In the rural Idaho town of Marsing, early childhood support doesn’t stop at the classroom door.   

Teachers talk with parents, preschool educators work alongside school district staff, and families can find food, clothing, health services and early learning all under one roof.    

The Marsing Early Learning Collaborative (ELC) brings the right pieces and players together to support children ages 0 to 5 and their families. It is one of 24 communities in Idaho AEYC’s network, where they identify local early learning needs and work together on solutions.  

“The support from Idaho AEYC has been invaluable. The network that Idaho AEYC brings us to our school district is just priceless,” said Jessica Bettencourt, ELC Project Manager, Director of Husky Pups Preschool and Elementary School Principal.   

In Marsing, a key focus is early identification, where families and educators work together to understand children’s development, celebrate what they can do and recognize when a child may need additional support. The goal is to identify early and give children the tools to thrive before a delay becomes a label that follows a child through life.  

“I work in a rural school because there are a lot of families in this area just like mine growing up. What makes Marsing special is how close we are with each other, and how our school is a hub of resources,” said Bettencourt.  

The early identification work starts at Husky Pups Preschool, inside the Marsing School District's Hub, a former middle school turned one-stop shop for family resources.   

“Being able to bring not only early education resources but also the food and clothing pantry and health services have changed the lives of a lot of families, starting with the three-year-olds up through high school,” said Bettencourt.  

Amber Clay, a Marsing ELC member and Husky Pups Preschool teacher, said early identification starts with understanding children in the context of their everyday lives.   

Each morning begins with free play, giving Clay the chance to check in with parents daily. Structured learning in small groups then gives her time to work one-on-one with children and see how they are meeting developmental milestones.   

“Early identification means that children are meeting what their peers are meeting,” Clay said. “We are fortunate to see 18 four-year-olds, which parents don’t get to see at home to know if their child is meeting the standard.”   

Husky Pups uses the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, a developmental screening tool for children ages 1 month to 5½ years. Clay and parents each complete their own screenings throughout the year, then use the results during quarterly parent conferences to determine whether a child may need additional support.   

“Parents are more empowered once they understand that they are the child’s continuous teacher. Teachers are the building blocks for their students, but we are not consistent teachers,” Clay said.   

For Tiffany Wright, that approach changed her son Ryan’s path. When Ryan started school with Clay, he showed signs of struggling with transitions.   

“Ryan could do a worksheet in 30 seconds, but he could not sit at a table,” Clay said. “I knew he was capable academically, but there was something we were missing.”  

Wright assumed the outbursts were typical childhood tantrums, but Clay recognized them as Ryan’s way of communicating. Ryan was referred for a screening and began speech therapy, which helped with his expressive language and added what Clay calls “tools to his box.”  

Today, Ryan is in fourth grade and thriving, and he graduated off his IEP in second grade.  

Bettencourt described another student who arrived at Husky Pups with an autism diagnosis and an IEP. The district provided therapy support while also giving the child opportunities to interact with typically developing peers.   

“Just spending time in the preschool around her peers brought her out of her shell, and she was able to make friends and get exposed to general education,” Bettencourt said.   

“Now that she’s in kindergarten, she’s flourishing.”  

Before teaching preschool, Clay was a high school teacher, and she saw firsthand the consequences when identification comes late.   

“Identification wasn’t coming until about fourth grade,” Clay said. “A child has lost so many things in those years and their confidence. They become known as the naughty kid, and that’s something we can fix so early on.”  

Husky Pups serves 16 to 18 children each year, and Bettencourt said the early identification work happening there has made a noticeable difference when children enter kindergarten.   

During the 2025-2026 school year, 62% of the 13 Husky Pups students entering kindergarten were proficient in math, compared with 48% of kindergartners overall.  

The pattern holds as students move up, with all 10 former Husky Pups students now in second grade proficient in reading, compared with 54% of second graders overall.   

Preschool gives children a head start on language, early literacy and math skills, along with independence, classroom routines and relationships with peers and adults, Bettencourt said.   

Achievement is shaped by many factors over time, she added, but the results offer encouraging evidence of the value of investing in early learning.  

Early identification is one of six priority areas for Idaho AEYC’s ELC network, and every ELC is required to include early identification work as part of its funding agreement.  

Heather Lee, Idaho AEYC's Early Learning Quality Manager, said Idaho AEYC worked with Marsing ELC to strengthen best practices around looking at children’s behavior without labeling it as good or bad.   

“Early identification is about recognizing all the big things children accomplish every day. When we identify potential delays early, we can provide guidance which allows suspected delays to be minimized or even mitigated completely,” Lee said. 

“Marsing ELC has made early identification a focus of its program, and the quality of what children and families receive looks at the whole child. That means helping children become joyful learners who are ready to thrive in school.” 

For Clay, Idaho AEYC’s Strengthening Families training changed how she sees both her students and herself.  

“Idaho AEYC has made me not just look at students and the family dynamic differently. It made me look differently at myself and realize how we are all learning as we go and none of us have all the answers,” Clay said.   

The goal at Marsing ELC isn't to have all the answers; it's to keep learning, listening and making sure young children and families have the support they need along the way.