Boston, where the movement began.

Our Vision:

The Basics Vision is a Nipissing-Parry Sound where infants, toddlers, and preschoolers of all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds are on track to achieve their full potential--having benefited from early experiences that foster healthy brain development, learning, joy, and resilience.

Our Mission:

The Basics Mission is to pursue both equity and excellence, by building community capacity to engage and support parents and other caregivers of young children in their roles as the most important influences in their children's lives.

Basics Movement History

The Basics movement began because of three research-based facts:

  1. Early childhood experiences have long-term impacts on brain architecture, kindergarten readiness, and lifetime success.

  2. Cognitive skill gaps between children from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds are clear in national data long before kindergarten, by the age of two.

  3. Research on the science of early development provides strong guidance regarding what children need to experience in order to thrive, instead of falling behind early.




Founder Dr. Ron Ferguson was the faculty director of the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University, when he first noticed in the national Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Birth Cohort) that cognitive skill gaps between children of different racial, ethnic, and parental-education groups were very apparent by twenty-four months. He began exploring how to contribute to the large body of work that was already underway to support early learning and brain development, but he wanted to scale across whole communities to reach every child, starting at birth.

The AGI convened a national conference and science advisory committee to formulate five tenets of caregiving practice, now called The Basics Principles, around which to organize The Basics movement. The aim was socioecological saturation, meaning to infuse multiple settings in communities with information, social reinforcements, and regular reminders regarding the benefits of using The Basics Principles routinely in early childhood parenting/caregiving.

The AGI and The Black Philanthropy Fund (an organization of African Americans in Boston) formally launched The Basics movement in Boston in September of 2016 to help prepare children from all backgrounds and across whole neighborhoods to thrive, starting at birth.

The word spread quickly. By December, teams from 11 cities convened in Boston to learn about The Principles, the tools, and the approach. Rather than wait years for Boston to refine the approach, attendees agreed, “We'll figure it out together.” The Basics Learning Network (BLN) was thereby born. It operates under the leadership of The Basics, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization under the fiscal sponsorship of Third Sector New England (TSNE).

Today, coalitions across dozens of BLN cities, towns, and counties in the US, Brazil, and Australia are engaging their communities, participating in BLN research, and regularly convening to learn, innovate, and share best practices.

Nipissing-Parry Sound History

Over the past decade, public health and various organizations in Nipissing and Parry Sound districts have been focusing on the emerging scientific evidence that highlights the significance of early childhood brain architecture and the impact on lifelong health. Healthy brain development in early childhood is crucial for their overall well-being throughout their lives.

We know that parents and caregivers play an important role in their child’s development by providing love, support, guidance, and a secure environment. By responding to their children’s needs in a warm and nurturing manner, children feel safe, secure and loved, which encourages exploration and learning. Promoting nurturing parent-child relationships has been a top priority for community partners to ensure all children reach their full potential. Service providers in our communities have been diligently working together through various community networks to promote positive parenting and ensure optimal childhood outcomes. 

The Comprehensive Approach to Positive Parenting (CAPP) committee is a long-standing network of community partners with the common goal of supporting parents and children in the Nipissing and Parry Sound districts. This community network meets regularly to identify local issues/priorities impacting families, discuss gaps in parenting services and explore opportunities to collaborate in the delivery of positive parenting activities.

There is a shared vision to support every child to reach their full potential. The committee believes that all families in the Nipissing and Parry Sound districts should have access to evidence-based information and consistent messaging related to positive parenting.

 

The Muskoka, Nipissing and Parry Sound District Children and Youth Planning Table includes senior leaders from 30 + different service agencies across health and social sectors. The vision of the planning table is to improve health and wellbeing of children and youth in the districts of Muskoka, Nipissing and Parry Sound by using a collaborative community-based planning approach and evidence informed actions. Three impact priorities were identified (1) Positive parenting, (2) Preventing and mitigating the impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and (3) Youth mental health promotion & substance use prevention.

In 2023, the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit became aware of The Basics Strategy as an evidence-based multipronged parenting approach for promoting optimal growth and development of young children. The Basics was then introduced and shared with community partners at a several community positive parenting networks. Enthusiasm grew as The Basics principles closely aligned with existing parenting messages and efforts, and people expressed support for adopting the strategy locally. The Health Unit took on the role of the Backbone or lead organization, acknowledging the value of supporting this evidence-based population-level initiative.  A local coalition for the Nipissing-Parry Sound Basics Strategy has been developed with plans to support greater sharing of The Basics in our districts through 2025 and beyond.

Inspired by the achievements of past joint endeavors, our local community partners are delighted to support and join the local Basics Movement. Our team is now in the process of recruiting community Partners or Champions to help spread the word in their professional and personal lives. If you are interested in joining the Basics Movement, please visit our Become a Partner page.

What none of us can do alone, all of us can to together