Early Years
Staff writer Christina A. Samuels and Contributing Writer Marva Hinton provided insight, news, and analysis on early-childhood education. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: early childhood.
Early Childhood
Child-Care Provider Offers Free Ride to College for Thousands of Employees
Bright Horizons is offering its 20,000 child-care workers in the United States an opportunity to earn an associate or bachelor's degree in early-childhood education for free.
Federal
Preschool Development Grants Boosted Access to High-Quality Care, Report Says
More than 49,000 new or improved pre-K slots were created under the first version of the Preschool Development Grant program, the Education Department says; a second round of funding is expected for mid-August.
Families & the Community
More Isn't Always Better in Texting Preschool Parents, Study Finds
Researchers found that parents of preschoolers who got information via text to help prepare their children for kindergarten were more likely to opt out of the information program if they received too many texts per week.
English-Language Learners
Ohio Expected to Ban Most Suspensions, Expulsions for Youngest Students
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is expected to sign a bill into law that would ban suspensions and expulsions for children in prekindergarten through 3rd grade for minor offenses.
Federal
Head Start Advocates Seek $200 Million to Help Opioid-Affected Young Children
The National Head Start Association is asking for the funds to replicate programs shown to help children and families touched by drug abuse and trauma.
Early Childhood
Most States Still Don't Require Full-Day Kindergarten, Report Finds
The Education Commission of the States report on policies concerning early learning finds that only 15 states and the District of Columbia require full-day kindergarten.
Early Childhood
Child-Care Pay So Low, Many Workers Qualify for Government Help, Report Says
The 2018 Early Childhood Workforce Index by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley finds that the median salary for a child-care worker was $10.72 an hour in 2017.
Early Childhood
Census Could Miss Counting Vulnerable Children, Advocacy Group Warns
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in its annual Kids Count Data Book, includes a warning about the risk of missing young children in the upcoming census.
Early Childhood
Small-Group Instruction May Be Key to Mastering Early Math, New Study Finds
New research out of the University of Michigan finds that small-group instruction provided outside of school helps kindergarten students to make learning gains in math.
Federal
Millions of U.S.-Born Children May Lose Out If Trump Changes Rules for Public Benefits
Current debate is focused on families trying to cross the country's southern border, but other proposals under consideration by the Trump administration could affect millions of legally-present immigrants and their children.
Early Childhood
'Grassroots' Child-Care Advocates Bring Their Concerns to Washington
Members of 30 different state and national advocacy groups and unions are meeting in Washington, D.C., for the Grassroots Assembly for Child Care and Early Education.
Early Childhood
Summer Child Care Takes Big Bite Out of Family Income, Analysis Finds
A new report by the Center for American Progress estimates that, on average, parents nationally pay more than $3,000 on five weeks of summer care for two children.
Early Childhood
Troubled Ky. School District Gives Up Head Start Grant After Abuse Allegations
The 101,000-student Jefferson County district, the state's largest, says it will start an early-childhood program of its own to serve Head Start-eligible children.
Early Childhood
Connecticut Provides Resources to Ease Transition to Kindergarten
These tools encourage school administrators to gather as much information as possible about the students who will be entering kindergarten and the early-learning offerings in their communities.