019: Closing the Opportunity Gap Early with Regen Horchow

Childhoods By Wonderschool

Our guest on the podcast today is Regen Horchow, an advocate for early childhood education in Dallas and across Texas. Regen chairs the Dallas County initiative called Early Matters Dallas. This ambitious and broad-based coalition aims to reach new heights in kindergarten readiness and children's literacy around the state.

Growing up in Dallas, Regen’s childhood was pleasant and lively. Her parents, both involved in retail and marketing, were also big on entertaining. Regen remembers her sprawling childhood backyard filled with lively poolside conversation and the variety of guests always seated around the dinner table. Regen and her sisters were always expected to sit at the table and make conversation with her parents’ guests, which instilled an early curiosity for learning about others' stories and hearing from a variety of different viewpoints.

By high school, Regen had already begun to explore her passion for education. In our conversation, she recalls her parents’ straightforward but warm parenting style that emphasized progress over perfection and how it has helped her take both successes and failures in stride. Now a mother to three grown children herself, Regen shares how her parent’s love for people and positivity has shaped her outlook on parenting, education, and philanthropy.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The influence of Regan’s upbringing on her outlook and approach to education
• Why fostering conversation around the dinner table is an important skill for young, developing minds
• How helping children to appreciate progress over perfection can have a lasting impact

Supporting Resources:

• You can learn more about Regen’s initiative at EarlyMattersDallas.org

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

***

EPISODE CREDITS:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.