Babies come into the world ready to learn and all those coos and grunts that they make–and that their parents make at them–are stepping stones to fluency. Rory DePeolis and Shiree Harbick are studying baby babble to better understand how babies learn language. And: Too often when it comes to helping minority kids succeed in school, families are seen as part of the problem to solve. Instead, Melissa Wells recognizes the strengths that families bring. She shares her favorite kids books that help invite families into schools and celebrate their cultural strengths. Melissa was named an Outstanding Faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Plus: There’s a lot of discussion of teachers who are worried about how ChatGPT and other AI tools will affect their classrooms. But some teachers, like Jinhee Kim, are embracing ChatGPT as a lesson-planner, a discussion coordinator, and even a sympathetic ear for stressed out students.

Later in the show: In the early months of Covid, kids were sent home with packets for Zoom school. This was tough on all parents, but for parents with limited English language skills, it was particularly hard. Katherine Barko-Alva and her students started holding bilingual office hours for parents to call for help in Zoom-schooling. Today, the community that came from that meets monthly for Spanish-language parenting support. And: The relationships young children have with their teachers early in school make a big difference in later years. Kathleen Rudasill says that a child’s individual temperament can really affect how that relationship forms.