Head Start Study: Gains Made by 4-Year-Olds Don't Show Up in First Grade
The latest results from the Head Start Impact Study were released this week. As originally reported, providing access to Head Start has modest benefits for both 3- and 4-year-olds in the cognitive, health, and parenting domains, and for 3-year-olds in the social-emotional domain. However, the advantages of Head Start are no longer evident at first grade. NIEER Co-Director Steve Barnett said that, like the 2005 findings from the same study, the new results are likely to be taken out of context by opponents of publicly funded preschool education. He writes about the subject in his recent post on Preschool Matters ... Today!
White Students are No Longer a Majority in the South's Schools
Public schools in the American South no longer enroll a majority of white students when people of other backgrounds are considered, says a new report released by the Southern Education Foundation (SEF). Whites now comprise 49 percent of the student population while Blacks comprise 27 percent, Hispanics 20 percent, Asian-Pacific people 3 percent and Native Americans and others 1 percent. The SEF also says that in 2007, children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch became a majority in the South's public schools.
Universal Pre-K Recommended for Michigan Economic Development
If Michigan invested the additional $300 million per year required to raise participation of 4-year-olds in state pre-K from the current 18 percent level of attendance to 70 percent, the present value of that investment in enhanced workforce productivity would be $834 million, says Timothy Bartik, senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo. The universal pre-K recommendation is one of eight Bartik presented at the University of Michigan economic forecast conference. They're detailed in his new working paper What Should Michigan Be Doing to Promote Long-Run Economic Development?
NACCRA Report: The List of State Budget Cuts to Children's Program is Long
State Budget Cuts: America's Kids Pay the Price is a report just published by the National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies (NACCRA) that provides a state-by-state run-down of early childhood programs that have fallen victim to the budget axe. California and Connecticut are leading the pack by cutting nine programs each. Included are recommendations for future investment.
Jerlean Daniel to Become NAEYC Executive Director
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has announced that Jerlean Daniel is the executive director designate of the association. She will replace outgoing Executive Director Mark R.Ginsberg on July 1 of this year. Dr. Daniel has most recently served as a deputy executive director of the association and is also a past president. A member of NAEYC for more than 30 years, she joined NAEYC as a staff member after 21 years at the University of Pittsburgh where she served as a Chair of Psychology in Education. In addition, she was director of the University Child Development Center for 18 years and it received NAEYC accreditation under her leadership. Dr. Ginsberg, who has been NAEYC executive director since 1999, will become Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. We wish both of them great success in their new endeavors.
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