The only organization dedicated solely to helping state boards advance equity and excellence in public education.

Winona Hao


Winona Hao, manages NASBE’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) work. She provides state policymakers with ECE policy trends, analyses, and technical assistance. Hao oversees NASBE’s ECE State Network where she supports state teams and works with national partners to advance the workforce for children from birth through age eight.

For eight years, Hao taught children from birth to age five in China and the U.S. As an immigrant, she is a strong advocate for dual language learners and believes all children can thrive through effective early education. Hao also worked at Save the Children and the Institute of Public Policy at the George Washington University, from which she also earned a master’s degree in international education policy.


Latest Contributions

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Teachers Need Multifaceted Support to Improve Literacy

By Winona Hao

To improve literacy, states should invest in comprehensive supports for teachers to equip them to deliver high-quality, evidence-based instruction.



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Investing in Early Childhood Workforce Recovery

By Winona Hao

Analysis details how states, including Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina and others, are using COVID relief funds to help the early childhood workforce recover from the pandemic.



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Michigan Adds Certificate for Birth to Kindergarten Teachers

By Joseph Hedger and Winona Hao

A detail of how the Michigan State Board of Education, working closely with the state education agency, is expanding opportunities to improve early educators’ preparation.




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Start Strong: Supporting Early Childhood Education through Policy

By Rebecca Cohen and Winona Hao

State boards of education can leverage their existing authority to ensure that all early learners have access to a quality education. This report is a product of a workgroup NASBE convened on early childhood education.



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Remote Learning in Early Childhood

By Winona Hao

If online learning is not designed with early childhood in mind, many children will not be able to build a strong foundation for their education and will fail to establish the structure and routines that learning requires.