Early Learning and Development
Early Childhood Development and Education
- 3the age at which brain development is largely formed.
- 16high-quality early learning centers that receive support from GKFF are reaching children in Tulsa.
- 40K+low-income children and their families receive year-round early learning and family engagement through GKFF-supported initiatives.
Disrupting poverty
Early access to education gives low-income children the chance to grow, succeed and thrive alongside their more affluent peers.
The importance of early childhood development
The majority of a child’s brain formation occurs by age three — yet less than 4% of public expenditure for education is allocated to that time period. Like most communities around the country, Tulsa does not offer enough high-quality early education to meet the demand.
The systemic challenges of poverty and inequity, which can begin even before birth, pose risks to children's cognitive development and well-being.
For children in low-income families, early childhood education prepares them for school, ready to succeed on par, academically and emotionally, with their peers.
Our approach
GKFF programs intervene early in the cycle of poverty by working with families to increase learning opportunities during crucial developmental stages for children.
We focus on initiatives that provide the greatest opportunity to level the playing field for each child, with an emphasis on children who come from the least advantaged circumstances. This strategic approach guides us to efforts that will reverse the generational cycle of poverty for very young children and their families.
What we support
The programs we support provide children and families with high-quality and comprehensive development opportunities that:
- Promote evidence-based practices and initiatives that deliver long-term academic returns and prevent the academic proficiency gaps for children in poverty from forming
- Improve children’s cognitive skills and long-term proficiency in reading and math, as well as their ability to grow and develop socially and physically
- Provide parents with skills and resources to promote strong family engagement and interaction
I had the advantage of both genetics and upbringing. As I looked around at those who did not have these advantages, it became clear to me that I had a moral obligation to direct my resources to help repair that inequity.”
Programs we support
Our Team
Annie Koppel Van Hanken
BioAnnie Koppel Van Hanken
Chief Program Officer
Annie Koppel Van Hanken is a chief program officer who oversees GKFF’s early childhood education, common education and arts initiatives. Before joining the Foundation in 2002, Van Hanken worked in inner-city Los Angeles at a community-based youth development center. She serves as board president for Tulsa Educare and is a member of the national Educare Network board of directors. Van Hanken also serves on the board of Oklahoma Public School Resource Center, The Opportunity Project and is a gubernatorial appointee on Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Board of Directors. She has a master’s degree in education, with an emphasis on learning disabilities, from the University of Texas at Austin and a dual bachelor’s degree in English and history, with a minor in classics, from Tulane University. Annie adores little children and prefers their company to adults any day of the week.
Sophia Pappas
BioSophia Pappas
Managing Director, Birth through Eight Strategy for Tulsa (BEST)
Sophia Pappas is the managing director for the Birth through Eight Strategy for Tulsa (BEST). She leads a team responsible for the ongoing implementation and sustainability of an initiative to tackle poverty by improving outcomes in the earliest years of a child’s development. Pappas builds on expertise from managing large programs and creating policies within New York City’s Department of Education along with knowledge about health, financial and social programs within non-profits and public agencies gained in her time in Tulsa. Starting off as a pre-K teacher at a public school in Newark, New Jersey, Pappas moved on to author "Good Morning, Children" (Gryphon House, '09) and train early childhood teachers. She served across mayoral administrations at the New York City Department of Education from 2011-2017, where she oversaw teams ensuring pre-K programs offered high-quality classroom instruction and family engagement. Pappas attended Georgetown University and Harvard Kennedy School earning a Master of Public Policy. Her time as a pre-K teacher grounds her in the importance of high quality early education. What she learned from children, families, fellow teachers and school administration shapes how she leads and what gets her up in the morning.
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