July 2011 Archives

Last week the Pew Center on the States released a report by economist Timothy Bartik with new estimates of the effects and cost savings taxpayers can realize from high quality prekindergarten programs:

• Reduction in special-education placements of 30 to 50 percent;
• Reduction in grade retention (K-8) by up to 33 percent;
• Cost savings of up to $3,700 per child over the K-12 years;
• Crime-related cost savings ranging from $2 to $11 per dollar invested.

While Bartik's research indicates that universal prekindergarten provides the most return on investment, states can see also see results by targeting at-risk children through programs like home visiting.

Bartik, senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, has just published a new book, Investing in Kids: Early Childhood Programs and Economic Development, on which the Pew brief is based.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Recently, the BUILD Initiative and the First Five Years Fund announced the formation of the Early Learning Challenge Collaborative, which will help states compete for Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge funds and assist them in implementing their plans for early learning. Another partner, the Birth to Five Policy Alliance, will join the implementation effort by sometime next year.

As Laura Bornfreund of New America Foundation notes, what this actually means in terms of money for states to get their applications written is yet unknown. In earlier rounds of Race to the Top, the Gates Foundation gave applicant states $250,000 to hire consultants, develop their plans, and write the applications. Whether the Early Learning Challenge Collaborative can match that money remains to be seen.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Last week, the New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative released this handy chart comparing the original K-12 Race to the Top with the new Early Learning Challenge in terms of the requirements for state eligibility, standards and assessments, statewide data systems, state conditions, and connections to other grades. "The administration views early education reform as an opportunity for building better infrastructure ... but places less of a premium on dictating how that infrastructure should be used," the group observes.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

This morning, my colleague Michele McNeil at Politics K-12 blogged the list of 36 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have expressed intent to apply for Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge funds. She was intrigued by some of the states that so far appear to be sitting this round out, notably Florida, California and Tennessee. Florida and Tennessee were winners last year, so perhaps they are ready to rest on their laurels and implement their earlier plans for K-12.

California may not be well-positioned to compete for Early Learning Challenge Funds because it is just beginning to develop a statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Although developing these is a high priority in the grant application, it's not clear whether states with a QRIS already in place will be more or less competitive than states with QRIS efforts just getting under way.

I'm interested in states that have signaled intent to apply but do not have state pre-K programs in place, according to the 2010 State of Preschool yearbook, published by the National Institute for Early Education Research: Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, and Wyoming. Hawaii's recent creation of a state early-learning coordinator shows its intent to ramp up early-learning efforts, but so far I have yet to hear what the other three states are doing that would get them ready to take on the Early Learning Challenge. Stay tuned, or better yet, send tips!

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

While early-education advocates are hailing the new Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge competition as a major advance in the field, debates are breaking out over the details.

For example, two well-respected thought leaders in early-childhood education, the National Institute for Early Education Research and New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative, take opposing viewpoints on whether the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge should encourage states to expand or narrow the age range of students served through their proposals.

Currently, the competition calls for states to focus on birth to age 5. However, NIEER's comments on the proposed guidelines warn this won't be as simple as adding strong zero-to-3 efforts to existing state pre-K and kindergarten programs, since pre-K programs mostly reach 4-year-olds. In a press call announcing the new competition, NIEER's executive director, Steven Barnett, referred to 3-year-olds as the "redheaded stepchildren" of most state policies, because they fall between zero-to-3 efforts and state pre-K.

NIEER recommends states "not be pressed to produce unrealistic plans for creating seamless, high-quality, birth-to age-5 systems with inadequate resources." Rather, they should be allowed to focus more narrowly on a subset of this age spectrum, "in the context of a broader plan for the entire system."

As an aside, even in states that recognize the importance of kindergarten, local finances may shortchange 5-year-olds. For example, Catalyst Chicago recently reported that the Chicago Public Schools routinely pays only for half-day kindergarten, leaving working parents scrambling, and shortchanging low-income children who need full-day kindergarten to catch up on school-readiness skills.

NIEER's comments also make the controversial assertion that the quality of early learning is so low generally that it would be better for states to focus on improving quality, especially in infant-toddler care and learning programs, before trying to increase access, a high priority in the current guidelines. NIEER warns that Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, given high priority in the guidelines, are not likely to drive substantial improvements, saying most programs will need more resources to improve than the financial incentives most current QRIS systems offer.

While NIEER recommends letting states narrow the age frame of their Race to the Top early-learning proposals as part of a relentless focus on improving quality, the New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative takes the opposite tack, pushing the feds to reward states that build pre-K-to-3rd-grade pipelines. The group would make that a "competitive priority" (meaning: must have) rather than an "invitational priority" (meaning: nice to have). It also suggests rewarding states that use Title I or other non-Race to the Top funds to create joint training opportunities for early educators and K-3 elementary school teachers, especially in the use and interpretation of kindergarten-readiness assessments.

Final guidelines for the competition are expected in mid-August. In the meantime, readers, what do you think? Is your state ready to take on pre-K-through-3rd-grade, or would your youngest learners be better served if the state took a smaller bite of the apple first?

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

A federal judge today ordered that North Carolina cannot limit the number of 4-year-olds enrolled in the state's pre-kindergarten program, long known as More at Four, the Associated Press reports. It's not clear yet whether the state will have to rewrite its 2012 budget to comply with the order.

The state's recently passed budget cut pre-K spending by 20 percent and made other changes, such as limiting enrollment of at-risk 4-year-olds to 20 percent of total enrollment.

Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr.'s order bars the state from limiting the participation of at-risk children. "It is the duty of the State of North Carolina to protect each and every one of these at-risk and defenseless children, and to provide them their lawful opportunity, through a quality pre-kindergarten program" guaranteed by the state constitution," Manning wrote.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

On July 12, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced the establishment of an Early Learning Advisory Council and tied the move to the state's intent to pursue Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge funds.

Rick Hulefeld, executive director of Children, Inc. in Covington, Ky., will serve as chair. The council's executive director is Terry Tolan, former president and CEO of the United Way of Kentucky. Tolan has a long track record of service in statewide early-childhood initiatives. The council has 26 members and is bipartisan.

The press release announcing the council's creation also said the governor's office will be Kentucky's official applicant for RTT-ELC funds. A core team of the governor's office, the new council, the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has been created to prepare the application.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Debate is already buzzing about whether the new guidelines for the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge competition will increase pressure to test preschoolers.

Though the Department of Education has taken pains to insist its requirement that winning states develop and administer a kindergarten-readiness assessment means kindergartners will be screened in developmentally appropriate ways to identify their strengths and weaknesses, that's not the message people are hearing.

Last week in Salon, journalist David Sirota panned the new effort as "aiming to subject 4-year-olds to high-stakes testing."

In yesterday's Huffington Post, Rae Pica gave a more measured perspective, correctly pointing out that kindergarten-readiness assessments are given when students enter kindergarten, not before, and are supposed to help teachers meet kindergartners' needs, not serve as an entrance exam that kids pass or fail.

However, Pica rightly noted that what's supposed to happen and what actually happens are not always the same thing, pointing to the Bush administration's effort to assess 4-year-olds in Head Start. That effort was quickly scrapped after criticism that the tests were not developmentally appropriate.

In a discussion on the BAM Radio Network, early childhood expert Sharon Lynn Kagan acknowledged that "premature and inappropriate assessment" could drive curriculum inappropriately or be used improperly in teacher evaluation. (Full disclosure: I was also a panelist in the discussion.)

I'm looking to hear from states where kindergarten-readiness assessments are already in place about their impact. So far, I've heard Colorado and Minnesota are among the state leaders in this direction. If your state uses a kindergarten-readiness assessment, please comment on the blog about what the test is, how it is used, and whether you have observed any unintended consequences since the assessment rolled out.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Recently, Pre-K Now released a report highlighting five districts where pre-K has been at the center of turnaround efforts: Whitley County, Ky.; Pittsburgh Public Schools; St. Charles, Mo.; Guilford County, N.C.; and Fresno County, Calif..

The report recommends that federal School Improvement Grants "explicitly include funding for comprehensive pre-IK-through-third-grade strategies." Current guidelines permit full-day kindergarten and pre-K to be strategies for "transformation" schools.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Yesterday, Minnesota Public Radio reports, Judge Kathleen Gearin ruled that all three state child care assistance programs should remain funded during the state government shutdown.

For more than a week, Minnesota's non-critical governmental services have ground to a halt. Child-care subsidies have dried up, and this is having a significant impact on low-income families and the centers that serve their children.

The New York Times reports "the most significant impact so far for Minnesotans who do not work for the government appears to be in the sort of everyday thing, like child care for the poor, that had been easy to overlook for those not dependent on it."

The article features a teenager who has been drafted to watch her younger siblings since her mother can't afford day care without the subsidy. Day care centers say enrollment has already plummeted in just a few days.

According to the national Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, has requested that child-care assistance be deemed an essential government service, and the court-appointed monitor determining what services can be provided during shutdown is considering the request.

I'm curious about the potential long-term impact of even a short break in child care subsidies. It doesn't take long for centers to lay off staff or close when money gets tight. If families make alternate arrangements, will they come back when the budget crisis is settled? What will this do to the quality of early learning their children are receiving? Are older children being pulled out of summer programs to watch their siblings, and will this exacerbate summer learning loss?

Would love to hear from Minnesotans on what they are seeing so far. Did the restoration of funds come in time to keep centers open, or had centers already taken unsustainable operating losses?

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NASEP) released a report this week detailing 10 steps policymakers can take to build stronger pathways from pre-K through 3rd grade.

The 10 steps:

1. Better integrate federal policy, regulation and funding to help local communities create coherent pre-K-3 systems.

2. Coordinate and streamline state and local governance.

3. Expand funding for pre-K through 3rd grade learning, with a focus on ensuring at-risk children have access to high-quality, full-day learning experiences across the continuum.

4. Direct funds to high-quality programs.

5. Leverage and integrate private funds with public resources.

6. Create an aligned continuum of research-based, age-appropriate standards for young children that focus on social, emotional, cognitive, language and physical development, as well as academic skills and creative learning.

7. Build an effective, well-compensated early learning workforce through high-quality teacher and administrator preparation programs, professional development and continuing education. Ensure educators are well versed in the full continuum of early childhood education.

8. Develop and administer age-appropriate assessments to guide teaching and learning and increase program effectiveness.

9. Develop state and local longitudinal data systems that include pre-K program and student information.

10. Research and evaluate models of early learning integration and alignment. In this tough economy, wise investments in early learning can help ensure the development of a new generation of successful learners, workers and citizens.

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

At the same time the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) is urging policymakers to clear the way for a strong pipeline from pre-K to 3rd grade, it also has advice for principals who want to start or strengthen pre-K programs in their schools.

The latest issue of Principal includes an article co-written by Ellen Frede and Steven Barnett of the National Institute for Early Education Research. It details 10 steps elementary school principals can take right now to offer pre-K in their schools and link it to success in the early elementary grades.

Their recommendations include:

1. Reach out to local partners to create your own early learning advisory council. The group can share resources, training opportunities and develop transition plans for children as they move from pre-K into your elementary school.

2. Convert special education preschool into inclusion preschool by enrolling non-disabled students and adjusting the curriculum to meet everyone's needs. "This is a low-cost way to increase pre-school enrollment," the report advises.

3. Use extra classroom space to offer pre-K, either on your own or in partnership with local Head Start agencies or other providers.

4. Learn what makes pre-K effective and how its expectations, curriculum and teaching methods differ from those used in elementary school. Don't impose the same expectations for behavior, cleanliness, order and scope of curriculum as you would in higher grades. Young children need a balance of group and self-directed activity, and plenty of time for messes and make-believe play.

5. Revise your teacher evaluation and coaching tools to include criteria that match best practices in early childhood education: use of small groups and other means to individualize instruction, for example.

6. Hire only qualified pre-school teachers. Don't just reassign a 4th grade teacher to pre-K. Even 1st grade teachers with an early childhood certificate may not know best practices for working with 3- and 4-year-olds.

7. Do everything you can to create diversity in the classroom. Bring together students of different abilities, incomes, ethnicities, etc. All children benefit from pre-school. The most disadvantaged students benefit the most, and learn the most from more advantaged peers.

8. Provide dual-language classrooms, so all children learn both English and another language. Children in dual-language classrooms (where both languages are regularly used and practiced by everyone) learn just as much English as those in monolingual English classrooms, plus they learn another language. Bilingualism is associated with greater flexibility of thinking and higher achievement.

9. Design professional development days expressly for teachers in the pre-K program and the early elementary grades. Don't just expect pre-K teachers to adapt elementary teaching strategies for younger children7—expose everyone to the developmental span and create standards that keep kids on track to achieve from pre-K through 3rd grade.

10. Look at your school through the eyes of a 4-year-old, and make sure schoolwide practices meet their needs, too. An assembly appropriate for 4th graders almost certainly won't engage 4-year-olds. Cafeterias aren't good environment for young children to eat. Is your playground equipment safe for 3s and 4s?

Posted by Maureen Kelleher at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend