The message Vicki conveyed that day to Sam’s parents was simple: A high-quality early education will enhance a child’s opportunity to reach his or her full potential.

At that time BEEP, under Vicki’s guidance, and with her passion and experience, provided a generation of children with an early education that studies showed improved school performance through college. 

As Sam grew, spoke his first words at BEEP, succeeded in school and graduated college, his parents — entrepreneurs, not educators — came to understand and appreciate that early education is: 

The story of IntendED began with a 2003 meeting in a public school building in Brookline, Massachusetts. 

The meeting with Vicki Milstein, Principal of the Brookline Early Education Program (BEEP), and her staff, was held for the parents of a red-haired, three-year-old named Sam, who at that point did not speak.

• Not widely understood

• Not widely available

• Not widely adopted

• Not formalized, even in the most enlightened school systems 

• Limited even in the most advantaged places, but especially in underserved communities

• Disproportionately unavailable to low-income families

• Sought after nationally and internationally

• Underfunded and often overlooked by the philanthropic community

In 2019 Sam’s parents — Laura Trust and Alan Litchman — engaged with Vicki to take advantage of all the knowledge and learning she had compiled over forty-five years to create IntendED, a new ground-breaking, comprehensive, accessible program for educators and their students.

It was time that this knowledge be collected, distributed, and adopted so that every child, in any setting could experience a high-quality early education — and the right start in achieving their full potential.