Maki Park
Maki Park was Senior Advisor for Early Childhood Education and Care at MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, where her work focused on issues affecting Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and immigrant families in early childhood systems. Additionally, she provided technical assistance to state and local actors, supporting their efforts to work collaboratively across local communities to address program quality and access issues facing immigrant and refugee families in home visiting, child care, and pre-kindergarten systems.
Previously, Ms. Park worked as Director of Outreach and Program Manager at WorldTeach, based at Harvard's Center for International Development, where she oversaw recruiting and admissions operations and managed the organization's program in Guyana. She has also worked as an education consultant in Malawi and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkmenistan.
Ms. Park holds a master's in international education policy from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, and earned her bachelor's degree with a double major in French and government with a concentration in international relations from Cornell University. She also practices as a clinical mental health counselor.
Explore Content by Maki Park
Showing 1-10 of 27 total results
Leveraging ESSA Funding for Pre-K Family Engagement to Support Dual Language Learners
Title I holds untapped potential to fund family engagement for U.S. young children who are Dual Language Learners. But achieving this requires clearer guidance and stronger coordination.
Understanding Obstacles to Foreign Qualification Recognition for Key U.S. Early Childhood Education and Care Positions
Barriers to the recognition of academic and professional credentials earned abroad block immigrants from advancing in U.S. early childhood education and care, depriving the field of skills and culturally competent experts.
Connecting Immigrant Communities to Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services
Speakers discussed the importance of infant and early childhood mental health services and how to better connect immigrant and refugee families to these resources.
Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services
Immigrant and refugee children face major barriers to mental health services, with screening gaps, insurance disparities, and a shortage of culturally responsive care.
Recommendations for the Task Force on New Americans
The Task Force on New Americans should consider upgrading adult education and embedding equity in federal programs to better support immigrant integration.
Apprenticeship Programs Are a Promising Solution to Bring More Multilingual Workers into Early Childhood Field
Shortages of workers continue to plague early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems across the United States. With the field already struggling to effectively serve young children in families that speak languages other than English, apprenticeship programs offer a promising solution to bring more—and more multilingual—workers into early childhood careers.
Ensuring Effective Language Access Services and Policies in Early Childhood Programs
This webinar explored federal and state language access policies in early childhood programs and opportunities to better serve Dual Language Learners and their families.
Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs
One-third of U.S. children ages 0–5 are Dual Language Learners. Fact sheets offered here examine DLL populations for the 25 largest states.
Learning More about Dual Language Learners
A large and growing share of children across the United States have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English in the home.
Overlooked but Essential: Language Access in Early Childhood Programs
Weak mandates and poor data collection leave millions of Limited English Proficient (LEP) families underserved in U.S. early childhood programs, despite federal civil rights requirements.
