Local education agencies (LEAs) are working to manage and maintain commitment and enthusiasm to numerous initiatives mandated by the state to improve student success. The rapid pace of scaling up many initiatives at once often leads to relying on local administrators and educators to interpret and unpack the complexity of implementing these mandates. Not all LEAs are well equipped to do that effectively. The Early Childhood Academy (EC Academy) professional learning community was developed collaboratively by staff from The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), The Center for Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) and the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE), in response to the need to support LEAs in effectively implementing new policies in early childhood. The goal of the EC Academy is to build a community of practice among New Jersey school districts to provide support in their understanding of critical topics and their application to early childhood. This is done in collaboration with the State Education Agency (SEA) to support LEAs in implementing initiatives effectively in early childhood settings. The focus is on building a common understanding and implementation of three key policy reforms: early childhood quality and program improvement, teacher evaluation, and Common Core State Standards. The Academy provides an opportunity for districts to come together to discuss these critical topics guided by literature, expert presentations, district presentations, and facilitated discussions across and within districts. This "FastFact" discusses what is known about LEAs, how the EC Academy was structured, and the impact the Academy had on relationships, knowledge and understanding, instruction, and policy. The report concludes with next steps for LEAs participating in this year of the EC Academy.