Education Lab is a Seattle Times project that spotlights promising approaches to persistent challenges in public education. The Seattle Foundation serves as the fiscal sponsor for Education Lab, which is supported by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Ballmer Group. Learn more about Ed Lab and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

FEDERAL WAY — When the pediatrician handed her 1-year-old a book at their most recent checkup, Brittany Phillips noticed her daughter looking intently at the doctor and pictured the wheels turning in her little head.

“She’s looking at (the doctor) like, ‘Do I? Is this OK?’” Phillips recalled. “And intently trying to, I don’t know, I guess form a little bit of a bond, or something, like, ‘Are you a safe person? Can I take this thing from you?’”

G

See Full Page