What is WELA?

The Whatcom County Early Learning Alliance (WEC)A is all about making excellence in early learning achievable and sustainable for EVERY child in Whatcom County. WELA works to build a system of support for young children and their families, prenatally through age eight. 

WELA members strive to build an early learning system supporting families and children, prenatally through age 8.  It is our vision that all children in Whatcom County will thrive, today and tomorrow.

WELA values our work of:

  1. Addressing the persistent opportunity gap young children experience, a gap that correlates with racial, ethnic, economic and community identities

  2. Connecting more families earlier with high quality parenting education and support


Who is WELA?

WELA represents our entire early learning system. Our work is guided by a Steering Committee and accomplished through Project Teams.

Current Steering Committee members include:

  • Thom Barthelmess, Whatcom County Libraries

  • Laurie Saling, Opportunity Council

  • Kristine Wilson, Opportunity Council

  • Jamie Desmul, YMCA

  • Jen Knudsen, Bellingham Technical College

  • Nahrin Aziz, Northwest Indian College

  • Bridget Rossman - Mt. Baker School District

  • Kathryn DeFilippo, Whatcom County Health and Community Services Department

  • Allison Williams, Whatcom County Health and Community Services Department

  • Megan Brown Douglas, Brigid Collins

  • Debbie Haney, Bellingham School District

  • Meilan Jin, Western Washington University

What is WELA’S current work?

Some of our current projects include::

  1. Promoting access to early learning programs

  2. Hosting monthly community engagement meeting where early learning programs from across Whatcom County can connect

  3. Organizing Whatcom Newborn Outreach bags for new families, working with funding from Help Me Grow WA

How did WELA start and what has it accomplished?

Started as a networking group of early learning professionals more than 30 years ago, we are now the local arm of our statewide early learning system. Generous seed funding from the Opportunity Council, the NWESD, Child Care Aware and the Foundation for Early Learning allowed WELA to develop infrastructure necessary to foster system-wide support for young children, families, and the professionals who serve them. 

Thanks to this infrastructure, WELA has been able to be instrumental in advancing early learning in our county.  A few of the immediate outcomes of our significant collaborative efforts include: 

  • Creation of early childhood specialist administrative positions in five of our seven K-12 school districts; 

  • Growth of local play and learn programming as a specific support for children pre-kindergarten who have never before experienced a formal preschool setting; 

  • Early literacy professional development shared between early learning professionals and kindergarten teachers resulting in smoother transition from PreK to Kindergarten; a uniform Transition Form provides a means for communication between preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers.