Despite increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in our communities, our education system and workforce is under-prepared to serve dual language learners (DLLs), resulting in inequitable educational experiences for children. In early childhood education, this can contribute towards a readiness gap at kindergarten entry. This gap widens as children grow, yielding vastly different life and learning outcomes for DLL students. In response to this challenge, San Mateo County's Early Childhood Language Development Institute (ECLDI) aims to ensure that early learning professionals are skilled in and committed to... - preserving and encouraging children's home languages and cultures, - developing teaching and learning supports for dual language learning, - creating early learning experiences, practices, and policies that are culturally and linguistically relevant, and - cultivating meaningful connections with families of DLLs ... in order to promote quality early learning experiences that lay the foundation for DLLs' academic and life success. (author abstract)