Ruth Ann Moss, executive director of Small Magic, believes “big things start small.” Her organization tackles the early childhood ‘word gap’ through evidence-based programs, helping young children in Birmingham thrive. Formerly Birmingham Talks, Small Magic has quadrupled in size in five years and earned national recognition. In 2019, it launched an early literacy edtech initiative that has grown to be the largest implementation in the nation. Meet this month’s FACE of Birmingham, Ruth Ann Moss!
First, tell us about you!
I’m from the Mississippi Coast, but I’ve been in Birmingham for the past decade. Growing up as the oldest of five children shaped how I see the world; my siblings and I are all very different and very close. (Two of whom now live in Birmingham, too!) I have a 4-year-old daughter who loves the color pink, the library scavenger hunt, and baking cookies. As a big sister and former elementary school teacher, I was fairly well prepared for the drudgery of parenting, but I have been completely surprised and dazzled by the joy.
How did you find your way to your current role with Small Magic?
I did Teach For America in Mississippi right out of college and continued teaching elementary school for four years. TFA was the best possible thing I could have done as a young person. The lessons I learned in my classroom have been relevant to every stage of my career and the children I taught are the motivation for everything I do at work.
After four years in the classroom, I went to work on staff at Teach For America — Alabama, where I had the privilege of supporting early career educators across the state. In 2019, I got a call from a friend who wanted to connect me with the folks starting Small Magic (originally Birmingham Talks). I was captivated by the mission and joined the organization as the founding Executive Director a couple of months later.
Tell us about Small Magic’s mission and how it is showing up in the community.
Every single thing we do at Small Magic is based on the belief that children in our community deserve the very best from the very beginning of their lives. Our flagship program, Birmingham Talks, focuses on increasing the number of words kids hear so they’re prepared for kindergarten, college, and a life of opportunity.
Over the past five years, we’ve served over 4,000 children with best-in-class early education services, making Birmingham the largest municipal implementation of early literacy edtech in the country.
Why are early interventions for children so crucial, and why the focus on “word diet” for children under five?
[Statistically],90% of a child’s brain is formed by the time they turn five years old. If early education were a stock, everyone would be buying it: The estimated return on investments made in high-quality early education is $13 for every dollar. During these pivotal years, children absorb the words they hear daily and use the interactive talk they participate in to form dense neural connections.
This exposure to talk forms the basis for their future ability to communicate verbally and later to read: Babies need to hear about 21,000 words a day for optimal brain development. (This topic deserves more than a paragraph; see our website or an al.com op-ed if you’re interested in learning more.)
What’s one success Small Magic has enjoyed that has been especially meaningful to you?
One of my earliest beliefs at Small Magic was that we should only hire people who make others “feel like a million dollars.” We have worked hard to stay true to that value and assembled a truly incredible team in the process. Whenever I talk to parents, childcare providers, donors, or other community stakeholders and see someone’s face light up when they talk about an interaction they had with one of our team members, it makes my day.
Work moves at the speed of relationships, so seeing authentic trust between our team and the folks we’re lucky to work with is the definition of a win for me.
What is one thing you wish everyone understood about early childhood development?
Baby talk isn’t bad for babies! This is probably the most commonly held misconception I encounter in the wild, and I believed it myself until our team read Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind. No one would argue that you should babble to an 11-year-old. But that high-pitched intonation that we are somehow biologically wired to do with an infant? It actually helps their brain development, naturally grabs their attention, and encourages them to interact.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I love reading (mostly fiction), hiking, and trying new recipes. My daughter and I make a “bucket list” for every season. Her hopes for this spring include “meeting a chicken” and going for a scooter ride. Something about putting things like that on a list makes doing them even more fun. I also like puzzles: jigsaw, Sudoku, and games like Rush Hour or Kanoodle. My sister and I once assembled a team that won the Little Professor jigsaw puzzle competition by thirteen minutes, a fact of which I am disturbingly proud.
Who or what is inspiring you right now?
What my friend and colleague Cori Fain-Forrest is building at Moxi! Moxi is an innovative company offering flexible childcare, with centers opening in downtown Birmingham and Homewood this spring/summer. Cori’s passion and vision inspire me, and I can’t wait to see how her company grows.
What is your best piece of advice?
Not original to me, but I think a lot about a quote I used to keep taped to my laptop: “Show up, pay attention, tell the truth, don’t get attached to the results.”
Aside from faith, family, and friends, name three things you can’t live without:
Sleep, sunshine, and my library card.
LIGHTNING ROUND!
Last delicious local meal: Half of a burger at Chez Fon Fon. I also believe that food tastes much better when the company is good.
Favorite place to vacation: My family started going to the lake instead of the beach a couple of years ago, and it’s been perfect for this stage. Being on a boat with my family while the kiddos nap and the adults swim or wakeboard is such a delight.
Your go-to gift to give: I’m a big fan of consumable gifts: the Trader Joe’s Mango Tangerine candles, herbed salt from Golden Age, or whatever my daughter and I baked that weekend!
Favorite recent TV show binge: I loved Bad Sisters and just flew through the second season.
Book(s) on your bedside table: I’m reading The Wedding People by Alison Espach, Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld for fun, Radical Candor by Kim Scott, and Love to Learn by Isabelle Hau for work (but also fun).
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Birmingham women are doing inspiring work. Meet more of them over at our FACES archives!
