Entries for the 'News' Category

Friday, April 13, 2012 - Tulsa World
After years of leading the nation in access to prekindergarten programs for 4-year-olds, Oklahoma has fallen to second and rolled back its funding levels to what it was a decade ago, according to a national report.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - Orlando Sentinel
Research is inarguable: The best-trained teachers deliver the best results. Needy early learners often already are at least a step behind. By kindergarten, many are so far behind they never catch up — and eventually drop out.  Quality early learning programs produce different results.

April 9, 2012 - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today that $133 million from the 2012 Race to the Top fund will be available for continued investments in state-level, comprehensive early education reform.  The Departments intend to fund down the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 slate and invite the next five applicants, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin, to apply.

Mar 27, 2012 - Education Week
Concerns about early literacy skills are justified because reading skills at kindergarten entry predict later academic achievement. But guess what predicts later academic success better than early reading? Early math skills.

March 19, 2012 - The New York Times
New York Times Economix Blogger Nancy Folbre highlights a recent report by The Urban Institute and Thh Brookings Institution.  She points out that declines in federal spending on education and discretionary programs for low-income children erode equal opportunities for children.

March 14, 2012 - The Daily Journal, San Mateo, CA
Transitional kindergarten gains legislative support
Whether or not children who turn 5 late this year will start school in the fall is still in limbo after the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance rejected the governor's plan to cut funding Tuesday.

February 29, 2012 - New America Media
Too frequently, though, Latino children don't have access to these high-quality programs, due to their high cost, or long waiting lists. Children of migrant families face even greater barriers to accessing such programs, said [Robert] Forbes, of the county's migrant program.

March 1, 2012 - Education Week
A new study has found that "quality rating and improvement systems" designed to strengthen child care and early learning offer a road map to improvement, but need a few tweaks to be truly effective.

February 9, 2012 - Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, Howell, MI
Literacy experts agree that reading aloud to your child from an early age is the single best way to prepare him or her to learn to read. Those good reading skills will provide the foundation for acquiring other knowledge later on.

January 21, 2012 - Battle Creek Enquirer, Battle Creek, MI
We understand the budgetary constraints that all governments face. But cutting back on efforts to ensure a better educated populace surely will backfire. Strong schools help create a skilled work force, which in turn yields contributing, taxpaying citizens.

January 2012 - Developmental Psychology
This month Developmental Psychology published results from a follow-up study with the participants of the 1970s Abecedarian Project, which involved children from low-income families being randomly assigned to receive a early childhood education intervention or not. Conducted by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the new study examined outcomes at age 30 from 101 of the 111 children in the original project. Those who had attended preschool were four times more likely to have college degrees and be consistently employed full-time. They were also less likely to need public assistance.

Boston.com - January 17, 2012
The expansion in public prekindergarten programs has slowed and even been reversed in some states as school districts cope with shrinking budgets. As a result, many 3- and 4-year-olds aren’t going to preschool.

Bloomberg - February 22, 2011
With $10 million from hedge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin, List will track the results of more than 600 students-- including 150 at this school. His goal is to find out whether investing in teachers or, alternatively, in parents, leads to more gains in kids’ educational performance, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its April issue.

The Griffin experiment may show that the U.S. doesn’t spend enough on helping parents, List says. “We have too many eggs in the kid basket,” says List, himself a father of five. “We need to spend much more time and many more resources on helping parents.”

January 6, 2012 - The Bangor Daily News, ME
Investing in quality early learning simply makes sense.  It is estimated that every $1 invested in early learning will generate a total of $1.78 in sales for local businesses in Maine.

January 7, 2012 - New York Times
Perhaps the most widespread peril children face isn't guns, swimming pools or speeding cars.  Rather, scientists are suggesting that it may be "toxic stress" early in life, or even before birth.

December 16, 2011
Today, the White House announced that nine states—California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington—will receive grant awards from the $500 million Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge fund, a competitive grant program jointly administered by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

December 13, 2011 - The New York Times
With states under pressure to cut their budgets and federal stimulus money gone, low-income working parents are facing a paradox. Just when they have to work longer hours to make ends meet, they are losing access to the thing they need most to stay on the job: a government subsidy that helps pay for child care.

November 20, 2011 - The Atlantic
As reported in The Atlantic, small recent study found that preschool children with the poorest language skills improved their language skills when in average-ability classes, compared to peers who were in low-ability classrooms. These findings on peer effects are important evidence for the continued need for universal prekindergarten, rather than providing targeted services only to students with risk factors.

November 13, 2011 - The Star-Ledger
When done right, early childhood programs have shown promising success. They give poor kids a leg up, which helps them make better choices later in life.

November 7, 2011 - The Grand Rapids Press
The U.S. Department of Education has announced a proposal to create the first ever Office for Early Learning, tasked with overseeing the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grants and coordinating early learning programs across the department.

October 19, 2011 - New York Times

The single step that would do the most to reduce inequality has nothing to do with finance at all. It’s an expansion of early childhood education.

October 18, 2011 - Kalamazoo, MI

Investing in quality early childhood education is an important but often overlooked economic strategy, one that could potentially generate billions of dollars for and create up to new jobs.

September 13, 2011 - New York Times
According to the Census 1 in 6 people are now living below the poverty line with children being the hardest hit.

August 24, 2011 - Tulsa, OK
Despite Oklahoma's national reputation on early childhood education, top state officials made it clear Tuesday that entering the Obama administration's latest Race to the Top competition would not be a slam-dunk decision.

August 23, 2011

The final application for the RTT-ELC funds was just released.  The RTT-ELC will focus on building on states' existing strengths, developing common outcome standards and a tiered QRIS, supporting the early childhood workforce, and measuring outcomes and progress.

August 15, 2011 - Jackson, MS
The federally funded grant would last for four years for early childhood education.  Grant dollars would give better access to students in an effort to put MS's children on a better educational path.

August 5, 2011 - Oklahoma City, OK

Early learning programs are key to developing a strong future workforce. ... Kids who don't have access to early education opportunities are 25 percent more likely to drop out of school and 60 percent more likely to never attend college.

June 14, 2011 - Harrisburg, PA
Pennsylvania's budget deadline is inching closer and with it, questions about how the state will fund early childhood education.

June 9, 2011 - Associated Press
Preschool has surprisingly enduring benefits lasting well into adulthood, according to one of the biggest, longest follow-up studies of its kind.

May 25, 2011
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that the Administration plans to use approximately $500 million of the FY11 Race to the Top funding for a major competition in support of bold and comprehensive State plans for raising the quality of early learning programs.

June 3, 2011 - The Tennessean
Imagine a government program that guaranteed a $7 return on every dollar spent, led to more children graduating from high school and fewer being incarcerated as adults, and earned strong support from the business community because of the direct results it has on workforce development. Thankfully, one exists: Tennessee's high-quality voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

May 24, 2011 - The Detroit News
Governor Snyder's preschool proposals stress lifelong learning; consolidate overlapping programs.

May 8, 2011 – Athens-Banner Herald
As parents across Georgia get caught up in the wave of unemployment that's swept the state, often one of the family's first cuts is child care.

May 2, 2011 - The New York Times
Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman made a strong argument for good early childhood care.

April 21, 2011 — The Spokesman-Review
A child care center feels the pinch of state cuts, while subsidies end for some families.  The cuts are statewide, but hit low-income neighborhoods the hardest.

There is emerging research linking poverty occuring as early as the prenatal year to adult outcomes as far as the fourth decade of life.  Based on this evidence, the article discusses how policy might better focus on deep and persistent poverty occurring  very early in the childhoods of the poor.

March 10, 2011 — New York Times
US Senators are facing difficult funding decisions as they attempt to cut federal spending even popular programs such as Head Start, are not immune to funding cuts.

March 4, 2011 — MotherJones.com
Persistent, lifelong achievement gaps in children have proven difficult to close even with high-quality schooling. Could investing more in intensive early intervention services be the key?

February 8, 2011 — New York Times
A recent review found that 10 major social programs had been rigorously evaluated over the past two decades, using the scientific gold standard of random assignment. Only one of the 10 — Early Head Start, for infants, toddlers pregnant women — was a clear success.

February 3, 2011 — USA Today
Investing in early childhood education can yield impressive economic benefits — both for children and taxpayers, according to a National Institutes of Health study that followed participants until age 26.

January 24, 2011 — USA Today
Sad, but true: Most young adults in the U.S. cannot qualify for military service, and one major reason lies with our troubled educational system.

January 24, 2011 — Santa Fe New Mexican
Dozens of New Mexicans braved a brief snow shower at the Capitol on Monday to rally support for a proposal they believe would help raise school test scores, lower the dropout rate and curb teen pregnancy.

January 12, 2011 — Des Moines Register
Legislation being discussed in Iowa would remove funding for the state’s universal preschool program to help close a large budget gap.

January 9, 2011 — Science Daily
Babies, even those too young to talk, can understand many of the words that adults are saying, and their brains process them in a grown-up way.

November 16, 2010 — South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Fresh off its “Milk Party Tour” the Florida Children’s Movement now has its eyes set on the state capital to encourage lawmakers to support the healthy development of children.

November 16, 2010 — Eye on Early Education
A letter by economist James Heckman that was recently sent to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reform urges the commission and other leaders to invest in high-quality early education to protect our country’s future.

November 15 2010 — Chicago Tribune
Latino children in Illinois are half as likely as their white and African-American peers to be enrolled in a preschool program.

November 4, 2010 — The Connecticut Mirror

November 2, 2010 — nola.com
Geoff Nagle from the University of Tulane argues that the best way to improve our higher education system is by investing in our early childhood systems.

October 19, 2010 — LA Times
California Assembly Speaker John Perez is currently working on a plan that would fund the state’s child care assistance program through January 2011.

October 18, 2010 — Macon.com
As one of a handful of states that included early childhood in their Race to the Top application, Georgia will be using a portion of its $400 million grant to help the state’s youngest learners.

October 8, 2010 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
While learning shapes and letters is important to a child’s development, many educators say that playtime is equally essential for young children.

October 1, 2010 — Associated Press
Last Thursday, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation that would require a student to be age 5 by September 1. The earlier cutoff date will save the state $700 million which will be used to create a pre-k program for those born after September 1.

September 28, 2010 — Clarion Ledger
Investments in early childhood education could save the state of Mississippi $60 million according to a new report released by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.

September 23, 2010 — Catalyst Ohio
An article that looks at how states across the country fund early education.

September 23, 2010 — Palm Beach Post
A new movement in Florida, dubbed the “Milk Party”, is a non-partisan group trying to raise awareness on children’s issues and to make them a state priority.

September 10, 2010 — The Portland Press Herald
A new report from the business group, America’s Edge, shows that most employers do not believe their entry level employees are ready for the workplace. To combat this problem, many business leaders support investing in early childhood education.

September 9, 2010 — The Coloradoan
Even though Colorado state preschool programs have grown in recent years, some localities are seeing their waiting lists growing faster than their enrollment.

September 8, 2010 — The Arizona Republic
In November, a ballot initiative put forth by the state legislature will decide the future of the state’s early child development program and whether its funds should be appropriated differently.

August 27, 2010 — Washington Post

August 26, 2010 — Washington Post
Head Start Founder, Ed Zigler, discusses the evolution and the future of child care policy.

August 25, 2010 — Washington Post
James Heckman talks about the economic impacts of investing in early childhood education.

August 24, 2010 — Department of Education
The Department of Education recently released the second round of Race to the Top grant funds, rewarding nine and states and the District of Columbia for their education reforms.

July 3, 2010 — Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A new assessment of the child care quality in Georgia indicates that most young children are attending centers that don’t offer the environment they need to develop.

July 2, 2010 — Lansing State Journal

A group of lawmakers, early childhood professionals and parents have teamed up to increase funding for high quality early childhood programs in Michigan.

June 14, 2010 — San Francisco Chronicle
A bill currently working its way through the California state Legislature would move the current school cutoff date from December 2 to September 1 over a three year period resulting in a smaller age gap within grade levels and saving an estimated $700 million to the state over a year for thirteen year period.

June 10, 2010 — Bangor Daily News
Low high school graduation rates and criminal convictions for young people have had a negative impact on the militaries recruitment numbers in recent years. , High ranking retired military officials believe that high quality early education programs can help reverse this trend.

June 9, 2010 — Gazetteonline
Governor Chet Culver of Iowa recently announced that an additional 4,500 children will be able to participate in the state’s preschool program thanks to legislative support of funding the last installment of the four-year, $60 million commitment to preschool.

As states continue to struggle with budget issues, more and more families are having difficulty receiving child care assistance leading many to lose their jobs and financial independence.

May 17, 2010 — The Virginian-Pilot
With demanding hours and varying schedules, military parents often turn to non-traditional options for their child care needs.

May 14, 2010 — Washington Post
A study, which has been ongoing since 1991, shows a small but significant difference between teenagers who had high-quality child care and those who did not.

May 7, 2010 — Tulsa World
In a continued effort to improve and reform Tulsa’s educational system, The George Kaiser Family Foundation recently announce plans to open a third Educare center in the area.

April 26, 2010 — Connecticut Mirror

Parents and advocates in Connecticut are concerned that enrollment in the state’s child care subsidy program will be cut due to funding, as the legislature works to close budget gap of over $700 million.

April 25, 2010 — San Gabriel Valley Tribune
A quality rating and improvement system currently in use in some parts of California may soon be implemented statewide.

April 12, 2010 — Education Week

Despite recent setbacks early childhood advocates are hopeful that the 2011 budget will provide support for early childhood programs.

April 7, 2010 — Military.com

The U.S. Military is planning an expansion of its child care program to provide services to more children and families.

April 6, 2010 — Catalyst Chicago

Children attending public preschool in Chicago will soon participate in a program that will measure a student’s readiness for kindergarten.

March 26, 2010 — The Dispatch
A group of Mississippi business leaders are touring the state to promote the economic benefits of early education.

March 25, 2010 — Washington Examiner
A recent look around the D.C. area shows a significantly higher portion of funds are being used on incarceration rather than on education.

March 24, 2010 — The Sun Herald
A new Educare center funded by the Buffett Early Childhood Fund along with a number of other national and local partners is scheduled to break ground this summer in Washington, D.C.

March 15, 2010 — Politico
George Kaiser writes on how reforming the federal student loan program can benefit young, at risk children.

March 15, 2010 — L.A. Times
Evidence indicates that a parent’s mental wellbeing can have significant affects on their children’s future mental health.

March 11, 2010 — the Tennessean

A recent study released in Tennessee finds that the state’s pre-K programs are most effective for children from poorer families.

March 9, 2010 — the Des Moines
A new law in Iowa consolidates and makes changes to the state’s many early childhood programs in an effort to make them more efficient.
 

March 4, 2010 — Argus Leader
For the fourth consecutive year a bill that would lay the ground work for voluntary state-supported prekindergarten was killed in the South Dakota legislature.

March 4, 2010 — US Department of Education
Today the Department of Education announce 15 states and the District of Columbia as finalists in the department’s $4.35 billion grant program to reform the educational system.

March 2, 2010 — The Daily Reflector
North Carolina Lt. Governor Walter Dalton spoke this week at an early childhood conference on the benefits of early childhood education to the state.

February 23, 2010 — AlterNet
Recent studies have found that children with one or more undocumented parent who are arrested in immigration raids have increased levels of social hardship and stability.

February 23, 2010 — The Topeka Capital-Journal
An amendment being introduced in the Kansas Senate on Senate Bill 447 would increase the number of licensed child care operators and inspections in the state, according to its sponsor.

February 22, 2010 — AFP
Recent studies have shown that children who are born into poverty are likely to live in poverty as adults as well.

February 22, 2010 — Health Day News

Researchers at the University of Arizona have found that daytime naps can be important to learning in babies.

February 17, 2010 — Early Ed Watch Blog
In a recent interview, Marcy Whitebook of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment discussed the major differences in pay between 0-5 professionals and k-12 educators.

February 15, 2010 — KOB.com (NBC Affiliate)
Local law enforcement officials are encouraging New Mexico lawmakers to protect investments in early education in order to save money later on high school dropout and incarceration costs.

February 12, 2010 — Change.org
A recent study has found that gaps in child development are measurable in children as young as nine months old, and that the gap is even larger by 24 months.

February 11, 2010 — wtsp.com
U.S. General Perugino recently spoke to Florida lawmakers on the importance of early childhood education and its impact on military and private enterprises.
 

February 11, 2010 — KSDK.com (NBC Affiliate)

A new report from Voices for Illinois’ Children indicates that the economic recession has had a severe impact on the state’s children.

February 4, 2010 — Catalyst Chicago
Three Chicago area neighborhoods are working to get a piece of $210 million the President has pledged to support “Promise Neighborhoods” in the 2011 budget.

February 1, 2010 — The Topeka Capital-Journal
If passed Kansas Senate bill 447 will tighten licensing and requirements to help increase the safety of children in child care.

January 10, 2010 — Chillicothe Gazette

Initiatives such as Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids, (SPARK) help children transition from child care and pre-k into elementary school.

January 9, 2010 — Journal Sentinel

A Quality Rating and Improvement system could help improve Wisconsin’s early learning system and the Department of Children and Families is expected to release its plan sometime this year.

January 6, 2010 — Time
Learn more about the new science called epigenetics.

January 5, 2010 — Center for American Progress
In the complex effort to support stable, healthy families, home visiting programs have proven to be an important piece of the puzzle.

January 5, 2010 — Time
Recent studies have shown that strong negative experiences early in life have a profound effect on a child’s future physical and mental health.

January 5, 2010 — Science Daily
Young women whose parents participated in home visiting programs were far less likely to be convicted of a crime than their peers who did not receive the services according to a recent study.

January 4, 2010 — PRNewswire
According to a recent study from Children Now, improvements to California’s child health and education policies are necessary to the state’s long term economic future.

December 30, 2009 — Providence Journal

A premature birth can have lifelong affects on a child, but recent data indicates that home visiting and a prenatal support programs may have a significant impact in reducing early births.

December 9, 2009 — Georgetown University News
The US Secretaries of Health and Human Services, and Education recently agreed that more collaboration was needed between the two departments on early childhood education.
 

December 2009 — The Atlantic
Recent genetic research theorizes that given the right environment, at risk children can be some of society’s most creative and productive individuals.

November 12, 2009 — U.S. Department of Education

The final application for the federal Race to the Top Fund grants has been released by the Department of Education. 

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced the Department’s priorities for grants under the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). For more information visit the Department of Education’s website.

November 9, 2009 — Missoulian

The state of Montana is preparing to implement their new quality rating and improvement system, STARS, which will help parents pick high quality child care programs for their children.

November 12, 2009 — Huffington Post
James Mejia, of the Denver Preschool Program, claims that affordable pre-k is necessary for children from all socio-economic classes.
 

 An article from the New York Times provides several different perspectives on improving our educational system, including advice from Alliance supporter Susie Buffett. 

November 19, 2009 — Christian Science Monitor

Race to the Top funds now working through Congress could increase federal investments in early childhood education by $1 billion.
 

November 7, 2009 — Cape Cod Times

According to Massachusetts’ early education commissioner, over 20,000 children are on the waiting list to receive financial help for pre-k and other educational programs.

September 19, 2009 — New York Times

A new initiative, proposed by the President and passed by the House, would send $8 billion to early learning programs over the next 2 years.

September 21, 2009 — Early Ed Watch Blog
The last in a seven part series, this piece look at the future of Head Start programs in the states.

July 23, 2009 — Western Star

Many families in Ohio may soon find themselves ineligible for pre-k assistance due to state budget cuts.

July 22, 2009 — Early Ed Watch Blog
Recently the House Appropriations Committee passed an appropriations bill that funds early education programs within the Health and Human Services and Education departments.