NIEER - Early ed news roundup 11/13

Early Education News Roundup

November 13, 2009
Va. keeps focus on early-childhood education, official says
Despite tough economic times, Virginia has taken a strong interest in maintaining its programs for early-childhood education, according to a member of the Virginia Board of Education.

November 10, 2009
Editorial: Pre-K program is doing what it should
Nevertheless, getting the pre-K students ready for kindergarten and first grade, it would seem, satisfies a major objective of the program, and that is what the report found. The program was not designed to create super students who would show up their peers for the next dozen years but to put disadvantaged students on a par with those who were tutored at home or attended private preschool programs.

November 9, 2009
State to rate child-care providers on star system
The state of Montana is gearing up to roll out a program next year that would take the guesswork out of finding top-notch early childhood programs. Called STARS to Quality, the voluntary program would rate early childhood programs, either centers or in-home providers. Programs would be evaluated based on early childhood education research.

November 9, 2009
Opinion: Parental anxiety is ruining playtime
It is well known that many preschool parents have become super-anxious trying to give their kids a leg up on kindergarten, but I didn't realize just how nutty things had become until I talked to several dozen preschool program directors. The preschool directors wanted to discuss the worsening anxiety they see in parents who recognize that children are being required to read and write in kindergarten and want to make sure little Johnny and Joanie stay on track -- whether or not they are developmentally ready (and lots aren't).

November 8, 2009
Editorial: Don't mess with success: Gov.-elect Chris Christie should catch up on preschool
Today, more than 50,000 kids are in these programs, most of them in the poorest urban districts. Class size is limited to 15, and teachers must be college graduates with special training in the workings of the young mind and how it learns.

November 7, 2009
Alarm raised on early education
Sherri Killins, commissioner of the Department of Early Education and Care, told a group of legislators at the Statehouse Thursday only 15 percent of children who apply for subsidies for early education or after-school programs receive state aid. There are 22,774 children on the waiting list, according to Killins, who estimated the cost for subsidizing tuition for all of the children at $214 million.

November 5, 2009
Study: Preschools Could Save Prison Costs
According to a new study, the state could save millions of dollars in prison costs by getting more children in preschool. The study also found that 28 percent of kids who did attend preschool were sent to jail in their lives while 52 percent of those who didn't attend preschool went to jail.

November 4, 2009
Opinion: Early education: Aim for quality across spectrum of providers
There are currently a variety of options for delivering high-quality early learning opportunities to Massachusetts' children. This "mixed delivery system" is comprised of community-based child care centers, public preschool programs, after-school and out-of-school-time programs, family child care homes, Head Start programs, and child care provided by families, friends, and neighbors.

November 4, 2009
Editorial: Investment in early childhood good use of stimulus dollars
Gov. Rick Perry recently named his appointees to the newly formed Texas State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care, a new council mandated by the federal Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007. The council will direct spending on a pending $11.3 million federal stimulus grant and work towards developing a comprehensive system of early childhood education and care that ensures coordination and collaboration among early childhood programs throughout Texas.

November 2, 2009
Report: Tenn. Pre-K Not Effective After Second Grade
A new report shows the effectiveness of Tennessee's pre-kindergarten program diminishes after the second grade, but supporters say it still provides a valuable foundation that will help at-risk children succeed. The report commissioned by the state comptroller's office late last week reveals kindergarten students who participated in the pre-K program performed better academically than a group of those who didn't.

October 30, 2009
State budget crisis threatens pre-K programs
If Illinois pre-K administrators and educators are given the same budget they received last year — which amounted to a 10 percent reduction from the previous year — cuts would have to be made across the state. More than 9,500 3- and 4-year olds could go without pre-kindergarten.

NIEER - Early Ed hot topics 11/13

Growing Fear: Middle Class Kids Are Being Left Out of Public Pre-K
Pre-K program expansion is in retreat or at risk in a number of states, and dire warnings are already being issued for future state budgets. At the same time, new federal resources are aimed primarily at disadvantaged populations. Understandably, fear is growing that more working families who don't qualify for targeted programs, yet can't afford private pre-K, will increasingly have no pre-K. Cutting back on pre-K for working families, as Ohio has already done by eliminating its Early Learning Initiative, is a policy mistake since there is no sharp differentiation in school readiness or later educational success between those above and below the poverty line, says NIEER co-director Steve Barnett. Instead there is a strong linear gradient along which school readiness, achievement, and graduation rates increase with income. Barnett blogs on the subject this week in Preschool Matters … Today!

Top Brass Call for more Public Pre-K to Help Address Shortage of Recruits
Retired military leaders belonging to the group Mission: Readiness delivered a shocker recently when they released a report saying that 75 percent of young people in the U.S. can't join the military because they are too poorly educated, are overweight or have a criminal record. Calling the situation a threat to our national security, they made a strong case for devoting more resources to public pre-K to help address the problem. The group called on Congress to act this year. Former NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark issued something sounding like a direct order, telling Congress it "must pass" the Early Learning Challenge Grant. That bill, which would provide $1 billion in funding for early childhood programs each year over the next 10 years, passed the House but is unlikely to be taken up in the Senate until it finishes with health care reform.

NIEER International Study: Early Interventions in Many Countries Have Positive Effects
Early childhood interventions around the world vary widely and not much exists in way of research reviews looking at their effectiveness. To help address that gap, NIEER recently completed a meta-analysis of studies looking at 30 interventions in 23 countries, finding that conditional cash transfers, early care and education, and nutritional interventions all had moderate positive effects in all domains of development. Educational interventions had the largest effects on cognitive abilities. NIEER Assistant Research Professor Milagros Nores, who led the study which appears in Economics of Education Review, says studies looking at effects at later ages found the gains were lasting. She blogs on the subject in Preschool Matters … Today!

Cause for Alarm? Preschoolers Watching Loads of TV
Data released this week by Nielsen News shows that American children aged two to five are spending more than 32 hours a week — or more than 4.5 hours a day — watching television. That's four more hours per week than kids six to eleven. The younger kids are also more likely to watch advertising in playback mode than the older group. The Lehrer NewsHour took up the issue in a segment recognizing the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. It featured Michele Obama, Big Bird, Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell and Lisa Guernsey, author and director of the early education initiative at New America Foundation. Read the transcript here.

Early Lessons Radio Program Revisits Perry Preschool, Charts Pre-K's Progress
American Radio Works producer Emily Hanford traveled to Yipsilanti, Michigan, to capture the essence of the Perry Preschool Program, interview Perry teachers, and document the advances in early education that emanated from it and other programs that are the basis of so much high-quality research. Her program, called Early Lessons has been drawing rave reviews. Read articles by Hanford about the project and download the program at the American Radio Works web site.

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Late Oct. Early Ed. news roundup

Bill to link preschool with economic development
[South Dakota state Sen. Tom] Dempster and a committee have been working to draft a bill that would not ask for an appropriation this year; it would simply set up a structure for preschool standards that would at least enable the state to start receiving federal money designated for such programs.

October 28, 2009 Too much TV for children, U.S. and local experts say
According to a report released Monday by Nielsen, a TV ratings organization, the amount of television kids watch has reached an eightyear high, with children ages 2 to 5 watching more than 32 hours a week and those ages 6 to 11 watching more than 28 hours. The study was based on children's consumption of live TV, recorded TV programs and game-console use. Child experts say that's just too much television.

October 28, 2009 Preschools, parents forced to adjust amid cuts
The state's fiscal crisis is striking some of its most vulnerable residents -- 4-year-olds whose private, nonprofit preschool programs are losing state funding. A 50% cut in grants, part of the school aid budget that became official last week, means more than 20 programs won't get their funding renewed and 2,000 slots will be lost.

October 27, 2009 Oregon among 13 states increasing preschool spending
Oregon's Legislature was among 13 state legislatures that increased spending on prekindergaten education, the Pew Center reports this month in an annual report on legislative action affecting prekindergarten. The Oregon Legislature in 2007 put an additional $37 million into Oregon Head Start, nearly doubling the number of 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families served by the state to 6,550.

October 25, 2009 Opinion: What's missing from the N.J. gubernatorial debate? An economic plan for the future.
New Jersey was poised to expand this preschool program to even more children when the recession devastated state revenues. Whoever occupies the governor's mansion next year needs to appreciate the value of this resource and build on it by making New Jersey's highly effective early education programs available to children who need them in school districts across the state.

October 25, 2009 New kindergartners: Many kids not ready to learn
Across the Columbus school district, tests given each fall show that more than three of every four kindergarten students aren't ready to learn. This is a particularly difficult challenge for two reasons: Preparing small children for school isn't usually the responsibility of a K-12 school district, but it still must spend time and money to help kids catch up.

October 23, 2009 Ohio led states in preschool cutbacks
Ohio slashed preschool programs more than any other state in the nation, according to a new report. The state-by-state analysis found that Ohio cut the largest percentage of funding from preschool education and, as a result, will deny services to the largest number of children.

October 23, 2009 Study: Preschool education beneficial
A three-year, statewide study of 10,002 preschoolers from low-income families has shown a good education before kindergarten vastly improves a child's ability to learn.

October 23, 2009 Education Department - desperate to fill pre-K seats or lose funds - posts ad on craigslist
With a deadline looming next week to either fill the seats or lose state funding, the Education Department is scrambling to reach parents by any means possible. Up for grabs are the 5,400 pre-K spots for 4-year-olds, including more than 900 for coveted full-day programs.

October 22, 2009 Pre-K funding up, despite state budget woes
Despite declining revenues and budget shortfalls, state funding for prekindergarten is expected to increase by about 1 percent, or $5.3 billion, nationally in fiscal 2010, says a report from a group that advocates high-quality early-education programs.

October 22, 2009 State disputes report on cuts to prekindergarten spending
The report found that Massachusetts this fiscal year cut 22 percent of the budget for prekindergarten education, more than every state but Ohio, which cut 33 percent of its money for such programs. Massachusetts state officials called the report skewed.

October 21, 2009 Preschool exercise aids learning, Head Start says
The program is designed to fight childhood obesity by teaching kids exercise and nutrition, the younger the better. The program's design is based on brain research, which shows movement fosters proper brain development in young children.

October 20, 2009 R.I.'s first public preschool program teaches cooperation, perseverance
Rhode Island was one of 12 states that had no investment in early childhood education until the opening this fall of seven state-sponsored pre-kindergarten classrooms in four cities — Providence, Warwick, Central Falls and Woonsocket.

Hot Topics - NIEER

from Rutgers University

Michigan Pre-K Funding: The Plot Thickens
We previously reported that the new FY 2010 Michigan budget calls for cuts to the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) of about 7 percent — a figure that, while unpleasant, seemed to ensure the program would remain largely intact. That's not such a sure thing now that budget language has surfaced enabling school districts to opt out of providing state pre-K and apply their GSRP funding toward shortfalls in their K-12 budgets. The temptation to opt out of providing state pre-K could be high since per-pupil K-12 education received across-the-board cuts ranging from $292 to as much as $600 per pupil depending on the district. Michigan school funding does not rely on local real estate taxes the way other states do, so districts have less leeway to make up for shortfalls. Lori Higgins of the Detroit Free Press explains.

Nationally Speaking, the Recession has Shut Down Progress in State Pre-K
Total state investments in pre-K will be effectively flat in FY10 rising slightly more than 1 percent to $5.3 billion, says Pre-K Now's recently released Votes Count: Legislative Action on Pre-K Fiscal Year 2010 report. After accounting for inflation, that is a decline in real dollars devoted to pre-K. Of course, some states fared better than others. Among the highlights are these: • Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia increased or are projected to increase pre-k investments by a total of more than $187 million. • Thirteen legislatures increased investment in existing programs by nearly $130 million: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. • Ten states decreased funding: Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Washington. • Among the best news is that two states with no state pre-K approved pilot initiatives: Alaska and Rhode Island.

Where Pre-K Was Cut the Consequences Will Be Deeply Felt
Whether you're an Ohio parent with a child slated to attend the Early Childhood Education program before it was eliminated or a North Carolinian whose preschooler is denied access to the state's down-sized More at Four program, the consequences are deeply felt — and all to often, lasting. NIEER co-director Steve Barnett addressed implications of the cutbacks in a recent guest blog for Thrive By Five Washington.

Latina Paradox: Despite Healthy Births a Cognitive Lag Shows Up in Toddlers
Poor immigrant Latina moms live healthier-than-average lifestyles and have healthy babies but by the time their kids are 2 or 3 years old, lags appear in cognitive skills such as understanding words, speaking in more complex ways and performing simple tasks say Bruce Fuller (University of California) and other researchers who analyzed data from a nationwide tracking study of more than 8,000 infants born in 2001. They point to low maternal education, large family size and home learning practices as causes. The article appears in the Maternal and Child Health Journal.

The Race is on with H1N1 Flu and Pre-K is a Critical Line of Defense
President Obama's declaration of a state of emergency regarding H1N1 flu comes on the heels of news that the virus may be spreading faster in some areas than the flow of H1N1 vaccine. That puts more pressure parents and child care and preschool providers to prepare. This week's Preschool Matters ... Today! blog post addresses the issue. We welcome your thoughts. Click here for the blog: Preschool Matters ... Today!

Pew Request for Proposals
With generous support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Pew Home Visiting Campaign – a project of the Pew Center on the States – is requesting research proposals to build the evidence needed to inform public policy decisions and advance effective practice in maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting programs. Pew is interested in large- ($125,000-$250,000 total award) intermediate- ($50,000-$125,000), and small- (less than $50,000) scale research projects that can be completed over an 18-24 month period. The full RFP and application materials are available on the Pew web site. Deadline: December 21.

Success By 6 event to be held 11/10

The Literacy Council of St. Joseph County is teaming up with the Michiana Family YMCA to bring you a FREE literacy "Success by 6" program for children ages three to six and their parents.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 from 10am - 11am at the Michiana Family YMCA, 1201 Northside Blvd. South Bend, IN between IUSB and Farmers Market.

This program is open to all YMCA members and the general public. Non-members can register by calling the front desk at 574-287-9622 (YMCA). YMCA members can register online at www.michianaymca.org under special events.

Success By 6 is identified with a community's activities undertaken to ensure that children under the age of six enter school prepared to be successful throughout the years that follow. The initiative is spearheaded by the United Way as a neutral convenor in the community capable of bringing business and civic representatives to the table as powerful friends of children.

David Kollar
Membership & Marketing Director
Michiana Family YMCA

Getting tough on education?

Don Wheeler

In a pretty stunning story October 7, 2009 reporter Joseph Dits summarized presentations made by state education officials and their consultants at a Chamber of Conference of St. Joseph County summit.

I call it stunning because, though Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Bennett, revealed he had some quibbles with state policy, he chiefly laid the blame for poor results at the feet of local schools and their boards. And this exchange reported by Mr. Dits was very troubling.

Businessman Perry Watson III told the leaders they failed to speak of the importance of preschool and primary education. He also said he believed they need to talk about educating parents, saying, "There's a disproportionate burden on the system, and parents always get a pass."

Bennett said he is a proponent of preschool but doesn't think it's a cure for what's ailing education in kindergarten through 12th grade.

If Bennett really believes that, then he needs to be introduced to the vast number of studies which will pretty much unanimously confirm he has no idea what he's talking about. He can start with the National Institute of Early Education at Rutgers University. They routinely cover the results of state sponsored universal pre-kindergarten programs, which invariably provide measurably improved outcomes. The states of Oklahoma, New Mexico and others have had such programs in place for years. And Indiana....?

This state won't even fund universal full-day Kindergarten. Heck, Kindergarten attendance in Indiana is optional. Don't feel like enrolling your kid? No problem.

Additionally, Indiana cuts off admittance to grade level (by birthdate) earlier than any other state. This means children in Indiana begin their state provided education later than in anywhere else in the country. Add this all up, and it’s clear that one of the hardest jobs in the world is being a First Grade teacher in Indiana. In your classroom you'll find children with two years of pre-school - plus Kindergarten - under their belts, and possibly children who are in a school setting for the first time in their lives. There will be at least twenty of them altogether.

I wonder how Mr. Bennett figures these children who start late will make up these deficits. Does he think that it’s the job of these valiant First Grade Teachers to even the odds by the years end? Does he think these kids need to pull themselves up by their book straps? Neither will happen.

And this wisdom comes from a man who proposes that it isn't that important to know how to teach in order to teach. His claim is that people who major in the subject area they plan to teach, will learn more about the subject than an education major will. (I guess he thinks folks will figure out that teaching stuff on the job). This was neatly refuted by the Dean of the School of Education of Indiana University who pointed out that it is often the case that education majors are required to take more hours on the given subject than is required of students majoring in the subject.

And of course Mr. Bennett has tried to be helpful in so many other ways. Like insisting that school corporations can no longer have any half days in lieu of full days. This effectively eliminated the twice a year parent teacher conferences, because it would have required renegotiating teacher contracts in order to add days to the school calendar. As my daughter's first grade teacher pointed out, if what he wanted was to make sure children received a minimum time period in classes in a given year, he could have instituted an hour requirement - as Michigan uses. All a school system would need to do is lengthen the school day by a few minutes - not subject to contract amendment.

And you'd think if Mr. Bennett was looking for success for students, he'd advocate that all school systems utilize programs with proven track records - and admonish the legislature to fund such programs. Wouldn't you?

The Wilson/LiPS reading program, which focuses on the decoding and encoding of English words and stimulating phonemic awareness, has a stunning record of success. Introduced to the South Bend School Corporation by Hay Primary Center Principal Craig Haenes, through private donations it has become available in three other schools - but the School Corporation has no money to take it system wide. On the other hand, Wilson LiPS might be useful to our High Schoolers if we ignore early education.

In short, Mr. Bennett inspires little confidence he’s up to the task of improving our schools.

BPA in plastics linked to female aggression

The first study to examine the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on children's behavior found that girls whose mothers had the highest levels of the chemical during pregnancy were more aggressive at age 2 than other girls. BPA is commonly used to make plastic bottles durable and reusable. The findings closely match previous animal studies.

Neurobiologist Louann Brizendine told USA Today she fears small amounts of BPA, which mimics estrogen, contribute to "masculinizing" the female brain at a critical point in its development.

October 7 early ed news round-up

October 7, 2009 Pre-K'ers Are Stepping Out
This year Georgia will see the enrollment of its one-millionth pre-k student and the entire state is celebrating. This year, the Georgia pre-k program will serve 82,000 children in approximately 4,100 classrooms in Georgia, according to information provided by Dade Elementary School counselor Tinena Bice.

October 7, 2009 Commentary: Fund Early Childhood Education
Despite the impressive funding gains, though, less than 30% of the nation's 3- and 4-year-olds are served by publicly funded early education. Federal action is needed urgently to reinforce states' progress and accelerate the growth of early learning programs.

October 6, 2009 Tax shortfall means cut in Denver preschool tuition aid
A tax-supported program that helps Denver families pay for preschool will cut its tuition reimbursements by 25 percent next fall — another victim of the economy. Early-childhood education advocates also fear greater cuts to the statewide Colorado Preschool Program that pays for preschool for the state's neediest children.

October 6, 2009 Governor Jim Doyle signs mandatory kindergarten into law
It's a law that some hope will put more teeth into the effort to get kids in school, and get them there early. Supporters says early education pays off by not only preparing kids [for] the first grade, but higher graduation rates later.

October 5, 2009 Educators start children on computers as early as pre-school
For these 5- and 6-year-olds, technology is a way of life, no different than using a crayon for their writing lessons. Technology has become increasingly prominent in classrooms and ever more important for the young generation.

October 4, 2009 Initiatives promote reading skills
In August, nearly 200 kits in the "Reading for All: Born Learning Lending Library" program were provided to local child care providers. The purpose of the Lending Library kit is to encourage early literacy among the children in child care and to promote literacy within the child's home.

October 1, 2009 Teachers stand by early education
A joint House-Senate committee recommended last week to keep funding that is designated for Great Start Readiness and other specific programs, but if the proposal passes, school districts may eliminate or downsize these programs to make up for a $218 per pupil cut.

October 1, 2009 Panel: Early child care, education remains key
Early child care and education is a growing concern for people across the nation. Two local groups recently undertook a survey that identified various issues and needs surrounding early child care in the Yankton area.

September 29, 2009 Official: Preschool could be provided to all at same cost
Preschool programs could be made available to all of Arkansas' 3- and 4-year-olds without additional state funding, the state's new education commissioner said Monday.

September 27, 2009 It's never too young to learn, advocates say
Debra Lore, a nurse with the state Nurse-Family Partnership program, brought the book. Lore worked with [LaSarah] Todd through her pregnancy, helped her graduate from high school, and is now showing her how to give her daughter an early start on learning.

Pre-K works in New Mexico

from the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) - Rutgers University

Continued Impacts of New Mexico PreK on Children's Readiness for Kindergarten: Results from the Third Year of Implementation

By Jason T. Hustedt, W. Steven Barnett, Kwanghee Jung, Alexandra Figueras-Daniel
September 2009

The third report in NIEER's multi-year study of New Mexico's prekindergarten program shows that children who attended the New Mexico PreK initiative scored higher in early math, language, and literacy than children who did not attend the program.

The authors of the report found that:

Children who attended New Mexico PreK during the 2007-2008 school year scored higher on assessments of early math and literacy skills in comparison to children who did not attend. These skills include addition and subtraction, telling time, knowledge of letters, and familiarity with words and book concepts. Gains in early math and literacy at kindergarten entry can be attributed to participating in New Mexico PreK programs the previous year.

Separate sets of analyses conducted for PreK programs offered by the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) and the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) show that PED and CYFD PreK programs produce similar results.

When the researchers combined child assessment data from the first three years of the New Mexico PreK program, they found further evidence that New Mexico PreK produces positive impacts on children's early math, language, and literacy skills.

Read the complete report

Early education news round-up... mid July

July 17, 2009
Editorial: The value of preschool / One study, two lessons
The study found that Abbott students who attended preschool entered kindergarten significantly ahead of students who did not attend preschool. The advantages were most obvious in vocabulary, basic literacy skills and math, and the advantage lasted through second grade.

July 17, 2009
Preschool businesses get city tax break
Licensed, for-profit preschools and infant/toddler day care centers will receive property tax exemptions from the city under a bill passed Wednesday by the City Council. Supporters of the bill call it a matter of fairness, pointing out that K-12 schools already are exempt from property tax, other than a $100 minimum tax.

July 16, 2009
Opinion: Early education hones high skills
Tennessee's Voluntary Pre-K program is designed to teach children about their world, to understand relationships between other children and adults outside the family circle, to learn how to work together, solve problems and be successful, productive citizens.

July 16, 2009
Pre-K program will enroll millionth child
his fall, Georgia's Pre-K Program will become the first in the nation to serve its millionth child, Georgia first lady Mary Perdue said Wednesday.

July 15, 2009
Bill Would Spend More To Make College Affordable
Besides Pell Grants, $10 billion of the estimated $87 billion in savings from eliminating subsidies would go toward early childhood education, increasing the number of poor children with access to pre-kindergarten, among other things.

July 13, 2009
Are they ready for kindergarten?
Quite simply, school officials and others say, the need for preschool services is far greater than the resources available.

July 13, 2009
Gov unveils study that shows Abbott preschool program is working fine
The Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects study found that children who participated in the Abbott preschool education program outperformed their peers in the first and second grades.

July 13, 2009
Towards Universal Pre-K: An Update from West Virginia
But West Virginia -- like Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois and New York -- is also committed to building towards a voluntary, universal pre-k program for four-year olds.

July 12, 2009
State program to get 4-year-olds ready for school still a work in progress
With one of the highest access rates in the nation for 4-year-olds, Florida's program has been held up as a nationwide model, but with one of the lowest rates of per-child spending, experts say it has a long way to go.

July 12, 2009
Letter-to-the-editor: Helping Students, in and Out of School
Policy should instead be built on two undisputed foundations: only students who can read well can be educated well, and reading is a skill learned early, by third or fourth grade.

Resources
The Role of Technology in EC Teacher Education: Global Perspectives
This report from the World Forum Foundation's 2008 Working Forum for Teacher Educators discusses the role of distance education in delivering education for teachers. Authors Selena Fox and Chip Donohue share perspectives instructors should consider when launching a distance education program.

Kindergarten Readiness Data: Improving Children's Success in School
This policy brief from Children Now looks at the various aspects of using kindergarten readiness observation tools and the benefits of doing so for local and state education stakeholders. It draws on data from counties in California that have kindergarten readiness observation projects. The projects have enabled the counties to monitor their success in prepring children for school. The brief also looks at the ramifications of building the local endeavors into a statewide system.

Why Isn't Johnny in Preschool?
This report from Chicago-based POWER-PAC looks at why preschool attendance lags among children who are at most risk. Drawing on more than 5,000 interviews in low-income neighborhoods, it provides recommendations on how to increase enrollment.

NIEER news roundup

July 2, 2009 Poll shows that when it comes to children, Michigan taxpayers don't mind spending a little more
The Lake Research Partners' poll showed that 74 percent of Michiganders are in favor of investing in early childhood development even if it raises their taxes. According to the Lake Research Partners poll, half of Michiganders believe the state already spends too little on early childhood development and education; six percent said the state spends too much.

July 2, 2009 Report Calls For New Initiative To Improve Math Education For Preschoolers
To ensure that all children enter elementary school with the foundation they need for success, a major national initiative is needed to improve early childhood mathematics education, says a new report from the National Research Council. Opportunities for preschoolers to learn mathematics are currently inadequate, particularly for those in low-income groups, says the report, which is intended to inform the efforts of Head Start, state-funded preschool programs, curriculum developers, and teachers.

July 1, 2009 Now preschoolers, too, are immersed in Chinese in Woodstock
The Yu Miao Chinese Immersion Preschool, at the former Our Lady of Sorrows School — just two blocks from Woodstock Elementary — offers an array of activities that help children learn Mandarin and gain skills in preparation for kindergarten. The preschool believes that just as young sprouts grow into great plants when given good nutrition and a good environment, so young children grow into great people when given good education within a caring context.

July 1, 2009 A tale of two preschool programs
Two programs, two departments, one goal: Give low-income children a head-start on their education by engaging the family in a subsidized preschool program. As the Even Start early childhood program lies on the chopping block, its close cousin, Head Start, is receiving billions in new stimulus funds.

June 30, 2009 As Many as 27,000 Children Cut From Preschool in New State Budget Plan
The latest budget proposed by the Illinois General Assembly cuts as many as 27,000 children -- most of them from low-income families -- from Preschool for All programs. High-quality preschools, like the programs funded through Preschool for All, provide valuable learning opportunities that far too many low-income children don't otherwise get.

June 29, 2009 Colo. education officials take early step in setting new standards
Next, the State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education plan to implement the definition as mandated by a bill passed in 2008. The bill, titled "Preschool to Postsecondary Alignment," directed state agencies to create a plan to expose students to options for life after high school graduation.

June 29, 2009 Editorial: Make preschool a funding priority
What may be Minnesota's most important educational report card was issued earlier this month, and the marks weren't good. The fall 2008 results of a yearly school readiness assessment of new kindergartners were down from 2007 on all five aspects of development measured.

June 29, 2009 Relationships Improve Student Success
When students are underachieving, school policymakers often examine class size, curriculum and funding, but University of Missouri researchers suggest establishing relationships may be a powerful and less expensive way to improve students' success. In a review of the research they show that students with positive attachments to their teachers and schools have higher grades and higher standardized test scores.

June 28, 2009 Letter-to-the-editor: Early learning cuts dropouts and crime
Research shows that high-quality early learning is an effective strategy to increase graduation rates. Long-term studies of high-quality preschools have found that at-risk kids who do not attend these programs tend to drop out of high school and abuse illegal drugs. They are 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18 and five times more likely to be repeat offenders by age 27.

June 25, 2009 Opinion: Preschool is a key to boosting graduation rates
The good news is that we know how to put our kids — and with them, our families, communities and economy — on the path to success. A new report by the RAND Corp. underscores what I have seen in almost four decades of working in education: We must start early.

June 24, 2009 Some Nashville schools will test smaller class size
The plan calls for no more than 25 students per teacher in grades 10-12, 20 students per teacher in grades 4-9 and 15 students per teacher in prekindergarten through third.

June 24, 2009 Study evaluates school readiness in Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) recently released results of its 2008 school readiness study, which has received some criticism by the Legislature for its data collection process and results analysis. This year's results show, based on information collected in 2008, that between 87 and 96 percent of 5-year-old children in the state were "in process" or "proficient" in physical development, the arts, personal and social development, language and literacy, and mathematical thinking, according to a press release from the MDE.

June 24, 2009 Preschool program faces ax from possible state budget cuts
The vote on the budget is Tuesday. If passed in its current form, [Early Learning Initiative] programs around Ohio would be phased out by Aug. 21.

NIEER Hot Topics 7/2

New NRC Report: National Initiative Needed to Address Math Education in Pre-K

Opportunities for children in pre-K to learn mathematics are currently inadequate, a situation that needs to be addressed through a national math initiative, says a report released today by the National Research Council (NRC). Intended to inform the efforts of Head Start, state pre-K, curriculum developers and teachers, the report says the amount of time devoted to math needs to be increased in all public and private pre-K settings. Among its recommendations are that instruction concentrate on two areas — the concept of "number," including activities such as counting and determining relative quantities, and geometry, including activities that promote spatial thinking and measurement. Many of the issues brought up in the report are addressed in NIEER's new brief, Math and Science in Preschool: Policy and Practice.

Texas Governor's Surprise Veto Leaves Many Disappointed

When Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed House Bill 130 late last month, it came as a surprise to many in politics and early education. The bill, which included $268 million to raise pre-K standards and provide full-day instruction, was sponsored by fellow Republican Representative Diane Patrick. The bill enjoyed what one advocate termed the broadest bipartisan support of any bill in the last session of the legislature, and its framers had consulted the governor's office. Perry defended the veto, saying any new funding for pre-K might better go toward expanding access to half-day programs for disadvantaged children. He left $25 million in the budget for that purpose.

Illinois Budget Battle Threatens Progress of Preschool for All

Trouble is brewing for Illinois' acclaimed Preschool for All Program. This week, Governor Pat Quinn said he'll veto the latest budget proposed by the state's General Assembly because it cuts human services such as early childhood programs. According to the Ounce of Prevention Fund, the Assembly budget would cut as many as 27,000 children from Preschool for All. Quinn wants to generate $4 billion through an income tax increase — something the legislature is resisting. House Speaker Mike Madigan says he will call lawmakers back in mid-July to override the Governor's veto. Illinois isn't the only state facing big cuts. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is recommending elimination of the state's Early Learning Initiative launched in 2005 to provide full-day, year-round pre-K to children of working families.

Joan Lombardi Joins Administration for Children and Families

Well-known early childhood expert Joan Lombardi has been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development in the Administration for Children and Families. Lombardi, who is the founding chair of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance, also served in the Administration for Children and Families in the 1990s.

NIEER Early Ed. news roundup

June 3, 2009Generals: Youths unfit for military
The future strength of America's military may rest with our pre-school children. And unless things change, that worries a group of senior retired military officers who foresee a generation that is incapable of defending the nation.

June 3, 2009Nationally, statistics show Head Start programs work
A national Head Start impact study by the Society for Research in Child Development for the Department of Health and Human Services found evidence of the program's benefits on low-income families. The study found nationally, Head Start reduced the achievement gap by 45 percent in pre-reading skills between Head Start children and the national average for all 3- and 4-year-olds.

June 3, 2009Editorial: Invest in early childhood ed
The City of San Antonio recently awarded new contracts for its Head Start Program, and the Texas Legislature approved $25 million for a grant program to allow school districts to expand their half-day pre-k programs to full-day if they want. The bill, however, carries a stipulation that a school district would have to use at least 20 percent of the grant funds to contract with one or more community providers.

June 3, 2009Recession May Have Lasting Impact On Kids
The current recession could be over by the year's end, but its impact on children will continue through next year and may virtually erase decades of improvements in American children's well-being, according to a new report by the Foundation for Child Development. The recession's impacts -- especially on poor and very young children -- could be profound unless policies are changed to help strengthen families in times of hardship and to acknowledge the importance of early childhood education, child advocates said Wednesday.

June 2, 2009Inclusion for preschoolers with disabilities
Until this year, Denver Public Schools would have placed Arianna with other preschool kids with disabilities in a self-contained classroom staffed by special-education teachers and therapists. This year the district tried out a pilot program to include 50 kids with disabilities in six of its preschools, and Arianna is in one of them.

June 2, 2009TV Interferes With Infants' Language Development
Television reduces verbal interaction between parents and infants, which could delay children's language development, says a U.S. study that challenges claims that certain infant-targeted DVDs actually benefit youngsters.

June 2, 2009Stop the Violence: The Preschool Problem
Some believe access to high-quality early education may be the key to helping stop the violence. The problem is those children considered to have the greatest need for preschool are the least likely to be enrolled.

June 1, 2009A Changing Student Body
A study tracking a group of children born in 2001 found that those living in poverty are less likely to have someone read to them, tell them stories or sing to them. At age 4, children in families at or above the poverty line were better able to recognize letters, numbers and shapes.

June 1, 2009Budget crunch delays preschool expansion
Governor Corzine's preschool expansion plan — a major part of the new school funding law that won constitutional approval by the state Supreme Court last week — is on hold, with no funds for new classes included in next year's recession-crunched budget.

May 29, 200953 preschools launch this fall, but state misses goal
Another 53 Iowa schools will launch preschool programs in the upcoming school year despite a 23 percent reduction in state money that was promised two years ago, education officials announced Thursday.

Hot Topics (NIEER) 6/4

CWI Creators: Recession to Wipe Out Most Family Well-Being Gains Since 1975

The data won't be available for another two or three years, but The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) has issued a special report that projects the extent of impacts of the current recession on family well-being. The report says the percentage of children in poverty is expected to peak at 21 percent in 2010. At some point next year, 27 percent of children will have at least one parent not working full-time year-round. Median annual family income will decline from $59,200 in 2007 to $55,700 in 2010. While income for female-headed households will drop, the steepest drop will be for male-headed households. The FCD predicts social and health consequences as well.

Study Says California Needs to Work on Quality, Streamlining of Pre-K

The last in the series of RAND reports from the California Preschool Study recommends the state take measures to increase the quality of programs and make sure they get delivered to the state's 4-year-olds from families with income up to 240 percent above poverty level and 3-year-olds from families below poverty level. Among the near-term steps the report recommends are developing a quality rating system, providing web-based reports accessible to parents, and modifying contract rules for government-subsidized programs that reduce the amount of available funds that go unused.

Full-Day Head Start Pays Off in Montgomery County, MD

When Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools offered the district's Title 1 schools the opportunity to expand Head Start half-day pre-K to full-day, the idea was to improve the prospects for non-English speaking children and those affected by poverty. It worked. A research report from the district suggests the kids in full-day programs made significantly larger gains in reading skills compared with children in the half-day programs.

Pre-K to 3: How One School Builds on Pre-K Gains

Another example of leadership from Montgomery County Public Schools comes by way of a 7-minute boots-on-the-ground video from the New America Foundation. It follows education blogger Christina Satkowski on her visit to Broad Acres Elementary School where third grade classes have made a startling turn-around in reading and math. It's the result of a plan implemented by Superintendent Jerry Weast to expand high-quality pre-K and rewrite and align curricula through third grade in an effort to maintain the momentum of gains made in pre-K. He says these days, those gains at Broad Acres continue to build rather than fade.

Hot topics (from NIEER) 5/21

May 21, 2009
Raising kids with global intelligence
According to Mary Lynn Redmond, director of foreign language education at Wake Forest University, young children pick up a foreign language easier than older children and adults. "[Children in] elementary grades and preschool are very much in development stages. Their linguistic, cognition and emotional ability changes over time," she said, emphasizing the teaching approach is more "playful" and conversational.

May 21, 2009
Letter to the Editor: Is Universal Pre-K a Good Deal?
A Rand Corp. study in California found that children from all income strata attended poor-quality programs unless they could get into state-funded preschool. This says that government should help give families access to effective preschools.

May 21, 2009
Early Childhood Educators Fear Doomsday Budget
Staff at Illinois pre-schools are singing a sad tune after seeing the governor's plan to cut funding. If the state takes those funds away 100,000 Illinois children would be affected.

May 20, 2009
Governor cancels most tax rebates to trim budget
The state would also raise income taxes on people earning $400,000 to $500,000 and those earning over $1 million and cancel the expansion of a preschool program as part of Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to close a multibillion-dollar budget gap, the treasurer said.

May 20, 2009
Kids learn language from other kids
A new study, published in the journal Child Development by researchers from University of Virginia and Ohio State University demonstrates that classmates and peers play a role in the formation of both receptive (listening) and expressive (speaking) language skills. The researchers found that when a child's classmates had more advanced language skills, the child would be able to speak and understand words at a faster pace.

May 19, 2009
Column: Where do preschoolers learn most?
What we do know is that high-quality early childhood education has been proven to save up to $17 for every dollar it costs because it leads to better academic success, fewer special-education expenditures, greater chances for employment and productivity, and less risk of ending up in jail. We have known for decades that the key to school readiness and becoming a lifelong learner lies in the early experiences that help develop important qualities such as persistence, perseverance, curiosity, the capacity to tolerate frustration and the self-esteem to keep on trying even after making a mistake.

May 19, 2009
$244M cut proposed for Ohio pre-K programs
Early childhood advocates say planned cuts to Ohio's pre-kindergarten programs will shortchange children at the most critical time in their development, but the Ohio Senate says it simply has no more money to offer.

May 19, 2009
Gov. signs Wash. school reform plan
A plan to overhaul Washington's K-12 education system was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Chris Gregoire, but she vetoed parts of the measure focusing on preschool and gifted education.

May 18, 2009
Kids who learn math skills early have lasting advantage
Two Wilfrid Laurier University professors have found that when parents play with their young children, they hardly spend any time teaching them about amounts and numbers. Yet if parents knew how to talk about math concepts, they'd give their children an advantage that would last all through their school years.

May 16, 2009
Early foundation: Pre-k gives students much-needed boost
The early bird catches the worm, but Mississippi remains one of the few states in the nation without a state-funded pre-kindergarten program, which likely would go a long way toward moving the state up from the bottom rankings of educational progress.

NIEER newsletter - May

Hot Topics

Voters Give California Proposition 1D Thumbs Down
Proposition 1D, the California ballot measure that would have temporarily redirected up to 50 percent of the tobacco tax revenue dedicated to early childhood programs to plug holes in the general budget, went down in defeat this week. Early childhood became a target as the state's economic circumstances grew dire and political leaders recognized that California's First 5 Commission, which receives the tobacco tax revenue, currently have about $2.5 billion in unspent funds. California faces a deficit in the neighborhood of $20 billion.

Latest New Jersey Budget Cuts Pre-K Expansion
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's most recent budget proposal eliminates $25 million that was dedicated to expanding state pre-K. Until now, Corzine had spared the pre-K expansion initiative from the budget knife, but he said the widening deficit the state faces necessitated postponement of the expansion and elimination of property tax rebates for most homeowners.

Washington Governor Vetoes Pre-K Portion of State Education Bill
Chris Gregoire, the pro-pre-K governor of Washington state, surprised many when she vetoed the portion of the state's new education reform bill that focuses on preschool education. Gregoire, who had informed preschool advocates in advance, said she vetoed the pre-K part because it targets state pre-K to at-risk children only and doesn't recognize that all children in Washington deserve state-funded preschool education. She said provision of state pre-K requires further study.

New Study:

Preschoolers' Language Development Influenced by Classmates' SkillsUniversity of Virginia researchers have found that children’s abilities to speak and understand words developed faster when they were with classmates with better language skills. Andrew J. Mashburn and colleagues studied preschoolers in more than 450 pre-K classrooms in 11 states, testing their skills in receptive language and expressive language at the start and end of pre-K. The authors say that while the positive effects from classmates were small, they have implications in such areas as the desired composition of children in pre-K classrooms and how much emphasis language curricula place on teacher-managed instruction. The article appears in Child Development, Volume 80, Issue 3.

Melendez de Santa Ana Nominated for Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary EducationPresident Obama has nominated Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana to serve as Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education. The nominee is currently the superintendent of the Pomona Unified School District in California. Over her career she has served in various roles, including as a bilingual teacher, elementary school principal, and executive at the Stupski Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to education reform and innovation. Melendez de Santa Ana will oversee a number of programs that intersect with early education.

New on nieer.org

Ted Kennedy Talks with Preschool Matters about Challenges in Early Ed Senator Ted Kennedy is our Newsmaker in the issue of Preschool Matters just off the press. He talks about investing in a more coherent system of early education, the federal role in it, and bi-partisanship.

Other articles in the new issue include:

• Can State Pre-K Be Saved?
• Illinois: Building a Better ECE System
What Leads to Literacy?
• Discoveries: Predictors of Peer Victimization in Preschool

NIEER newsletter 5/8

Hot Topics

Early Education Gets a Boost in Department of Education's FY 2010 BudgetThere were pleasant surprises for early education in the Department of Education FY 2010 budget proposal released yesterday. Among them were two new programs — one to fund Title I preschool programs and another to help states raise pre-K program quality. Highlights include:

• $500 million for a new program of Title I Early Childhood Grants, which would encourage local education agencies to use a portion of the increase in Title I Grants to start or expand Title I preschool programs.
• $300 million for the new Early Learning Challenge Fund, a component of the president's Zero-to-Five initiative that will provide grants to state education agencies for the development of state plans and infrastructure to raise the quality of publicly funded early learning programs.
• $370.4 million for an expanded Striving Readers program that, in addition to promoting the development and implementation of research-based interventions that improve the skills of teenage students who are reading below grade level, would provide demonstration grants to local education agencies to implement comprehensive and coherent programs of reading instruction for children in the elementary grades.
• $162.5 million for Early Reading First, an increase of $50 million, for support of an additional 52 grants to enable early childhood programs to improve the quality of their early literacy services for preschool-aged children.
• $10 million for the Promise Neighborhoods initiative to provide 1-year planning grants to non-profit, community-based organizations to enable them to develop plans and establish partnerships for the development of comprehensive neighborhood programs for children and youth, from birth through college.

The proposed budget eliminates Even Start, the 20-year-old program supporting family literacy through early childhood education and adult education. National evaluations have found that children and adults participating in the program made no greater literacy gains than non-participants. The Obama administration said the resources dedicated to Even Start ($66.5 million in FY 09) would be better directed to other early childhood programs. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services has budgeted $124 million for competitive grants for home visitation programs. DOE's budget summary is available on the web.

Majority of Governors are Increasing or Protecting Pre-K

A national analysis of state-funded preschool released this week by Pre-K Now finds that as governors confront the fiscal crisis, the majority of them are either increasing or protecting their state's investments in pre-K for the coming fiscal year. Highlights of the analysis:

• Fourteen governors are proposing to increase pre-K funding.
• Thirteen are proposing to flat fund early education.
• Governors of three states with no public pre-K are proposing new programs.
• Five governors are proposing to cut pre-K funding.
• Total proposed state investment in pre-K for FY 2010 is four percent greater than FY 2009 appropriations.

Steering Stimulus Money to Pre-K is No Simple Matter

With funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) now allocated among the states, the push is on to develop plans for accessing the money. Since the intent is to be temporary, stimulative and beneficial to program quality, uses like teacher training and developing quality improvement and rating systems rise to the occasion. Less certain are other uses such as applying stimulus money toward keeping kids in state-funded pre-K where states are cutting funding. A number of resources have been developed in recent days that offer guidance on the various pots of funding contained in ARRA, what the stipulations are, and ways to go about qualifying for funds. The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center makes them available at its web site. Meanwhile, a new report from Learning Point Associates and Mission Measurement, titled The Education Stimulus: Too Big to Fail, examines challenges and concerns that are emerging among education leaders regarding application of the stimulus money.

Imaging Study Finds Brain Abnormalities in Toddlers with Autism

Science has known that an enlargement of the brain in young children often correlates with autism. A study reported in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry points to enlargement of the amygdala, the brain area associated with functions such as processing faces and emotion, as correlating with autism. A brain imaging study of 50 autistic children and 33 control children at ages 2 and 4 found that those with enlarged amygdalas at age 2 were more likely to demonstrate autistic behavior. The report said the autistic children had enlarged amygdalas prior to age 2 and they stayed enlarged through age 4.

Denver Preschool Program Ahead of Schedule

Denver Preschool Program CEO James Mejia reports that after 16 months of operation, enrollment has passed the 5,000-children mark, a milestone planners hadn't expected to reach this soon. In 2007, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper pushed for and voters approved a sales tax increase to fund preschool for all in the city.
Vinci is New Chief at the National Head Start AssociationYasmina Vinci has taken the helm as executive director of the National Head Start Association. She takes over from Michael McGrady who stepped in as interim executive director 17 months ago following the departure of Sarah Greene. Vinci was the executive director of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) where she served for 11 years.

Nazario Tapped for Post at HHS

President Obama has nominated Carmen Nazario to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. Nazario served as Administrator of the Administration for Children and Families for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 2003 to 2008. During the Clinton administration she was Associate Commissioner for Child Care in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families and later became Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Administration for Children and Families. She's currently an assistant professor at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico.

NIEER newsletter 4/24

Hot Topics

U.S. Senator Casey Introduces Bill That Would Boost State Pre-K
Congressional Quarterly reports that Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has introduced a bill (S. 839) that would provide grants for states to provide at least one year of voluntary high-quality pre-K to low-income children. Among its provisions, the Prepare All Kids Act calls for programs to use research-based curricula, have children-to-teacher ratios no greater than ten to one and require teachers to have bachelor's degrees within six years. Casey proposes housing the program in the U.S. Department of Education. He is quoted as saying "…what's lacking is a real strategy for early education beyond what we have in Head Start." The bill is similar to one by the same name that he introduced in 2007. He did not provide an estimate of the program's cost.

North Carolina's More At Four Program Remains in Danger
A budget plan passed in the North Carolina Senate calls for More at Four, the high-quality preschool program created by former governor Mike Easley, to be cut by $40 million and shifted from the Department of Public Instruction to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Senate budget is now in the House but Speaker Joe Hackney has as yet made no assurances the funding will be restored.

California Proposition 1D Would Siphon Money Out of Fund for ECE
It was more than a decade ago that Rob Reiner successfully championed Proposition 10, the measure that financed early childhood development programs through a 50-cent-per pack cigarette tax. Now a new ballot measure, Proposition 1D, asks voters to approve shifting nearly $1.7 billion out of the surpluses in that fund to help balance the state's general fund. Another ballot measure, Proposition 1E, would siphon $460 million from surpluses in a fund for mental health services. Senate President Pro Tem, Darrell Steinberg, a supporter of early childhood education who pushed for Prop. 1D termed it a "temporary sacrifice" but Reiner doesn't see it that way.

World Bank Report: Latin America Needs Early Childhood Development Programs
A soon-to-be published report from the World Bank says early childhood development services across Latin America cover only a small fraction of the beneficiary populations, noting that in terms of inequality of opportunity between the haves and the have-nots, the region is second only to sub-Saharan Africa. Titled "The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean," it addresses the substantial returns to be gained from investment in early childhood services in the various countries in the region and makes policy recommendations. Details are available at the World Bankweb site.

PNC Announces "Grow Up Great with Science"
The PNC Foundation announced this week it is pledging up to $6 million in three-year grants to regional science centers and nonprofits to expand science opportunities for preschoolers. Called "Grow Up Great with Science," it is part of PNC Financial Services Group's 10-year $100 million philanthropic effort in early education that started in 2004. Bank officials and guests, including Elmo from Sesame Street, celebrated the program's launch at the National Air and Space Museum - one of the 14 science centers to receive funding. A recent NIEER working paper shows that teachers tend not to support science and math learning in pre-K.

In Japan, Preschoolers are Attending "Cram Schools"
The Christian Science Monitor reports that in order to compete for the best primary schools Japanese parents are now sending their preschoolers and kindergartners to ojuken, or cram schools, where they take special classes and complete workbooks. The schools are viewed as supplements to Japan's play-based early education policy. Read the full story here: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0423/p06s01-woap.html.

Early Education News Roundup

courtesy of the National Institute of Early Education Rresearch - Rutgers University

April 8, 2009
Recession Stalls State-Financed Pre-Kindergarten, but Federal Money May Help
One of the most drastic expansions of public education in recent American history unfolded quietly in this decade, as dozens of states added free pre-kindergarten classes to their traditional kindergarten to high school offerings.

April 8, 2009
Playing Nice: Teachers Learn to Help Kids Behave in School
Daily playtimes are a centerpiece of the curriculum used in Ms. Randle's Head Start classroom, "Tools of the Mind" -- which incorporates training in "executive function," or the mental ability to control impulses and focus on new information, into children's routine.

April 2, 2009
Opinion: Easy does it with early childhood changes
North Carolina leaders have for some time recognized the critical role of early education in improving the later lives of young children. High-quality early education programs reduce the need for later remedial services, increase completion rates of high school and higher education, lower the rate of "retention in grade" and generally help those children who participate to lead more productive lives. The General Assembly is considering changes in our services to young children that will undo years of progress that have led to improved school performance.

March 30, 2009
State budget cuts threaten autism services for children
Early intervention and preschool special education programs were created to solve problems for children before they enter the public school system. Successful early intervention can decrease school failure and crime and increase economic productivity, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.

March 30, 2009
Helping kindergarten transition
Public schools in Ohio and across the nation need to do more to help youngsters make the move from preschool to kindergarten, according to a report released today by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Education Commission of the States.

March 29, 2009
Educators explore kindergarten standards
How do you know if a child is ready for kindergarten? That's a loaded question among educators, but the Ready For School Council in the Holland-Zeeland area is determined to come up with a common definition since Michigan school officials have not.

March 27, 2009
Stimulus Providing Big Funding Boost For Early Childhood
Advocates for early-childhood education are taking President Obama at his word that the billions of dollars for programs like Head Start included in the recent economic-stimulus package are merely a "down payment" on future expansion. So, while other education officials are weighing the risks of starting new programs with federal money that may dry up in two years, early-childhood programs are ramping up for expansion after years of being underfunded, their supporters say.

March 26, 2009
New formula for funding N.J. schools ruled legal
A Superior Court judge declared the state's school-funding formula constitutional yesterday, ruling in favor of the Corzine administration and against advocates for poor students. The decision could abolish the controversial Abbott program, which has sent billions of state tax dollars to 31 low-income districts including Elizabeth, Perth Amboy and Newark.

NIEER newsletter

Hot Topics

NIEER Releases State of Preschool 2008 Yearbook
NIEER's annual analysis of state-funded preschool programs, released today at the Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Washington, D.C., shows impressive expansion in enrollment and spending. Key findings in The State of Preschool 2008 include these:

• Enrollment increased by more than 108,000 children. More than 1.1 million children attended state-funded preschool education, 973,178 at age 4 alone.
• Thirty-three of the 38 states with state-funded programs increased enrollment.
• Based on NIEER's Quality Standards Checklist, 11 states improved the quality of their preschool programs. Only one fell back.
• State funding for pre-K rose to almost $4.6 billion. Funding for state pre-K from all reported sources exceeded $5.2 billion, an increase of nearly $1 billion (23 percent) over the previous year.

The new yearbook is available online.

Ed Secretary Arne Duncan Speaks at Preschool Yearbook Release
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined NIEER Director Steve Barnett for the yearbook release. "Early childhood education is an economic stimulus package," he told the crowd. Duncan underscored the need for high-quality programs if they are to be effective and outlined the various ways the economic stimulus package invests in early education, from expanding Head Start and Early Head Start to doing more for children with special needs to providing first time parents with home visits.

Duncan said President Obama's Zero to Five initiative supported by the fiscal year 2010 budget will leverage investments in early childhood education across the country to increase program quality, support coordination among programs and provide parents with information to choose the best programs for their children. He reiterated the president's plan to establish a Presidential Early Learning Council to examine better ways to integrate preschool programs and resources. "We are eager to listen ... but we are also issuing a challenge," Duncan said, referring to the need to raise program quality and the administration's plan to issue Early Learning Challenge Grants to reward quality and innovation. "Your preschool yearbook shows even though the quality of state preschool is up, five states meet fewer than half of the NIEER quality benchmarks. That's five too many," he said. Video of the yearbook release is available from C-SPAN.

Barnett: Outlook for State Pre-K is Uncertain, Proposes Federal Initiative
The difficult economy and sharply declining state revenues have combined to darken the outlook for the immediate future of state-funded preschool, NIEER Director Steve Barnett warned the group. He pointed out that in most states expenditures on pre-K are entirely discretionary and therefore easier to cut than expenditures for K-12 education. Barnett warned that several of the biggest states are considering enrollment cuts, reductions in program standards, and/or postponement of expansion plans — this despite the availability of new federal stimulus funds. Nine states have already cut funding for state pre-K and more have cuts under consideration. Perhaps the most disastrous proposal so far is legislation in the North Carolina Senate that proposes to zero out funding to the North Carolina Department of Education for More at Four, one of only two programs in the country that meets all 10 of NIEER's benchmarks for quality standards. The state Senate would substitute more poorly funded services through child care, though supposedly with the same standards.

Barnett pointed out that state pre-K receives no direct help from the federal stimulus package and that a new federal program to support state pre-K would be a big plus for expanding quality and enrollment. "We propose that the federal government commit to doubling the rate of growth in state pre-K while raising state quality standards so that by the year 2020 all 4-year-olds in America will have access to a good education," Barnett said. To do this, he said the federal government should match state spending with up to $2,500 for every additional child enrolled in state pre-K programs meeting basic quality standards. In addition, the federal government should facilitate increased integration of child care, Head Start, and state pre-K. NIEER's news release is available online.

Internecine

Don Wheeler

One of my supporters in the most recent school board elections, Fern Hamlin, used this word in a letter of endorsement. Here's what she said:

"I have had children in the South Bend schools for the last 20 years, and I continue to be appalled by the school board's inability to address the problems that plague our schools and hamper our children's achievement and success. We need school board members who can move beyond internecine squabbles and imagined personal slights. We need school board members who can identify and focus on the most important problems our schools face, investigate these problems thoroughly and rationally, work together to solve them, plan creatively for the future, and work in harmony with the school corporation administration."

I was intrigued by the word "internecine" - it was totally unfamiliar to me. So I consulted Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary - Unabridged, for some help.

I quickly dismissed the first definition. The reference to "great slaughter" seemed off her point. But the second one looked to be a better fit: deadly to both sides; mutually destructive.

I thought of this when a new squabble surfaced regarding school security advisory committees. From Joseph Dits and the South Bend Tribune:

School board President Sheila Bergeron is setting up a committee to look at security issues in the South Bend Community School Corp. She said it will include principals, teachers, students, parents, community members and school resource officers, along with board trustees Stephanie Spivey, Ralph Pieniazkiewicz and Bill Sniadecki.

She announced it at Monday's board meeting. Bergeron said the idea is to balance out the perspectives of a safety committee that Superintendent James Kapsa had just announced last Friday. Kapsa's committee includes the corporation's security director, Bill Bernhardt, board trustee Roger Parent, and four community members with experience in police work, education and Latino affairs: Michael Carrington, Charles Hurley, Carlis Phillips Sr. and Federico Thon. They said Friday they'll be talking with teachers, parents, students, juvenile court judges and anyone with a stake in school safety.

Trustee Bill Sniadecki said Monday he was disappointed, having learned about Kapsa's committee via an article in The Tribune. Sniadecki said he's shown an interest in security and was surprised to see Parent on Kapsa's committee. Parent explained that he'd shown an interest in security during last fall's elections. Kapsa said he was following through on goals and priorities he'd discussed with the board March 4, which include reaching outside the corporation for help.

It sounds like we're going to have rival groups addressing the same issues. Does this sound nuts to anyone else?

I don't know how this situation arose, but someone or some people made a mistake in communication. We should agree on that, figure out a way to blend these groups that is acceptable to all concerned, and concentrate on the important task.

People make mistakes. Grownups should be able to accept responsibility, accept good faith efforts of remediation when they feel wronged, and move on to the work.

Episodes like this cause a great deal of impatience in the community - and a deadly attitude of fatalism. And we just can't afford it.

A decision about our values

Don Wheeler

remarks as prepared for the business meeting of the South Bend Community School Corporation Board of Trustees - 3/16/09

I strongly favor treating Kindergarten as being of equal value to all other classes taught in the SBCSC, therefore; I urge you to fund universal normal school day length classes for our Kindergartners.

I think that it is unfortunate you are put in the position where a choice is necessary. I believe it is a dereliction of duty of the state that causes this. The State, while claiming the primal importance of public education, still considers Kindergarten optional, won’t fund it properly, and lets our children leave the system (of their own accord) both before they have enough experience to make an informed decision and before their education is anything like complete.

What the state ought to be doing is taking a hard look at programs like the State of Oklahoma has. For ten years, Oklahoma has offered an optional pre-Kindergarten year. The program has a sixty percent participation level at this point, and has paid many dividends to citizens of the state. Universal normal school day length Kindergarten classes are a given there.

Clearly, Indiana has a way to go ... and so here we are. You are the ones left to pick up the pieces.

I’m sensitive to those who voice budget concerns about this measure. But I’d point out that a budget is the clearest statement of values any organization or community can make. By passing this, the Board of Trustees will tell us that they understand a true commitment to successful outcomes for all our children requires maximum effort towards getting our youngest citizens off to the best start possible…even when it’s not easy to do. You will also be making a strategic, proactive decision – rather than a reactive one.

Should the Board fail to take this step – again – the message will be quite different – but equally clear. But I have confidence you won’t do that.

Since I have a daughter in Kindergarten, and some of you may not, I’d like to share some observations about the current program.

Sarah attends Hay Primary Center. Her principal, Craig Haenes championed and pioneered the Wilson LiPS reading program in the corporation. Her teacher, Dixie Eichorst, is one of those people who are both supremely good at what they do and seem to love it as well. And she’s done it quite a while. We have no worries for our daughter.

Sarah’s class only meets for about two and a half hours a day. When there are half days scheduled, her class typically doesn’t meet at all. But the expectations are the same for all Kindergartners - which means that there’s a fair amount of homework. As five-year-olds, Sarah and her classmates need to complete two pages (both sides) every day to keep up. Plus, her mother and I had to figure out how to cover the part of the day she would have been in class. We have the means and the flexibility to pull this stuff off, but what about the children in more challenging situations? Those children’s parents, parent, or guardian may not have the sort of advantages our family has.

Those children may not have the guidance it takes to form this new homework routine. Those children might not have two years of high quality pre-school (ECDC at St. Mary’s) behind them – as Sarah does – which could help them offset these problems. Some of those young citizens may be starting their public education experience at a disadvantage because of our current program. I am aware of no point in our current program designed to address that deficit.

Mr. Kapsa, Board members, let’s take this important step towards getting our children off to the best start possible. Let’s use this decision as a foundation to form a solid early education strategy, where all our students take a trip down Light Bulb Lane and gain the benefits of the Wilson LiPS reading program. And let’s look for other opportunities in the future.

We can’t try to play catch-up with High Schoolers as our main strategy for good outcomes. If we’re ever to break the cycle of too many of our children failing to graduate High School, we have to take every opportunity to get them to High School ready for High School – and to Intermediate Centers before that.

Clearly, the only way we can achieve transformational change in student outcomes is to concentrate on ensuring our children leave Primary Centers ready for the next step. The best way to achieve that is to give our youngest students the best start possible.

I ask that you adopt item 9.04 of tonight’s agenda.