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E.g., 06/07/2024
Maki Park
Experts & Staff
MakiPark_WebReady

Maki Park

Senior Policy Analyst

[email protected]
(202) 266-1922

@makisnack

Maki Park is a Senior Policy Analyst for Early Education and Care at the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, where her research focuses on issues affecting Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and immigrant families in early childhood systems. Additionally, Ms. Park provides technical assistance to state and local actors, supporting their efforts to work collaboratively across local communities to address program quality and access issues facing immigrant and refugee families in home visiting, child care, and pre-kindergarten systems.

Media Requests
Michelle Mittelstadt
+1 202 266-1910
[email protected]

General Inquiries
+1 202 266-1941

Previously, Ms. Park worked as Director of Outreach and Program Manager at WorldTeach, based at Harvard's Center for International Development, where she oversaw recruiting and admissions operations and managed the organization's program in Guyana. She has also worked as an education consultant in Malawi and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkmenistan.

Ms. Park holds a master's in international education policy from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, and earned her bachelor's degree with a double major in French and government with a concentration in international relations from Cornell University. She also practices as a clinical mental health counselor.

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Recent Activity

Fact Sheets
October 2017

Dual Language Learners: A National Demographic and Policy Profile

As the share of U.S. children under age 8 who are Dual Language Learners (DLLs) increases, state policies have an important role to play in ensuring all young learners are able to get their education off to a good start. These fact sheets compare key characteristics of DLLs and their peers nationwide and in 30 states, and identify state policies that support equitable access to high-quality early childhood education and care programs.

Reports
August 2017

Quality for Whom? Supporting Diverse Children and Workers in Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

For children in U.S. homes where a language other than English is spoken, early childhood programs that are responsive to their needs can be key to later academic success. But as states refine their Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to assess such programs, immigrant early childhood workers with in-demand language and cultural skills may be left behind. This report examines the challenges these workers face and promising practices to serve diverse communities.

Fact Sheets
December 2016

State Sociodemographic Portraits of Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young Children

These fact sheets provide a sociodemographic sketch of parents with children ages 0 to 8 in the 30 states with the largest number of immigrant families, offering data and analysis of some of the key parental characteristics to help stakeholders identify populations that could be targets for early childhood and parent-focused programs working to improve child and parent outcomes.

Video, Audio, Webinars
November 17, 2016

Including Immigrant and Refugee Families in Two-Generation Programs: Elements of Successful Programs and Challenges Posed by WIOA Implementation

MPI experts discuss their analysis of data on U.S. foreign- and native-born parents with young children, along with their findings from a field study of select two-generation programs that serve immigrant and refugee families. They explore the implications of WIOA and recommendations for successful program and policy design.

Reports
November 2016

Serving Immigrant Families Through Two-Generation Programs: Identifying Family Needs and Responsive Program Approaches

Two-generation programs that weave together early childhood learning with adult-focused programs hold great potential to break cycles of intergenerational poverty for low-income parents with young children. Little research has been done on how these programs succeed with immigrant families. This report studies select programs and offers analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics of U.S. parents with young children.

Reports
April 2015

Immigrant and Refugee Workers in the Early Childhood Field: Taking a Closer Look

With the young child population in the United States rapidly becoming more diverse, the cultural and linguistic competencies of the early childhood education and care workforce (ECEC) are more important than ever. This report aims to fill gaps in knowledge of immigrants and refugees in the ECEC workforce and provides recommendations for strengthening workforce quality to better serve all children.
Audio, Webinars
June 2, 2014

Addressing Barriers to Successful Engagement of Immigrant and Refugee Parents of Young Children

The authors of the report "Immigrant Parents and Early Childhood Programs: Addressing Barriers of Literacy, Culture, and Systems Knowledge" discuss their findings on this webinar. They and other presenters detail the experiences and challenges faced by early childhood programs and immigrant and refugee parents as they connect with one another.

Reports
June 2014

Immigrant Parents and Early Childhood Programs: Addressing Barriers of Literacy, Culture, and Systems Knowledge

This report identifies the unique needs of immigrant parents as they try to engage with early childhood education and care programs. Parent engagement is a critical component of kindergarten readiness, but many immigrant parents face formidable barriers to participation. The report explores federal and local efforts for immigrant parents of young children and offers recommendations for better meeting their needs.

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