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News Archive for 2010

Sep 1, 2010 (The Huntsville Times, Huntsville, AL)
How important is pre-K education? Put your best teachers there
Just let Dr. Marquita Davis, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Children's Affairs Office of School Readiness, tell you. Pre-K programs - which prepare students for kindergarten - are so important that schools should put their best teachers with their youngest students, according to Davis.

Sep 1, 2010 (Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, IA)
Preschool worries prove premature
After a lackluster enrollment period this spring, a rush of parents enrolled their children in the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for 4-Year-Old Children late this summer.

Sep 1, 2010 (The New York Times)
Child's Ordeal Shows Risks of Psychosis Drugs for Young
A Columbia University study recently found a doubling of the rate of prescribing antipsychotic drugs for privately insured 2- to 5-year-olds from 2000 to 2007. Only 40 percent of them had received a proper mental health assessment, violating practice standards from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Aug 31, 2010 (Manhattan Times, New York, NY)
No room for 4 year olds
There is only space for half the applicants to pre-k programs
In July parents across Manhattan learned whether their children got into a universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) class this fall. There are far more applicants than seats. Borough-wide, two-thirds of kids won't get a seat.

Aug 30, 2010 (Global Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Lots to gain from investment in early childhood education: study
Ontario's decision to increase investment in early childhood education will provide a big boost to the provincial economy, according to a new study released Monday, however the extent to which the economy will benefit depends on how much the government is willing to spend.

Aug 30, 2010 (Daily Sparks Tribune, Sparks, NV)
Early for school
Local experts say sending a child to preschool is one of the best decisions a parent can make because of the valuable skills it teaches youngsters from an early age. These skills include socialization, recognizing shapes and colors, how to count — everything that can establish a solid educational foundation and set them on a path to a healthy lifestyle.

Aug 28, 2010 (San Antonio Express-News)
Opinion: Quality early childhood education crucial
The key to high-quality early childhood education is to have a supportive, research-based curriculum that promotes literacy and brain development. A high-quality program ensures responsive and supportive teaching strategies in the classroom, which encourages a child's social and cognitive development.

Aug 27, 2010 (USA Today)
Kindergartens see more Hispanic, Asian students
The profile of the 4 million children starting kindergarten reveals the startling changes the USA has undergone the past decade and offers a glimpse of its future. In this year's class, for example, about one out of four 5-year-olds will be Hispanic.

Aug 27, 2010 (Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, MA)
State agency develops early-learning guidelines
The state Department of Early Education and Care has posted draft early-learning guidelines for infants and toddlers on its website, www.mass.gov/eec. Anyone with young children in daycare will be especially interested in the last section on best practices, which gives concrete examples of what the best approaches should look like, from how to make the most of diapering time to what type of physical activity young children should get.

Aug 26, 2010 (Calgary Herald, Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Full-day kindergarten programs touted
Most studies do support the fact that additional school time translates into academic benefits. In 2006, researchers in the U.S. collected information from more than 8,000 kindergartners to try to determine if there was a link between academic achievement and full-day programs versus half-day kindergarten programs.

Aug 26, 2010 (The Dispatch, Lexington, NC)
Smart Start praised for helping students prepare for school
Parents that have taken part in the School Readiness Program gave firsthand testimonies to special guests former N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt and state Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, at the facility on East Center Street. Hunt, one of the champions of the program from its inception, said the program is important because 95 percent of brain development happens in the first five years of a child's life.

Aug 25, 2010 (The New York Times Magazine)
Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?
Today a number of child psychiatrists and developmental psychologists say depression can surface in children as young as 2 or 3. Unfortunately there is little that young children can tell us directly about what they are going through.

Aug 24, 2010 (MetroNews, Charleston, WV)
Meals now available for pre-K kids
New regulations went into place at the start of this school year for meals served in Pre-K programs whether they're at public schools, day care or church schools. The regulations were approved by the West Virginia Department of Education last year when they learned that some state-funded Pre-K's weren't offering meals even though some ran as long as 7 hours.

Aug 24, 2010 (The Sacramento Bee)
Proposed kindergarten cutoff date would mean some California kids start school later
For decades, millions of Californians with children who have fall birthdays have struggled over whether to pack their 4-year-olds off to kindergarten – or hold them back because they might be too young to start school. This week, California state legislators may be the closest they've ever come to making that decision for parents, with room for some exceptions.

Aug 22, 2010 (The Telegraph, Macon, GA)
Fees strain parents, but centers still barely paying the bills
Many parents save for more than a decade for their children's college education. There are scholarships and federal assistance to help young adults and their parents afford that huge investment in their future. But many parents are surprised to realize that four years in day care generally costs more.

Aug 22, 2010 (The Kansas City Star)
Opinion: Quality early learning matters
Decades of research demonstrate the efficacy of quality early learning. Reading, military preparedness, college entrance and graduation, and workforce development are dependent on quality early learning.

Aug 20, 2010 (The New York Times)
The littlest redshirts sit out kindergarten
In 2008, the most recent year for which census data is available, 17 percent of children were 6 or older when they entered the kindergarten classroom. Sand tables have been replaced by worksheets to a degree that's surprising even by the standards of a decade ago.

Aug 19, 2010 (Times Union, Albany, NY)
Opinion: Early learning paves future
One of the best ways to address the need for more skilled workers in our region is investment in quality early care and education.

Aug 16, 2010 (Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, IA)
Iowa: 'Free' preschool pricey for some
For some Iowa parents, the state's push for public preschool will come at a high cost as some districts charge tuition for 4-year-old students -- even those covered by state funding. The charges come despite nearly $65 million in taxpayer funding for public preschool.

Aug 16, 2010 (Post-Tribune, Merrillville, IN)
Without state funding, readiness a challenge
Quality early childhood education is essential for Indiana's youngest residents especially as the state focuses on third-grade literacy, according to those involved in the field.

Aug 15, 2010 (Worcester Business Journal, Worscester, MA)
Opinion: Early education pays big dividends
It turns out that a child's verbal ability at age 3 is a reliable predictor of reading ability in third grade. Third-grade reading ability is a reliable predictor of future academic success, high school graduation and workforce readiness.

Aug 12, 2010 (The Expositor, Sparta, TN)
Pre-K now available in all 95 counties
Tennessee's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program has now expanded to include all 95 counties with six classes in White County. Gov. Phil Bredesen announced last week that Tennessee schools have been funded approximately $84.7 million.

Aug 9, 2010 (The Star-Advertiser, Honolulu, HI)
Time short for state's junior kindergartens
A new law will end junior kindergarten in public schools in 2013 but could be the catalyst for the creation of a state-funded universal preschool program.

Aug 9, 2010 (Education Week)
Better training on early years urged for principals
The nation's elementary school principals lack access to the focused professional development to help them meet the higher expectations of modern early-childhood education, experts and advocates say.

Aug 6, 2010 (KGO TV, San Francisco, CA)
Hundreds rally over proposed child care cuts
Right now, there is no state budget and the cuts to pre-kindergarten and afterschool programs the governor is proposing are sending panic through Bay Area school districts.

Aug 6, 2010 (The Huffington Post)
The children of the great recession
Most dramatically, these declines will be felt in America's classrooms. A declining U.S. economy leads directly to poorer school performance and lower school readiness.

Aug 3, 2010 (Catalyst Ohio)
From the ground up
Proponents say early education is crucial, but new funding is scarce
But it may be difficult to fix struggling elementary, middle and high schools without first investing in a child's earliest years. Many of the country's educational leaders agree that high-quality preschool programs pay off, and research shows those programs can lead to higher test scores, higher graduation rates and higher salaries down the line.

Aug 3, 2010 (The Star-Ledger)
N.J.'s new eligiblity rules for summer educational programs to save $7M, make system more 'equitable'
New Jersey has been gradually limiting the number of families eligible for wraparound services for years. Before 2007, any family living in an Abbott district could sign up. Then, eligibility was restricted to families with incomes at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Last year, the upper limit was reduced again to 250 percent of the poverty level.

Aug 3, 2010 (The Washington Post)
States slash pre-K programs as budgets bleed
States across the country are cutting hundreds of millions from their prekindergarten budgets.

Aug 2, 2010 (The Washington Post)
Guest Column: Ed policies ignore science on how/when kids learn
Our education system starts at age 5, pays little attention to children's development and achievement until third grade, and is strewn with remedial programs to get older children back on track. Meanwhile, studies keep pouring forth that highlight the importance of children's earliest years – birth to age 8 – in developing the mental capacity that enables life-long learning.

Aug 2, 2010 (OnMilwaukee.com)
Is mandatory kindergarten a good idea?
Last October, Gov. Jim Doyle signed a law that required Wisconsin children to complete kindergarten before being admitted to first grade. This law goes into effect this academic year.

Aug 1, 2010 (Atlanta INtown Paper)
10 Ways to Prepare Your Kindergartner
This fall a new group of 5- and 6-year-olds will embark on the first significant milestone of their educational journey – kindergarten. Whether you've been through years of preschool or not, the transition into "big kid school" can cause parents and children alike some first day anxiety.

Aug 1, 2010 (TimesDaily, Florence, AL)
Educators say early education worthy purpose
Pre-kindergarten may be "the missing piece" in an arsenal of tools state public school educators already use to increase high school graduation and curb dropouts, state education officials said.

Jul 31, 2010 (The Tribune, Ames, IA)
State preschool funding covers Mid-Iowa school districts
Access to free public preschool is now an option for 4-year old children in nearly every school district in Mid-Iowa. Ames and Nevada were the only local districts receiving the funding before Gov. Chet Culver announced the final installment of statewide voluntary preschool grant awards last month.

Jul 30, 2010 (Kenosha News)
Expert: Prepare kids academically
The education system typically separates language skills into distinct teaching units: reading, writing, listening and speaking, but in the real world inhabited by children, those things are integrated communication methods most often combining naturally, according to Harlan Hansen. Hansen, professor emeritus of early childhood education at the University of Minnesota and an expert in elementary school classroom management and discipline, spoke Friday at Carthage College, urging an audience of parents, grandparents, caregivers, school administrators and teachers of young children to keep that reality in mind when helping to get children ready for pre-school, kindergarten and first grade.

Jul 28, 2010 (DeSoto Times-Tribune, Hernando, MS )
Editorial: Children do count; give them a chance
In Mississippi, where politics is the state sport and comparisons are often made with football, I was heartened to see Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and others at least beginning to study the concept of a public pre-kindergarten program in the Magnolia State. Studies show children grasp the basic building blocks of lifelong learning much earlier than previously thought, and there is a narrow window of opportunity to spark imaginations and set children on that lifelong path.

Jul 27, 2010 (The New York Times)
The case for $320,000 kindergarten teachers
Students who had learned much more in kindergarten were more likely to go to college than students with otherwise similar backgrounds. Students who learned more were also less likely to become single parents. As adults, they were more likely to be saving for retirement. Perhaps most striking, they were earning more.

Jul 25, 2010 (The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC)
Child care subsidies keep 'poorest of the poor' at work
Cash to help parents pay for child care provides the cornerstone for self-sufficiency, not government dependency, according to numerous studies and child care advocates. Simply put, government investments in child care assistance can keep parents working and off a host of other costly social welfare programs such as cash assistance, food stamps and housing vouchers.

Jul 23, 2010 (The Tennessean)
Next Tennessee governor will face schools in crisis
Tennessee's prekindergarten program launched in 2005 and quickly earned recognition for its quality and success. But the program is a constant source of debate, in part because of studies that show the benefits are greatest for children in poverty but don't give an advantage after early elementary school.

Jul 22, 2010 (Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL)
Opinion: Reading matters
Thanks to the Alabama Reading Initiative and our state's First Class pre-k program that helps children get ready for kindergarten and beyond, Alabama is now leading many of our neighboring states in improving our children's reading skills. According to the Early Warning study Alabama ranks 37th in overall reading proficiency for fourth grade students.

Jul 22, 2010 (The Natchez Democrat, Natchez, Mississippi)
Project Beyond program releases findings
Like any building, student careers need a sound foundation, and a federal grant program called Project Beyond has strived to lay down the ABCs for some local children before moving on to kindergarten. The program focuses on phonetics, alphabet knowledge, oral language and the concept of print, Project Beyond Site Director Stella Gales said.

Jul 21, 2010 (The University of Arizona)
Early Childhood Education Reform Gets a Much-Needed Boost
The UA College of Education has received a grant from the Helios Education Foundation to launch a new initiative for community-based early childhood education.
A new partnership between the University of Arizona College of Education and the Helios Education Foundation will change the way early childhood teachers are prepared. In the collaborative project, family and community members will be included as educators of future teachers.

Jul 20, 2010 (GlobalPost, Boston, MA)
Latin America focuses on early learning
But a powerful array of economists, scientists, celebrities, businessmen and diverse others are also among a growing worldwide movement for early education. Five Latin American heads of state (from Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Panama) openly endorsed their proposal to ensure that all children under 6 in Latin America have access to early childhood development programs by 2020.

Jul 19, 2010 (The Bay Citizen, San Francisco, CA)
Pre-Schools Cut, So Parents Scramble
As school districts begin shutting down childcare programs, parents seek new arrangements
In a scene that is likely to be repeated in school districts throughout California in coming weeks, teachers and staff at the Helen Turner Children’s Center in Hayward spent last week packing boxes, hugging their colleagues and students goodbye—and collecting their last paychecks. In May, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would slash spending on extended-care programs by 40 percent, forcing districts to make deep cuts and working parents—most of whom have very limited options—to scramble for new childcare arrangements.

Jul 19, 2010 (MetroNews, Charleston, WV)
Signing Up For Pre-Kindergarten
More and more West Virginia children will have access to quality pre-kindergarten programs starting next year. Office of School Readiness Assistant Director Clayton Burch says, as of right now, 15 county school systems have pre-K programs the state Department of Education has already approved.

Jul 18, 2010 (The Billings Gazette, Billings, MT)
Foundations rally for cash for early child care
Led by one of Montana's most successful industrialists, a group of nonprofits has launched a drive to bring large private donations to Montana's cash-strapped early childhood educational system — where the average teacher makes less than $17,000 a year.

Jul 17, 2010 (Herald & Review, Decatur, IL)
Early childhood programs may suffer state's inability to pay education bills
Supporters of early childhood education worry about the impact of cuts Gov. Pat Quinn has announced to education. Though preschool and early learning programs are supposed to receive the same $342 million they did last year, many of them haven't yet been paid for last year and had to dip into reserves to keep going.

Jul 17, 2010 (Whittier Daily News, Whittier, CA)
LAUP study touts social, behavioral benefits of preschool, even for a short time
Believed to be the first study of its kind in Los Angeles County, the LAUP study followed more than 400 of its preschoolers, assessing their skills in the fall of 2008 in 24 categories of skills and behaviors like self-care, motor skills, self-regulation, social expression and general knowledge.

Jul 16, 2010 (The Daily News, Memphis, TN)
Bryant Taps Panel to Study Successful Pre-K Model
Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant says he's appointing a panel of business and education experts to study a privately funded early childhood development program with hopes of establishing a statewide model. Mississippi is the only state in the South and among only a handful nationwide without a state-funded prekindergarten program, according the state Department of Education.

Jul 16, 2010 (Pacific Business News)
State delays making cuts to program for at-risk children
Health Department first must hold hearings on administrative rules
Planned cuts to a program that helps special-needs children assimilate into early childhood education have been delayed because a state department failed to draft the necessary administrative rules to legally make the changes. The cuts to the state Department of Health's early intervention program, also known as the Part C program, were scheduled to take effect July 1.

Jul 14, 2010 (Portland Press Herald, Portland, ME)
Opinion: Reading success depends greatly on what happens before school
Children need exposure both to vocabulary and grammar -- in very large quantities.
The precursor to reading success is exposure to a lot of language and literacy from birth to 5 years of age: at home, in child care, in preschool or Head Start. It is also the best time to intervene when a child has not been exposed to high-quality language and literacy environments.

Jul 14, 2010 (The Charleston Gazette)
W.Va. board OKs 40 counties' preschool plans
The West Virginia Board of Education has approved 40 counties' plans for implementing universal prekindergarten programs.

Jul 14, 2010 (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Georgia Lottery sends more money to HOPE, pre-k
Another good year for the Georgia Lottery meant more money for the state's pre-kindergarten and HOPE college scholarship programs, but it isn't enough to keep state officials from worrying about HOPE's future.

Jul 12, 2010 (The Macon Telegraph)
Georgia developing new day-care improvement system
Commonly called "quality improvement systems," these programs use stars or other benchmarks to help parents identify the best and worst day cares. Holly Robinson, commissioner of the state Department of Early Care and Learning (also called Bright from the Start), said the state plans to pilot a quality improvement program this summer.

Jul 12, 2010 (Vermont Public Radio)
Commentary: Early Education
Improving tomorrow's economy is possible only through smart policy investments today in our human capital - beginning with our youngest children.

Jul 10, 2010 (The Record, Hackensack, NJ)
Public preschool advocates worry about N.J. Gov. Christie's task force on privatization
Preschool advocates are worried that the recommendations, if enacted, would undermine an early childhood education system the state has spent more than a decade building in the wake of a court mandate to help at-risk children get ready for school. Governor Christie's "privatization task force" released a report Friday urging him to stop building new pre-kindergarten facilities at public expense, allow more students in smaller classrooms, and require public preschools to charge fees that reflect the full cost of running their programs.

Jul 8, 2010 (Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL)
Editorial: Pre-K program nation's best, but access limited
Once again, Alabama's pre-kindergarten program has been chosen as one of the two best programs of its kind in the nation in terms of quality. But despite successful efforts of local school systems and the Riley administration to offer the program to more eligible children, it still reaches far too few of them.

Jul 6, 2010 (The Indianapolis Star)
Many 1st-graders are behind the minute they step into classroom
Indiana does not require children to attend school until they turn 7. It does not require children to attend kindergarten at all. And it is one of only eight states that do not fund preschool.

Jul 6, 2010 (The York Dispatch, York, PA)
Editorial: Pre-K fee idea
[State lawmakers] can't properly fund the popular and important Pre-K Counts program, which provides a free head start to children at risk of failing in kindergarten and beyond. One option to save the program, or even help expand it, is to charge those who use it -- but even a small fee might be too much for the families of children most in need.

Jul 3, 2010 (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Study: Many child care centers low-quality
Every weekday, hundreds of thousands of Georgia's young children are dropped off at child care centers while their parents head off to work. Most of the infants and toddlers and many of the preschoolers likely go to classrooms that provide low-quality care.

Jul 2, 2010 (Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI)
'Sandbox Party' sets sights on early education funding
Legislature approves another $2.6 million for youngest children
Lawmakers approved $98.6 million for the Great Start School Readiness Program, an effort to help low-income, at-risk children become prepared for school. The budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 now goes to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for her signature.

Jul 1, 2010 (San Antonio Express-News)
Opinion: Early education crucial for students and state
We cannot solve our educational crisis in Texas without a strong and committed investment in our youngest Texans. Ultimately, Texas taxpayers will pay the largest price tomorrow for a lack of action on early education today.

Jun 29, 2010 (The Twin Cities Dailly Planet, Minneapolis, MN)
Early childhood education: Upfront investment, lifetime gain
Through better funding, Minnesota can improve and expand access to early childhood programs, so that more children are prepared for school. According to a yearly survey conducted by the Minnesota Department of Education, kindergarten teachers say only 52 percent of incoming students demonstrate proficient knowledge, skills, and behavior.

Jun 29, 2010 (WWAY NewsChannel 3, Wilmington, NC)
State wants to regulate drink choices at daycares
If this bill becomes a law, it will prohibit private child daycares from serving sugar-sweetened beverages to kids of all ages. The new legislation would also prohibit serving whole milk to kids two years or older, serving flavored milk to any child, and would limit juice to six ounces a day.

Jun 28, 2010 (The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS)
Child-care quality, outcomes targeted
Jalea attends Leaps and Bounds Developmental Academy, one of eight child-care centers in the Jackson metro area participating in Mississippi Building Blocks, a four-year pilot program that aims to improve early childhood education in the state by boosting the quality of child-care centers. The program has gone on for less than a year, but participating centers are showing progress, said Laurie Smith, executive director of Mississippi Building Blocks.

Jun 24, 2010 (Tulsa World)
Editorial: Early education
Weeks after the close of the legislative session, state leaders have taken the unusual step of issuing strong statements calling on state education leaders to protect Oklahoma's nationally recognized early childhood education programs.

Jun 24, 2010 (Centre Daily Times, State College, PA)
Column: Early education promises a return on investment
We have strong evidence that our investment in Pennsylvania's early education programs is producing returns. Child outcomes for at-risk preschoolers participating in Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program show that at the beginning of this school year, less than 20 percent of children entered the program with age-appropriate language and literacy skills.

Jun 24, 2010 (The Bay State Banner, Boston, MA)
Opinion: An early end to the achievement gap
Affluent preschoolers develop a more extensive vocabulary than economically disadvantaged children, have more opportunity to learn to read and are exposed to a broader world-view. Data show that if the literacy issues are not addressed by third grade, the gap widens and it becomes more difficult for teachers to bridge the divide.

Jun 24, 2010 (The Kansas City Star)
Missouri governor signs education, research grant bills
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation Thursday allowing fees to be charged for a popular early childhood education program and giving school districts more flexibility in deciding how to spend money during tough budget times.

Jun 23, 2010 (The Providence Journal, Providence, RI)
Bridging the learning gap early in pre-kindergarten program in Providence
Ready to Learn's program is one of seven classrooms in four cities taking part in the state's first publicly funded pre-kindergarten program, a two-year experiment to see whether academically rich classrooms will give students, particularly low-income children, an edge in kindergarten and beyond.

Jun 23, 2010 (The Boston Globe)
Parents benefit from work-backed child care
A new study by the Watertown-based Bright Horizons Family Solutions due out today echoes this sentiment. Not only are employees less stressed when they have access to employer-sponsored child care, according to the survey, they enjoy their jobs more, work harder, and have fewer health problems than employees without it.

Jun 22, 2010 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Wisconsin's effort to assure child care quality lacks cash
Despite a projected $100 million savings from cracking down on fraud in the state's taxpayer-financed child care program over the next two years, regulators and lawmakers are still scrambling to find money to fund a program they say is critical to improving child care in Wisconsin.

Jun 20, 2010 (The Republic, Columbus, IN)
Editorial: Preschool start key to educational development
The long-range hope is that the Indiana General Assembly will put the state in the same ranks with the majority of other states that support preschool. The need for such a measure is obvious and one that has been demonstrated in vivid detail in this community.

Jun 18, 2010 (The Columbia Daily Tribune, Columbia, MO)
Educators take steps to boost early learning
Rating system could help improve centers.
[Officials] talk about an initiative to rate Columbia's early-childhood private centers. They also share plans to implement a statewide universal pre-kindergarten program years from now, among other ideas for improving access to early schooling.

Jun 17, 2010 (The Fort Scott Tribune, Fort Scott, KS)
Governor Parkinson promotes early childhood education through advisory council
To enhance early educational opportunities for Kansas children, Governor Mark Parkinson has created the Kansas Early Childhood Advisory Council. Early childhood education and developmental programs have shown to enhance children's cognitive, social, and emotional development to better prepare them for kindergarten.

Jun 15, 2010 (Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, SD)
Pre-kindergarten opponents push back against potential pilot program
Following another push in Rapid City this month to start a pre-kindergarten pilot program in the state, opponents continue to argue that a state-funded program would unnecessarily reinvent the wheel and pour money into programs that have not been proven successful.

Jun 14, 2010 (Tulsa World)
Editorial: Pre-kindergarten safe
Programs face cuts, not elimination
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett said Friday that Oklahoma's programs for 4-year-olds, programs that are rated the country's best, won't be eliminated as a result of budget cuts.

Jun 12, 2010 (The Record, Stockton, CA)
Rating child care
State weighing system to evaluate caregivers
Efforts are under way to create a child-care rating system in California that would assess quality based on staff education, parent involvement, adult-child interaction and other factors that advocates say are important in supporting learning and development among very young children. A child-care business that simply meets basic health-and-safety regulations, for example, would receive a lower rating than one in which caregivers also hold advanced degrees in child psychology.

Jun 11, 2010 (Tulsa World)
Early childhood cuts feared
Some advocates for early childhood education are worried that the budget for public 4-year-old programs will be cut by the state Education Department after the Legislature changed how it allocated agency funds.

Jun 11, 2010 (The Times Record, Brunswick, ME)
Commentary: Education is key to a brighter future
As a law enforcement professional, I understand that when we invest in preparing our children to succeed in school, at work and in life, we not only help our children but we also make our communities stronger and safer by reducing crime and saving tax dollars. Research demonstrates that access to quality early learning programs, including quality pre-kindergarten programs, makes future unemployment and crime much less likely, especially among low-income, at-risk children.

Jun 10, 2010 (The Boston Globe)
Asking more of preschool
State wants bachelor degree for teachers of the youngest
The Department of Early Education and Care is developing new quality standards for preschool programs, which will use the educational attainment levels of staff as a quality indicator.

Jun 9, 2010 (The Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA)
Culver: State getting closer to preschool for all goal
Gov. Chet Culver said Wednesday the state is getting closer to meeting a goal of providing access to preschool for all 4-year-olds living in Iowa. Culver said another 4,500 Iowa children will be able to attend a quality preschool in the coming year thanks to legislative approval of the fourth-year of a preschool initiative that eventually will total more than $60 million.

Jun 9, 2010 (Daily Press, Newport News, VA)
Early education helps region
Child care and early learning can boost economic development
The economic health of the Hampton Roads region rests in the hands of infants and toddlers. That was the message shared at an early childhood education summit on Wednesday at Christopher Newport University.

Jun 8, 2010 (Education Week)
Report: Tough Times Ahead for Children of the Great Recession
These are the children of the Great Recession, a cohort that will experience a decline in fortunes that erases 30 years of social progress, the report contends. Known as the Child and Youth Well-Being Index, the report predicts that in the next few years, the economy may recover and the unemployment rate may drop, but the generation growing up now could feel the harsh impact of the recession for years to come.

Jun 7, 2010 (U.S. News & World Report)
Consistent Bedtime May Give Kids Developmental Boost
Preschoolers should routinely get at least 11 hours each night, experts say
Kids who had a consistent bedtime at the age of 4 scored higher on a number of tests, including some that measured literacy and math abilities. Earlier bedtimes and parental rules about keeping bedtime routines also were associated with higher scores on developmental measures.

Jun 7, 2010 (The Washington Examiner)
D.C. budget lauded by children's advocates
The D.C. Council restored millions of dollars for children's programs, a move praised by advocates. A politically popular effort to expand free, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-olds in the city received its full funding -- about $18 million.

Jun 7, 2010 (The Citizen of Laconia, Laconia, NH)
Music provides the key to early education results
Children at the Laconia Early Learning Center have been taking a non-traditional way to learning, through the use of music, a tool which has helped the development at a younger age. Music has been deemed a highly engaging mental and physical activity, which has the potential to develop the specific behavioral, emotional, and academic skills needed for all learning as it engages and motivates students.

Jun 7, 2010 (Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, SD)
Supporters rally behind Rapid City pre-kindergarten pilot program
A pre-kindergarten program in South Dakota would not only ensure that students in poverty begin kindergarten as prepared as other students, but would also save the state dollars in the long run, according to a group of education and business leaders. Through grassroots efforts, the members of the task force hope to develop a pilot program for Rapid City children by the fall of 2011.

Jun 6, 2010 (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Setback feared for incoming kindergartners
Each year since 2006, more children have entered Cincinnati Public Schools kindergartens ready to read, a strong predictor of future academic success, local early childhood experts say. But as they plan for a new school year, many early childhood educators worry that after four years of solid progress, this fall's entering kindergartners may instead lose ground.

Jun 6, 2010 (The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME)
Opinion: For business, no better investment than early learning
As our federal leaders look for the best possible investments to jump-start our economy, I have a suggestion that may surprise some people: Consider early learning programs. New research from the business leader group America's Edge shows investment in high-quality early learning is among the most effective ways to infuse millions of dollars into local and state economies, while creating new jobs in our communities and building a foundation for sustained economic security.

Jun 4, 2010 (The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA)
Opinion: Pa. must start early to train, recruit future scientists and engineers
Pennsylvania has made attracting science, technology, engineering and math jobs to the commonwealth a key strategy for our economic health. If we really want a workforce that can fill these jobs, we need to continue our investment in quality early education programs such as Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, Keystone STARS, Child Care Works, Early Intervention, Nurse-Family Partnership, Head Start Supplemental and Parent-Child Home Program.

Jun 3, 2010 (The Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, WY)
Gov creates early childhood council
Gov. Dave Freudenthal has created a new state childhood advisory council to encourage better coordination and collaboration between public and private care and education programs and services to the state.

Jun 3, 2010 (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA)
Early childhood education efforts would benefit from more coordination, federal official says
Despite unprecedented national recognition of the importance of early childhood education, efforts to expand programs remain hamstrung by limited funding and decades of conventional thinking about education timelines and structures, said state and national experts during a Thursday conference on the topic. The funding challenges for pre-K in Louisiana and across the country come at a time when scientists and economists have amassed more evidence than ever before on the value of early childhood programs.

Jun 2, 2010 (Honolulu Advertiser)
Hawaii cuts result in 10% fewer families taking preschool aid
The number of families receiving state subsidies to cover preschool tuition costs has dropped by about 10 percent after the state's decision to decrease the amount of help families can get, and providers say parents appear to instead be opting for cheaper, unlicensed care or leaving their children with relatives.

Jun 1, 2010 (Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, IL)
State budget crisis may impede groundbreaking preschool reform
Groundbreaking preschool regulations have been tweaked to reflect Illinois' dire financial situation, but budget concerns still likely will stand in the way of getting the neediest students help, suburban educators say.

May 31, 2010 (CBS 2 News, New York, NY)
Westchester Pre-K Students Learning Sign Language
Some teachers in Westchester are silently making waves with an unusual teaching method: they're using sign language, although none of their pre-kindergarten students have hearing issues. The staff realized very quickly that, regardless of whether you're dealing with a typical four-year-old or a boy or girl who's developmentally challenged, they're all learning to communicate together – and sign language is just another tool in the arsenal to help them on their way.

May 28, 2010 (Erie Times-News, Erie, PA)
Erie business leaders urged to invest in early childhood education
Speakers at the region's first Economic Summit on Early Childhood Investments said that money spent on preschool education pays dividends in economic and work-force development.

May 27, 2010 (The Ukiah Daily Journal, Ukiah, CA)
State cutbacks threaten local child care
Helping Hands day care provider Heidi McKeown watches four children whose parents are reimbursed from the state through North Coast Opportunities. But if the state Legislature approves the governor's May Revise or if no budget is signed by June 30, any services those parents receive through NCO or Rural Communities Child Care may end effective July 1, locally affecting 280 families and 502 children. Statewide, more than 200,000 children will lose their child care.

May 27, 2010 (WCBI, Columbus, MS)
State of The Region
Studies show that 90 percent of brain growth occurs before a child enters kindergarten, highlighting the importance of funding education during that time of a child's life. Mississippi is one of only 11 states that does not provide direct funding to early childhood education.

May 27, 2010 (YNN, Albany, NY)
State of Education: Pre-K
Educators, legislators, and public agency experts were among the participants at the "Winning Beginning NY" forum.
While pre-kindergarten programs have been designed to help young student prepare for future education, officials say it can also do something something else help school districts save money, in fact one report showed over $800-million a year across New York State.

May 26, 2010 (The Tidewater News, Franklin, VA)
Smart Beginnings prepares local youngsters for school
Smart Beginnings Western Tidewater is one of 24 local or regional initiatives across the state supported by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. The foundation is working to build a comprehensive network of early care and education services, according to [Executive Director Ellen] Couch.

May 26, 2010 (The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA)
Pre-K progam puts students on right course
Data shows that students perform better in school after some early childhood education. Students are taught how to behave in school, basic skills, numbers, colors and precursors to reading during a year of pre-kindergarten.

May 26, 2010 (Erie Times-News, Erie, PA)
Opinion: Why Erie needs early childhood education
Now imagine that you are a policymaker and you have been handed an early childhood development program that will reduce arrest rates for these children by half. Further, imagine that this program will improve the children's grades and help them become responsible citizens and productive employees, as well as positively influence the lives of the parents

May 26, 2010 (The Birmingham News)
Most Alabamians favor state spending for pre-kindergarten
A coalition dedicated to expanding quality pre-kindergarten education for 4-year-olds in Alabama has found voters support spending more money on the effort -- regardless of party affiliation. Jan Hume, executive director of the alliance, said the results were a surprise to pollsters -- Alabama support for pre-kindergarten education remains as strong as it was four years ago, even in the face of high unemployment and a tepid economy.

May 25, 2010 (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Pre-k program's popularity fuels waiting lists
Georgia's voluntary pre-kindergarten program started in 1993 with 750 students and now has some 81,068 students in public schools and private day care centers in all 159 counties. Waiting lists, however, are becoming more common, especially in the metro areas.

May 23, 2010 (The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, IA)
Should taxpayers foot the bill for preschool?
Preschool spending has climbed at a time when public schools have been forced to raise property taxes, lay off teachers and combine classes to deal with their most difficult budgets in years. Universal preschool is in addition to Head Start and other government-run preschool efforts that target low-income families.

May 20, 2010 (EmaxHealth)
Depression Among Preschool Children
Preschool children not only suffer with depression, their symptoms are often unnoticed and thus the condition goes undiagnosed. Recent findings on preschool depression indicate that it is not a temporary condition and that early detection is important.

May 20, 2010 (Babble)
Raising Bilingual Kids
Does foreign language learning promote child development?
These days most experts agree that the developing mind can easily handle the double input. And research is beginning to show that, in addition to the linguistic benefits, learning multiple languages might provide valuable mental exercise for kids that could have positive long-term effects.

May 20, 2010 (WFMY TV, Greenesboro, NC)
North Carolina ranks among nation's top two states for pre-K education
For the second year in a row, North Carolina ranks among the nation's top two states for preschool education. The state tied Alabama for first, scoring a perfect 10. It's also the fifth time the state placed in the top 10.

May 19, 2010 (USA Today)
Some Head Start workers commit fraud so kids qualify, investigators say
Undercover investigators trying to enroll a handful of fictitious children in federally funded Head Start child care centers found that in about half of the cases, workers fraudulently misrepresented parents' incomes, addresses and other information to allow kids to qualify for a slot. The revelations, contained in congressional testimony presented Tuesday to the House Education and Labor Committee, come at a sensitive time for Head Start.

May 19, 2010 (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
Meaningful Conversations Boost Kids' Language Skills
Give-and-take discussions help them gain skills needed for school success, study shows
Parents who engage their young children in conversational give-and-take help their offspring gain a significant leg up in terms of language acquisition, new Dutch research reveals. The boost to childhood language proficiency appears to be predicated on allowing children to engage in so-called "serious" conversations with their family members -- dialogues that permit them to make meaningful contributions to the subject at hand.

May 18, 2010 (The Sentinel, Lewistown, PA)
Business leaders address early childhood education
Return of investment of early childhood education includes school success, graduation, work force readiness and job productivity, [former president and CEO of Weis Markets Inc. Norm] Rich said. "Investing in children is investing in America," he said.

May 18, 2010 (The Christian Science Monitor)
Report: Reading skills in early grades are crucial to success
Students who don’t have effective reading skills by the end of third grade are more likely to fall behind. Later achievement, including high school graduation, can be affected, a new report says.
A new report argues that third-grade reading proficiency heavily influences later achievement, including high school graduation. What's needed, say the report's authors and other education advocates, is more focus on children's 0-8 years, as well as a system that does a better job of integrating early-childhood education, K-12, parental support, and health and human services.

May 18, 2010 (KRCG-TV, New Bloomfield, MO)
Parents As Teachers administrators plan for budget cuts
The Missouri Parents As Teachers Program is facing $13 million in state funding cuts as part of this year's budget. Under the proposed state cuts, Columbia's Parents As Teachers Program would lose about half of its 39 parent educators.

May 17, 2010 (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
States' budget problems cut into help for children
All over the country, the financial crisis has forced states to make cuts to close what the National Conference of State Legislatures found was an overall budget gap of $174.1 billion this fiscal year and has lawmakers looking to cut another $89 billion next year. That means slashing services to children, the one population they have long protected.

May 16, 2010 (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN)
Editorial: Learning from the START
The economic tailspin forcing states to look closely at spending priorities didn't keep 29 states from increasing enrollment in their preschool programs last year. Regrettably, Indiana still languishes among the handful of backward states with no support for high-quality pre-K.

May 16, 2010 (The Charleston Gazette)
Op-Ed: Child's first years are key to success -- or failure
What West Virginia needs is greater investment in early childhood education, especially for the poorest and most disadvantaged of children. Almost one-third of West Virginia's youngest children under 5 live in poverty. If we do not address their needs, we will never achieve the prosperity we all desire.

May 14, 2010 (The Washington Post)
Study finds that effects of low-quality child care last into adolescence
Low-quality care in the first few years of life can have a small but long-lasting impact on a child's learning and behavior, according to new results from the largest, most authoritative assessment of child rearing in the United States.

May 14, 2010 (York Daily Record, York, PA)
Report: More early childhood programs needed
A recent state report indicates the need for more early childhood education programs, and some local providers said they see high demand.

May 12, 2010 (WFAA TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX)
DISD outlines pre-kindergarten expansion plan
The Dallas Independent School District is discussing whether to make pre-kindergarten available for a full day system-wide. Doing so would nearly double the number of full-day classrooms, but it could also mean cutting the number of teachers.

May 11, 2010 (The Washington Post)
Full-day preschool found to benefit boys, black students more
The study found that among African American students and boys in general, those who attended full-day pre-kindergarten classes outperformed their Head Start peers who had only half-day programs on reading benchmarks. But the results also applied more broadly.

May 11, 2010 (The Oklahoman)
Editorial: Oklahoma's pre-K, scholarship programs making marks
Oklahoma is the only state where almost every 4-year-old can attend a quality pre-K program, according to the report.

May 7, 2010 (The Baltimore Sun)
Editorial: Excellence at an early age
Last year, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill directing the state education department to plan a gradual expansion of pre-K eligibility that would eventually include every child in the state. The first stage would have seen the eligibility limit on family income rise from 185 percent to 300 percent of the federal poverty line, increasing the programs' current $101 million cost by $19 million.

May 4, 2010 (Education Week)
Hard times derail growth of state-funded preschool
Early-education programs are struggling to serve all the children who qualify for them, as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression has caused states to slash budgets and reduce spending, according to an annual survey of state-funded programs by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

May 2, 2010 (San Jose Mercury News)
Calif. bill seeks to raise age for kindergarten
As a group, California's kindergartners are among the youngest in the nation, but that may change under a bill being considered in the state Legislature. The legislation by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, would require children to have turned 5 by Sept. 1 to begin kindergarten in that school year.

Apr 29, 2010 (The Tennessean)
Tennessee's pre-K taken off budget table
A Republican alternative plan to close Tennessee's budget gap won't include changes to the state's pre-kindergarten program, state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said.

Apr 29, 2010 (News Tribune, Jefferson City, MO)
House OKs revision to school funding
Changes to the popular Parents as Teachers program have been spurred by Missouri's budget troubles. The operating budget approved by lawmakers for the budget year starting July 1 cut more than $13 million from the early childhood education program.

Apr 29, 2010 (The Seattle Times)
Opinion: Federal investment in early learning would help revitalize Washington's economy
New research from the business-leader group, America's Edge, shows that investments in quality early learning are among the most effective ways to infuse billions of dollars into local and state economies, while creating tens of thousands of jobs and building a foundation for sustained economic security.

Apr 28, 2010 (USA Today)
Opinion: Don't dismiss early education as just cute; it's critical
Experts talk too often about poorly performing middle or high schools and dismiss elementary and preschool time as the "cute" years. But these are the years we should focus on.

Apr 22, 2010 (The Kansas City Star)
Missouri Senate approves plan to merge education boards
Missouri senators have endorsed a plan that would merge the state's two education oversight boards into one responsible for education from kindergarten through doctoral programs.

Apr 21, 2010 (Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI)
Focus on early childhood education still urged
But even as educators and others recognize the importance of focusing on early childhood enrichment, tight state and local budgets are making it tough to maintain current programs and start new ones.

Apr 20, 2010 (The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA)
Expert says the path to literacy starts with babies
Word play through rhyme, poetry, song and repetition is important because it reinforces the patterns and parts of word sounds. This is known as phonological awareness, which children need in order read.

Apr 20, 2010 (WJXT, Jacksonville, FL)
Advocates Fear Voluntary Pre-K Cuts
Program Gets Children Ready For Elementary School At No Cost
With every letter and every activity, the goal of Voluntary Prekindergarten is to get children ready for elementary school at no cost to parents. But a new proposal to slash VPK funding could affect children and the quality of their education.

Apr 19, 2010 (The Providence Journal, Providence, RI)
Child care found wanting in R.I.
A first-ever study of childcare centers in Rhode Island shows that only 10 percent of preschool classrooms and 4 percent of infant-toddler rooms provide "high-quality" programs that nurture development through purposeful interactions between adults and youngsters.

Apr 19, 2010 (Los Angeles Times)
L.A. study affirms benefits of preschool
Children enrolled in Los Angeles Universal Preschool programs made significant improvements in the social and emotional skills needed to do well in kindergarten, according to a study released Monday. The gains were especially pronounced for English language learners, the study showed.

Apr 19, 2010 (News-Leader, Springfield, MO)
Lawmakers stall on care bill
Arkansas legislators worried about costs associated with law.
Arkansas legislators have put off approval of proposed new, voluntary higher standards for day-care centers, with some citing higher costs that the facilities might have to pay if the standards are made mandatory. The proposed standards, called Better Beginnings, would classify centers as meeting one of three levels of advanced qualifications.

Apr 18, 2010 (Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, MA)
Preschool years can be 'perfect storm' for language learning
The stories show that many preschool children focus intently on the words they hear and that most are primarily dependent on parents for clarification. Preschool years can, in fact, be a "perfect storm," a short window of opportunity in which factors come together so parents can best provide the basis of language growth.

Apr 16, 2010 (Chicago Tribune)
Early education program may face big cuts
The governor's proposal would slash the state's early childhood education block grant by 16 percent, which means 6,000 students in Chicago public schools could be shut out of the Preschool for All program, which targets academically at-risk children. Though not mandatory, Preschool for All is hailed for giving 3- and 4-year-olds a jump-start with its 2 1/2 hours a day of free instruction.

Apr 15, 2010 (Brattleboro Reformer, Brattleboro, VT)
Taking care of business
Just like every other division in the Agency of Human Services, early child care is facing cuts as the state tries to balance its budget. Early child care advocates understand that money is tight in Montpelier this year, but this week they are reminding lawmakers and business leaders that dollars taken away from programs around the state trickle up into other parts of Vermont's economy.

Apr 13, 2010 (Kalamazoo Gazette, Kalamazoo, MI)
Ready or not for kindergarten: How to assess your child
Kindergarten readiness isn't strictly a matter of age, say the experts. Instead, it involves a combination of cognitive, emotional, social and physical factors that can affect a child's academic success.

Apr 12, 2010 (Star Tribune, Minneapolis, MN)
Editorial: Don't cut early ed programs that work
Rather than looking for ways to extend the benefits of quality preschool to more impoverished children, lawmakers this year have been considering cuts in funding for licensed child care -- the places where a majority of Minnesota's low-income children receive their only exposure to preschool lessons.

Apr 11, 2010 (The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Early childhood dollars targeted
Proposed cuts to early childhood programs have come as lawmakers grapple with how best to eliminate a budget shortfall in Kansas exceeding $400 million. Both House and Senate proposals for closing the budget gap include cuts for early childhood education.

Apr 11, 2010 (San Gabriel Valley Tribune, West Covina, CA)
State looking to rate California's preschools
The state may implement a new preschool rating system that would boost accountability, encourage higher quality programs and help parents make more informed decisions. A 13-member advisory committee aimed at improving early childhood learning programs in California is currently collecting data to create a fair, accurate scale that would hold preschools accountable and be understandable for parents.

Apr 8, 2010 (Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL)
Pre-K advocates rally at state Capitol
Though the economic downturn has impacted the state's ability to grow its top rated pre-K program, teachers and advocates say they're not giving up. More than 100 pre-K teachers from all over Alabama rallied on the steps of the state Capitol on Wednesday and thousands more will converge on the city today for the fifth Alabama Pre-K Conference hosted by the state Department of Children's Affairs Office of School Readiness.

Apr 7, 2010 (Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, PA)
Casey: Pre-K expansion brings a hefty price tag
The proposal has a $9 billion price tag. But the benefits of expanding childhood education nationally would outweigh the costs, panelists told U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at a Senate hearing at Morrisville High School Tuesday.

Apr 7, 2010 (The Oregonian)
Oregon Legislature finds $l million for Early Head Start
In a move that has escaped much public attention, the Oregon Legislature in its February special session came up with $1 million for the state's first spending on Early Head Start, a program to help prepare disadvantaged children under age 3 for school.

Apr 6, 2010 (Tallahassee Democrat)
Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten success hard to nail down
Duggan and Steven Barnett, co-director of NIEER, also said that because pre-kindergartners are not tested before they start the program, there's no way to tell how much they have improved throughout the year. A pre-VPK test would help determine whether VPK itself made the difference.

Apr 4, 2010 (The Telegraph, Macon, GA)
Independent study faults Georgia day care quality
Two-thirds of Georgia day care center classrooms offer low-quality care for infants and toddlers, according to an independent study released in late March. Preschool programs are generally somewhat better, and the Georgia Pre-K program was found to provide "medium" quality care and education.

Apr 2, 2010 (The MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA)
Opinion: To close the achievement gap, start with early learning
As state education officials prepare Massachusetts' application for round two of federal "Race to the Top" funds, it is urgent not only to retain but also to emphasize important initiatives that address early childhood education, one of the most effective strategies to ensure later school success and help close the achievement gap. Economist James Heckman, a Nobel laureate, observes: "Because skills are accumulated starting early and over time, investing in young children is an investment in future productivity."

Apr 1, 2010 (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA)
Money crunch putting pre-K in a bind
N.O. charter to start charging tuition
A recent decision at Audubon Charter School to charge tuition for pre-kindergarteners underscores a broader dilemma: As demand for pre-K mounts, inadequate financing makes it increasingly difficult for public schools to offer the early childhood programs. Meanwhile, some charter schools might drop their pre-K programs altogether if they cannot attract grants or private donations.

Apr 1, 2010 (The Reporter, Vacaville, CA)
Preschool education extremely important
Matt Regan worries about two things: high school dropout rates of 25 percent in California and the need to make preschool education a priority. He sees them as inextricably linked, asserting, as many educators do, that a child's enrollment in early education programs significantly increases the likelihood of graduation from high school, success in college and, ultimately, a better life.

Mar 31, 2010 (The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, IA)
Preschool expansion planned despite cuts in Des Moines budget
The Des Moines school district has expanded its preschool programs in the past three years, and educators say more students are entering kindergarten prepared to learn, as a result. Officials plan to continue expanding the preschool program next year - despite significant budget cuts that will force the district to eliminate dozens of teachers' jobs.

Mar 31, 2010 (The Morning Sun, Pittsburg, KS)
Early education funding may be cut
Proposals in the both the Kansas House and Senate, if passed, could pull significant amount of dollars away from early childhood programs statewide.

Mar 30, 2010 (Jasper Journal, Jasper, TN)
Marion pre-K program turns 10
Each year, Marion County's pre-K classrooms - also known as "Volunteer Classrooms" - must be inspected and re-licensed by the Tennessee Department of Education as there are numerous requirements regarding the physical protection of the children and the overall training of instructors.

Mar 30, 2010 (Reading Eagle, Reading, PA)
Backers of early-education programs in Berks criticize funding proposal
State budget would keep 2009-10 cuts
Funding was reduced midyear to help the state deal with its financial difficulties. Early-education advocates expected the funding to be restored in the 2010-11 budget. The money, however, wasn't included in the House bill approved last week.

Mar 29, 2010 (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
Opinion: Business leaders across state should support early learning programs
While our state's 2010 budget does not increase investments in quality child care and pre-kindergarten programs, the Legislature has passed three bills that strengthen and improve the state’s early learning policies and guarantee that all at-risk children will eventually have access to high-quality early learning programs that will prepare them for success in school. At a time when other states are cutting these programs, this is good news for hundreds of local businesses, as well as for parents, teachers and children.

Mar 28, 2010 (CBS 2 Chicago)
IL Budget Crisis Hitting Families of Preschoolers
Cuts to early childhood and preschool programs across the state hit southwest suburbs.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports it's just the latest in cuts to early childhood and preschool programs across the state because of massive budget shortfalls. But many believe the short term solution will only bring long term problems.

Mar 28, 2010 (Arizona Daily Star)
Editorial: Early childhood education is vital
Our view: Price of all-day kindergarten demonstrates good education isn't cheap
Turning all-day kindergarten back into a fee-for-service choice will increase the economic and academic divide between students whose families can afford to pay and those who cannot. It's an imbalance that Arizona began to correct several years ago when every district offered no-cost all-day kindergarten.

Mar 27, 2010 (The Oklahoman)
Opinion: Path to success in life
Early Childhood Education Important
Enriching early childhood environments contribute to a child's school success and later adult success, ultimately saving money for our state due to less intervention, treatment and remediation services related to costly juvenile/young adult outcomes such as dropouts, teen pregnancy and crime. Supporting the early years by maintaining investment in quality programs and services is one of the smartest public investments we can make.

Mar 24, 2010 (WLOX, Biloxi, MS)
MS Economic Council promotes early childhood education
By investing in the education of young children, businesses would be growing a better workforce, ultimately bringing more opportunities to Mississippi. Some major corporations are already doing it, like Chevron's Excel by 5 initiative.

Mar 24, 2010 (Opposing Views, Brentwood, CA)
Opinion: High IQ Babies? What Really Works?
So, with a more realistic attitude in mind, we can "call the 1-(800) number on the screen," as long as we recognize that we are paying for learned skills, not I.Q. points. Probably the most important factors to consider in spending this type of memorization and learning time with your child is 1) whether or not this is an enjoyable parent-child experience, and 2) if it doesn't take away from the other important enrichment activities that babies should be doing during the months before preschool or kindergarten starts.

Mar 23, 2010 (The Oregonian)
Prisons don't use reading scores to predict future inmate populations
The myth probably has survived and circulated for more than a decade because it reflects the more fundamental truth that there is a powerful connection between school failure and crime. Several early childhood studies have shown that disadvantaged children who enter strong preschool programs are far less likely to get mixed up in crime when they get older.

Mar 21, 2010 (Asbury Park Press)
Opinion: Is publicly funded preschool a good investment? Yes
New Jersey's system of high-quality pre-K is a prime example of a wise investment that ought not to be interrupted. We began this program in our most disadvantaged cities and towns and in less than a decade transformed poor quality child care into good to excellent preschool education that also meets parents' needs for child care.

Mar 19, 2010 (Orlando Sentinel)
Despite growing enrollment, budget cuts would pack more kids into pre-K classes
Florida's pre-kindergarten program would be forced to place six more children into each class next year to help offset deep budget cuts moving forward in the state House and Senate.

Mar 17, 2010 (The Island Packet, Bluffton, SC)
Letter-to-the-editor: Produce data about public pre-schools
Without knowing the number of students, test data, criteria for acceptance, etc., it would be difficult to evaluate the success of these programs, which have been in existence for about 15 years.

Mar 16, 2010 (The Houston Chronicle)
Column: Taking baby steps to better child care
In Texas, a manicurist is required to have more hours of training than the person caring for your child at day care. And for the average working parent, decent state standards are a commonsense starting-point upon which quality child care centers would be spurred by market forces to improve.

Mar 16, 2010 (The New York Times)
It's Still a Beautiful Day in His Neighborhood
Starting Saturday at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media will host its first conference, called "Fred Forward." The last two days of the four-day conference will bring together more than 60 experts in children's media to explore "creative curiosity, new media and learning."

Mar 15, 2010 (The Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD)
The preschool debate
Some argue that a good preschool can be a great foundation for a child's education. Plus, some parents say, it's unfair to throw a child into a classroom structure without any preparation - and it's unfair for the teacher to have to deal with varying levels of kindergarten prep among children. Others wonder how far a child's education can be pushed.

Mar 15, 2010 (The Wall Street Journal)
Column: Would Growing Up French Make Us Eat Healthier?
To be sure, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has been pushing for healthier meals in schools, and many child-care centers and preschools have upgraded nutritional standards in response to higher government standards, parental pressure or both. However, many U.S. private child-care facilities aren't subject to federal rules, and can–and do–serve a lot of low-cost, sugary, empty-calorie snacks.

Mar 15, 2010 (Times Union, Albany, NY)
Commentary: Educate our kids, and the jobs will be there
A new report by the national business group, America's Edge, concludes that support for quality early care and education is one of the best investments we can make to jump-start our state economy while laying the foundation for a stronger work force and economic security in the future. The new research shows that early learning investments are highly effective in generating local sales for Main Street-type businesses.

Mar 14, 2010 (The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, KS)
Proposed cuts worry early ed advocates
A week after the House Social Services Budget Committee had recommended $7 million in cuts to early childhood programs, the Senate's Social and Rehabilitation Services Budget Subcommittee on Tuesday recommended $12 million in cuts in three grant programs - including $5 million from Smart Start, a reduction of 59 percent; $5 million from Early Childhood Block Grants, a 45 percent reduction; and $2 million from Early Head Start, a 57 percent cut.

Mar 12, 2010 (The Tampa Tribune)
New voluntary prekindergarten scores released
The latest preschool ratings are out for centers that offer the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten program. The scores, compiled by the state Department of Education, allow parents to compare providers. Known as VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rates, they measure how well preschools prepare 4-year-olds for kindergarten.

Mar 12, 2010 (American Educator (American Federation of Teachers))
The Promise of Preschool
Why We Need Early Education for All
Based on our research, and our review of others' research, we have consistently advocated for universal access to high-quality preschool. The United States faces serious problems that effective early education can help alleviate, most notably high rates of school failure, dropout, crime, and delinquency, as well as far too many youth who are not well prepared for the workforce.

Mar 11, 2010 (WAMC, Albany, NY)
Business Leaders See Major Economic Boost for NY By Expanding Child Care and Pre-K
There's a report out showing that New York should keep up investments in pre-k and child care as an effective way to stimulate the economy and build a stronger workforce. The report, entitled "Strengthening New York Businesses through Investments in Early Care and Education" shows that for every dollar invested in early care and education in New York, $1.86 is generated in additional spending within the state... those dollars trickle down and the investments generate economic growth at the local level.

Mar 10, 2010 (Reno Gazette-Journal)
Report: Nevada pre-kindergarten teachers among best trained in U.S.
Nevada is among the states that require the most education and training for pre-kindergarten teachers, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Institute. The report advocates more uniform training to improve early childhood education, raising salaries for pre-K educators and consequently improving teacher retention.

Mar 9, 2010 (The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, IA)
Bill would consolidate childhood-aid program
A 12-year-old state program to help children in low-income families get off to a healthy start and get ready for school has such scattered oversight that it could be prone to fraud, according to the state budget director.

Mar 9, 2010 (Education Week)
Better Educated Teachers Needed for Early Ed., Study Suggests
Studies suggest, [a Pre-K Now report] says, that teachers with bachelor's degrees and specialized training in early education are more effective than those educators who don't hold such credentials. In other words, it's not enough to be good with kids or to like working with them; teachers benefit from specific training.

Mar 4, 2010 (The Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD)
Preschool plan rejected
For a fourth straight year, lawmakers have said no to a preliminary step toward state-funded, voluntary preschool programs.

Mar 3, 2010 (The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA)
Pre-K safe from cuts
While other Southern states are slicing pre-school funding to cover budget deficits, Louisiana's Cecil J. Picard LA-4 Early Childhood Program is safe — for now.

Mar 2, 2010 (The Daily Reflector, Greenville, NC)
State official: Early childhood programs pay off for state
North Carolina's programs for children younger than age 5 are a national model, said Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton told educators at summit on early childhood education Tuesday.

Mar 1, 2010 (Honolulu Advertiser)
Hawaii might halt junior kindergarten
Plan to move up kindergarten eligibility date would leave many kids waiting a year to start school
Lawmakers are considering a measure that would eliminate junior kindergarten in Hawai'i public schools and move up the date children are eligible to enter kindergarten, changes that would require thousands of late-born 5-year-olds to wait an additional year before they can start school. Despite junior-K's problems, educators, parents and early-education advocates say the program is helpful and that the proposed changes will create a burden for parents at a time when they can least afford it.

Feb 28, 2010 (The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA)
Editorial: Keep momentum for early learning
Alongside the many millions of dollars Virginia is considering shearing off of its support of public schools is a little nick that would have an outsized impact on children's education. The $1.5 million a year the state now puts into the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation is a small investment in a big initiative, a public/private partnership dedicated to making sure youngsters reach school ready to learn.

Feb 25, 2010 (The Guardian, London, UK)
Underclass of pre-school children emerging, says report
A study blames a lack of spending at pre-school level for educational disengagement in children under four
More than one in 10 children begin primary school unable to learn and unwilling to build relationships with their peers, a "disengaged generation waiting in the wings", said the thinktank Demos today in a report. Researchers said that data from the Millennium Cohort Study showed 66,000 children scored "borderline" or "abnormal" in tests designed to reveal behavioural and emotional problems that are intimately linked to under-achievement at school, risk of truanting, and exclusion.

Feb 24, 2010 (Jackson County Floridan)
School officials say pre-K bill unlikely to pass
A bill to require teachers in state pre-kindergarten programs to hold a bachelor's degree by July 2013 has been filed for the third consecutive year by Rep. Janet Long, D-Seminole. A 2008 report by the National Institute for Early Education Research concluded that while Florida is a national leader in providing pre-kindergarten classes, the program falls way behind in quality and spending.

Feb 23, 2010 (The Times-Herald, Newnan, GA)
Editorial: One million 4 year olds have brighter futures thanks to free pre-K
This month the state is celebrating having provided free pre-K to one million youngsters in our state during the past 17 years. Georgia becomes the first state in the nation to serve more than one million pre-K children in a voluntary, universal, lottery-funded program.

Feb 19, 2010 (The DeSoto Times-Tribune, Hernando, MS)
Opinion: Child care ratings need teeth
Mississippi citizens receive more information about the quality of their hamburger or fried chicken joint than they do about the quality of care for their children. [That] doesn't seem right.

Feb 18, 2010 (Scientific American Magazine)
Start Science Sooner
Excellence in science education must begin in kindergarten
Good science education at the earliest grades is supremely important, but in most classrooms it gets short shrift. Studies have found that children in kindergarten are already forming negative views about science that could cast a shadow across their entire educational careers.

Feb 17, 2010 (The Daily Republic, Mitchell, SD)
Pre-K program advances in Senate
The state Senate passed legislation Tuesday paving the way for pre-kindergarten programs that would serve lower-income children throughout South Dakota. The proposed law establishes a 16-member Early Learning Council appointed by the governor and sets requirements that communities must follow to be eligible to participate.

Feb 17, 2010 (The Miami Herald)
Legislature to consider class size, replacing FCAT
And [Gov. Charlie] Crist's education spending proposal has called for a $44.8 million increase in the program for 4-year-olds. A 2008 report by the National Institute for Early Education Research concluded that while Florida is a national leader in providing pre-kindergarten classes, the program lags in quality and spending.

Feb 17, 2010 (Philadelphia Daily News)
Poll: Early-childhood education has wide support in Pa.
A new poll says that 81 percent of Pennsylvania voters support providing early-childhood education to children under age 5, and that 71 percent believe those programs should be state-funded.

Feb 16, 2010 (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Column: Preschool offers helpful transition to kindergarten
Preschool serves several important roles. Although many people assume that it's about giving children a jump-start on learning the alphabet and numbers, the goal is more about exposure than actual learning. It's about putting kids in a language-rich environment. It's about getting kids to problem-solve, even if the problem is as simple as building a block tower.

Feb 15, 2010 (Republican-American, Waterbury, CT)
Push on to close preschool gap
Stalled efforts to expand statewide access to early education may soon regain momentum, as a growing number of school districts work to cobble together local programs and the governor's Early Education Cabinet returns to action Thursday following a budget-induced hiatus.

Feb 12, 2010 (Northwest Herald, Crystal Lake, IL)
State budget woes spare preschool program
Like many preschool programs, District 50's is funded by state grants. Unlike many programs, District 50 has received most of the grant money that is expected from the state.

Feb 9, 2010 (Omaha World-Herald)
A fairer start for kindergartners?
Reading skills span from pre-kindergarten to the third-grade level. In between are students who work on three-letter words and construct sentences. Some educators say that those gaps in ages and skills are too wide for today's rigorous kindergarten classrooms.

Feb 3, 2010 (Houston Chronicle)
Opinion: Early-childhood education: an issue of national security
Early-childhood education is not just an education imperative — it needs to be a national security priority. Let me tell you why. Seventy-five percent of young Americans are not qualified to join the military, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The three primary reasons are inadequate education, criminality and physical unfitness.

Feb 2, 2010 (Orlando Sentinel)
Pre-K program could be headed for 'train wreck'
Florida's pre-kindergarten program is in financial trouble — facing a nearly $29 million budget shortfall this year and a worse deficit next year. The budget woes are raising fears that a program meant to offer "high quality" preschool classes is on a downward slide.

Jan 31, 2010 (The Sag Harbor Express, Sag Harbor, NY)
Editorial: Do pre-K right
Countless studies have proven the numerous benefits of this type of early education, including increasing the rates of graduation, helping students perform better on standardized tests, decreasing the rates of crimes perpetrated by youths and reducing the number of special education students.

Jan 29, 2010 (The Telegraph, Alton, IL)
Parents protest lack of school funding
Gov. Pat Quinn came to Alton on Friday to talk about high-speed rail, but a group of demonstrators had the issue of education funding on their minds. Several parents and children attended the news conference at Alton's Amtrak Station, carrying signs asking for the state to make its payments for early childhood education, which is at risk for elimination in the Alton School District.

Jan 28, 2010 (Columbia Missourian, Columbia, MO)
Parents As Teachers targeted for cuts
As state leaders prepare to write a budget with less cash in the coffers, they have pledged to protect public education from the axe. But Parents As Teachers, a nationally recognized early-childhood education program funded by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, will receive less funding for the second straight year.

Jan 28, 2010 (The New York Times)
Preschools Add Brush-and-Spit to Day
Massachusetts is the first state to add toothbrush time to the color-nap-snack-and-play routine of preschools, requiring that all children who eat a meal at day care, or attend for more than four hours, brush their teeth during class and be educated about oral health.

Jan 26, 2010 (Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL)
Editorial: Expanding Montgomery prekindergarten wise
Alabama is in the odd position of having perhaps the best pre-kindergarten program in the nation, but only providing access to that program to a very small percentage of children in Alabama because of funding problems.

Jan 25, 2010 (The Grand Rapids Press, Grand Rapids, MI)
Study finds early education saves Michigan millions
It might take 15 years for today's finger painters and "Sesame Street" fans to hit the work force, which is the challenge of arguing for public investment in early childhood education. But preschool saves Michigan taxpayers mountains of money and increases revenues -- about $1.15 billion over the past 25 years, according to the first comprehensive study of the state's programs for children from birth to 5 years old, to be released today by state Schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan.

Jan 25, 2010 (The Blade, Toledo, OH)
UT adds bachelor's program for early childhood teachers
The University of Toledo is working to help preschool teachers better prepare their young students for a positive educational experience. A new program will help early childhood teachers receive their bachelor's degrees in a fast-track program for which they could receive substantial scholarships.

Jan 24, 2010 (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
Editorial: Prekindergarten must be part of basic education
The Legislature can boost Washington's chances of financial success by signaling the state's long-term commitment to high-quality prekindergarten learning. Lawmakers can do that by including prekindergarten learning as part of the state's definition of basic education.

Jan 24, 2010 (The Arizona Republic)
Program encourages adults to engage children in reading
The Raising A Reader Initiative, a multiyear project, is linking free literacy training with outreach activities in apartment communities to help children 5 years old and younger develop the skills they need to be successful readers.

Jan 23, 2010 (The Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD)
Preschool efforts face challenges
With permanent money proving elusive, a Sioux Falls public preschool program for low-income children probably will serve fewer students next school year when the initial funding runs out. Meanwhile, supporters of early childhood education again are looking to establish statewide standards for such programs in hopes the state will pay for them when the economy improves.

Jan 22, 2010 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Doyle's child-care rating plan gets broad support
Community leaders, child advocates and state lawmakers spoke out Friday in support of Gov. Jim Doyle's plan to rate child-care centers in Wisconsin and link their performance to state subsidy payments. While many of the details have yet to be finalized, the plan unveiled Friday calls for rating the centers with one to five stars depending on the education level of the staff, the curriculum for children, the business practices they utilize and other criteria.

Jan 22, 2010 (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN)
Editorial: Backward approach to student learning
The state doesn't have $23.5 million to spend, so the debate is academic. But lawmakers should know that investing in early childhood education is a better and less-costly way to ensure children succeed in school.

Jan 20, 2010 (Irish Independent, Dublin, Ireland)
Opinion: New scheme opens up an early education to all
The significance of the Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) scheme, which is under way from this month, must not be underestimated. It is a ground-breaking development in the childcare sector and means that children in Ireland, regardless of their parents' income, are entitled to one year of pre-school education free.

Jan 20, 2010 (Daily Record, Jacksonville, FL)
Business, education groups reveal wish lists
With the support of Gov. Charlie Crist and former Gov. Jeb Bush, business and education leaders unveiled a report filled with sweeping reforms that include doubling the funding for the higher education system and raising the standards for the popular Bright Futures scholarship program.

Jan 20, 2010 (The Times, Trenton, NJ)
More NJ children slipping below poverty line
New Jersey experienced an increased rate of child poverty at the onset of the nation's economic downturn in 2008, according to a new report by the nonprofit Association for Children of New Jersey.

Jan 20, 2010 (The New York Times)
Foreign languages fade in class — except Chinese
Thousands of public schools stopped teaching foreign languages in the last decade, according to a government-financed survey — dismal news for a nation that needs more linguists to conduct its global business and diplomacy. But another contrary trend has educators and policy makers abuzz: a rush by schools in all parts of America to offer instruction in Chinese.

Jan 19, 2010 (The New York Times)
School adds weeding to reading and writing
Anyone who has come home from school carrying a sprouting bean in a foam cup can attest that growing plants has long been used as a teaching tool.

Jan 19, 2010 (East Valley Tribune, Mesa, AZ)
Outcry over plan to cut full-day kindergarten
Gov. Jan Brewer's proposal to cut state support of full-day kindergarten would create unequal access to a popular program children need, parents and educators say.

Jan 18, 2010 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Gregoire proposes enhanced preschool
Gov. Chris Gregoire said Monday that she wants all preschools for children ages 3 and 4 to be certified by the state. Gregoire said that under her proposed "All Start" preschool program, certification would ensure that all preschools would operate under the same standards set by the Department of Early Learning.

Jan 17, 2010 (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH)
Opinion: Change how little kids learn and you change the future
New results from the most ambitious early childhood pilot program ever undertaken in Cuyahoga County leave no doubt that quality early education targeting 3- and 4-year-olds can begin to change young lives and dramatically improve performance when children enter kindergarten. That test data show that a single year of instruction for children who began the pilot in the bottom 25 percent achievement level resulted in remarkable improvement -- a jump of nearly 40 percent in key child-development skills.

Jan 15, 2010 (Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY)
State attempting to rate preschool programs
The state is looking to quantify quality in preschool programs to guide investment of public funds and support. Participants will be graded on five levels -- one to five stars -- to help families in their search for early childhood care.

Jan 15, 2010 (The Charleston Gazette)
Pre-K programs adding morning meals
Children at First Presbyterian Church's pre-kindergarten program - and at similar programs across West Virginia - will enjoy a hot breakfast each morning next fall, after the state Board of Education approved new state guidelines last month.

Jan 13, 2010 (The Early Ed Watch blog (New America Foundation))
Thoughts on today's release of the Head Start Impact Study
In short, the Impact Study's results strike us as more evidence that to do right by today's children, we have to not only ensure that 4-year-olds receive a high-quality pre-K experience, but that children experience high-quality instruction all the way up through the primary grades.

Jan 12, 2010 (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Column: An early start, a big step ahead
Economists argue that educating children in these vital years is also a superb development initiative, producing more high school and college graduates with a potential for higher earnings, while reducing the demands for remedial education, repeating grades, crime prevention, and prisons down the road.

Jan 12, 2010 (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA)
Louisiana Department of Education cuts to hit adult education hardest
The $825,000 cut to prekindergarten statewide comes at a time when several local educators say they already struggle to adequately finance the programs.

Jan 11, 2010 (The Forum, Fargo, ND)
North Dakota sees spike in pre-K programs
State seeks to get rid of 'dirty dozen' label
After decades of early education being set aside in North Dakota, programs such as pre-K are on the upswing in the state thanks to federal aid. The state has received nearly $30 million in stimulus funds, which can be used for early childhood education or pre-K programming.

Jan 11, 2010 (Education.com)
Is your pre-K teacher giving what they get?
One of the biggest reasons preschool teachers site leaving the field is salary. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wages of preschool teachers were $23,870 in May 2008, with the bottom 10 percent earning less than $16,030.

Jan 11, 2010 (Press-Register, Mobile, AL)
Editorial: Expand pre-K and invest in the future
Thanks to far-sighted leadership at both the state and local level, the pre-kindergarten program has suffered few ill effects from the recession and repeated school funding cuts. We hope this leadership bodes well for the future of the program, which remains too small to have a major impact on the state's preschool population.

Jan 9, 2010 (The Boston Globe)
Learning how to play
Most of us take it for granted, but for some parents it is a foreign concept
The teacher is Kaltun Guled, a Somali "home visitor" with the Parent-Child Home Program, which aims to prepare children challenged by limited educational opportunities for entering school. Based on the premise that there's a connection between parent-child verbal interaction and success in school, the program models reading and play activities to parents who might otherwise not have the ability, or the opportunity, to do it on their own.

Jan 7, 2010 (Times-Georgian, Carrollton, GA)
City changes pre-K student acceptance
The program, which accepts 180 students and is always full, has accepted students on a first-come, first-served basis, but with the poor economy the school system expects demand for the free preschool program to increase.

Jan 6, 2010 (The Jacksonville Observer, Jacksonville, FL)
Recession Fuels Shift to Public Schools
It’s too early to tell whether the recession has had a profound effect on public schools’ educational mission. But parents and educators across the nation say it’s already bringing subtle changes to the culture of many public schools as some families seek the personal attention they received from private schools.

Jan 6, 2010 (The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, TN)
Data from school system's Pre-K program shows results
Data from the local school system shows that its pre-K program is getting results that help young children create a sound footing for their education. Since the program began in 2005 when legislation was passed for the state to fund it, the pre-K program has grown from 40 students in two classrooms to 400 students in 20 classrooms at 16 sites across the system.

Jan 6, 2010 (SnoValley Star, Snoqualmie, WA)
Opinion: Social skills can be more important
Looking back to our younger years, many of us recall kindergarten and early elementary grades, and because of those memories we assume that preschool should be about worksheets and homework and packing our little ones’ brains with ABCs and arithmetic. Not so. Of course, preschool is about learning, but for 3- and 4-year-olds learning is primarily the act of play.

Jan 6, 2010 (Press of Atlantic City)
State Early Childhood Council formed
Governor Jon S. Corzine on Jan. 6 signed an Executive Order establishing the New Jersey Council for Young Children. The role of the council will be to ensure collaboration and coordination among early childhood programs in the state and maintain compliance with federal guidelines.

Jan 5, 2010 (The Wall Street Journal)
Column: Should the government help provide child care?
Child-care advocates in the U.S. have called on government to increase support for high-quality child care. The 2008 economic-stimulus package contained $2 billion in child-care aid, bringing total federal child-care aid to $7 billion last year. Many people, however, prefer that government stay out of early-childhood care, leaving responsibility to families and holding down costs to taxpayers.

Jan 4, 2010 (The Times, Shreveport, LA)
Louisiana sees boost in pre-K enrollment
Louisiana is making "significant progress" toward preparing youngsters for kindergarten, according to data released last month, but educators say more must be done to provide universal preschool to all children. In terms of education, pre-K enrollment in Louisiana public schools increased 57 percent between 2000 and 2009, raising the total head count from 21,290 in the 2000-01 school year to 33,438 during the 2008-09 school year.

Jan 4, 2010 (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Gov. advises no funding for academic program aimed at low-income families
[Gov.] Freudenthal says Even Start, which costs the state $1.4M, duplicates other childhood and adult literacy programs. Even Start has five centers across the state and supporters say it helps in ways other programs can't.

Jan 3, 2010 (The News Enterprise, Elizabethtown, KY)
Editorial: KEES to success
Recent studies have shown a remarkable return on investment in preschool programs. Perhaps KEES money would be better spent at the other end of a student’s journey — the beginning — building an economic foundation on which higher education can grow and prosper.

Jan 1, 2010 (Hawaii Business)
Early Education
Investing in families today pays off now and tomorrow
Some of Hawaii's business leaders ... believe high-quality and convenient childcare makes for more productive workers now. Plus, they see a future benefit: Children who spend time in good day-care will be better workers tomorrow.

Jan 1, 2010 (State Legislatures)
Early Returns
Even though the poor economy has restricted the money available for these early programs, state lawmakers have increased funding for pre-K in the last several years. But as states try to cope with shrinking revenues—a situation expected to last at least a couple of more years—they will find it more difficult to do so.