Every child deserves a great beginning – our job is to help make this happen.
Our Mission
The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) is committed to improving the lives of young children and their families by strengthening early childhood experiences. We develop and deliver comprehensive, evidence-based supports for early childhood professionals, children, and families. Through innovative research and partnerships, we advance equity and promote high-quality education. Housed within the University of Delaware’s College of Education and Human Development, DIEEC works collaboratively to build a brighter future for all children.
DIEEC Touchstones
DIEEC is committed to embedding the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our service to you as early childhood professionals and the children and families you serve. These five core Touchstones guide our work together as an organization and with our shared community of early childhood professionals. The touchstones serve as standards of mindset, content, and behavior that orient our work and keep us centered in our mission. Our touchstones are interwoven into the foundation and framework of our interactions within DIEEC and with all of our participants, in all that we produce, and in all that we do.
View the DIEEC Touchstones
- Acceptance: We value the uniqueness and individual gifts of all. Together, we promote an inclusive environment where all children, families, and staff have a voice and are represented in a welcoming community.
- Embracing: We welcome, accept, and honor the identity of everyone in their entirety. We acknowledge the value of various lived experiences that are shared in dialogue, combined stories and an intentionally created community in which everyone belongs.
- Openness: We commit to remaining receptive to new ideas, new experiences, and new viewpoints through a willingness to listen with curiosity and share with humility during honest, vulnerable, (sometimes difficult) conversations; to learn from people and experiences that are different from us, thus increasing our social awareness, acceptance, and empathy for others.
- Modeling: We acknowledge that cultural humility, diversity and responsiveness are intricately linked and essential in every decision, interaction and product of DIEEC. Our commitment to these values is demonstrated in our thought and design processes, and by eliciting and valuing the voices of all colleagues and stakeholders.
- Evolving: We nurture a space that is reflective of the diversity represented by all individuals. Each person’s story expands our knowing and our engagement as a dynamic community.
Our Work
1st State Family Child Care Conference
DIEEC’s 1st State Family Child Care Conference celebrates five years in 2026!
Quality Improvement System
DIEEC’s Quality Improvement System empowers early childhood programs with assessments, coaching, and resources to strengthen practices, achieve goals, and deliver high-quality care across Delaware.
Microlearning
Busy schedule? DIEEC Microlearning delivers focused training modules that help early educators grow professionally, strengthen program quality, and apply new knowledge directly to their daily work.
Our Why
The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood is dedicated to elevating the quality of care in early childhood programs due to the profound impact of these formative years on a child’s development. Recognizing the enduring influence of high-quality early education, the institute believes that investing in these programs is an investment in the well-being of both individual children and society as a whole.
What’s New
Meet The 2026 Excellence in Early Childhood Award Winners!
In this month’s Provider Spotlight, we introduce the inspiring educators who were winners or runners-up in our 2026 DIEEC Excellence in Early Childhood Awards initiative.…
Rena Hallam Named CEHD Dean
Rena A. Hallam, a professor of human development and family sciences, has been named the new dean of the University of Delaware’s College of Education…
A Leader in Early Childhood Care and Education
Each April, the National Association for the Education of Young Children celebrates Week of the Young Child, recognizing the importance of high-quality early childhood care…