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California's "incoherent" system of early education needs more coordination, says new report
To tackle a fragmented and "incoherent" system of early education, California should set up a single "state-level governing body" with the authority and expertise to
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Credit: Erin Brownfield, EdSource
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coordinate all early childhood education programs in the state.
That's a key recommendation of a new report from the Learning Policy Institute. Similarly, the report recommends that a single agency or coordinating body be funded at a county or regional level to coordinate services in their respective areas.
The reason for more coordination is clear. The report described the early education system in California as encompassing "
a patchwork of programs with distinct but overlapping purposes and designs." For more of the report's recommendations on reforming California's complex network of early education programs, check out the report and related
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Young children benefit when early educators get degrees -- and so do the teachers, says one expert
Yet, according to the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, "not one state has qualification requirements in line with the National Academy of Medicine and National Research Council recommendations."
In a post for New America, Sue Russell, Executive Director of the nonprofit
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood National Center, points out that there are also benefits to the largely female early education teaching workforce (who may make
less than dog walkers) when they receive support and funding for post-secondary education in early childhood development and teaching: "Degreed individuals earn or have the potential to earn a lot more money. They can move to different settings and maintain their teaching role; they can advance in their roles within their programs; or they can move to other positions within our field. But wherever they go, they now have new assets - a degree in early childhood education; increased lifelong earning potential; new knowledge and competencies... the confidence that they can advance in our field if desired; and the vision that their children and grandchildren will go to college."
One possible model for providing additional training: Russell describes the program she oversees in North Carolina (and is also offered in
several other states, though California is not one of them) that provides scholarships, using funding from both private and public sources, to support bachelor's degrees and other forms of training for early education teachers. The program has greatly increased the number of teachers with post-secondary degrees in the state.
Writes Russell, "Our children need better-educated teachers, and our teachers need real opportunities. We cannot fail either."
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Moms and Dads: It's time to put down your phone, say researchers
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Credit: EdSource
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In
a video interview from Child Trends News Service, family scientist Brandon McDaniel, PhD, of Illinois State University coins the term "techno-ference" to describe the negative impacts on family relationships caused by parents' use of cell phones and other mobile technology during time with their children.
According to McDaniel's research on families with children under age 5, parents
who had a harder time managing their own phone use were more likely to report behavior issues in their children. Said McDaniel, these parents "were seeing more problem behaviors in their child... their child was more likely to be acting out or hyperactive or crying."
He suggests that parents who have difficulty unplugging should designate tech-free zones and times to allow them to focus on their children. In addition, he suggests installing an app that allows adults to track their phone use to get a realistic picture of just how much time is slipping away online.
In
a related video, researchers at Temple University found that toddlers are less likely to learn new words when a phone call interrupts the child's conversation with
their parent.
Researcher Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD said that without human social connection, very little learning is accomplished: "We learn from other human beings in conversation... it's a duet that requires two."
She advises parents to pay attention to the messages children are absorbing from Mom or Dad's cell phone use.
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Gov. Brown's proposed budget falls short on needed support for early childhood programs, say advocates
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Credit: Sarah Tully, EdSource
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In his final budget, Gov. Jerry Brown upheld promises made in previous years to fund early education initiatives, and added some new ones, but it still falls short of what many advocates have been pushing for his entire tenure in office.
The governor's proposed budget increases child care provider reimbursement rates and adds additional preschool slots, while also adding new funding for home visiting and child care programs for children newborn to 5 years old. Early childhood advocates applauded the new funding but maintained that spending on the state's youngest learners is still well below what is needed to ensure quality child care and support for families, especially those with infants and toddlers.
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Early Head Start partners with local child care providers to serve more infants and toddlers
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Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource
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In Los Angeles County, with a chronic shortage of affordable child care, some families who have struggled most to find nearby low-cost care may soon find some relief.
The federal Early Head Start program, for children under 3 years old, is providing $3 million to expand child care in "high needs zip codes" in Los Angeles County.
Although the grant supports
only a small number of slots in child care centers and family child care homes, it highlights the chronic shortage of child care in Los Angeles and other parts of the state.
Also, as noted in
Education Week earlier this month, Head Start announced they must
put off a requirement for program providers to offer a longer day and year for 4-year-olds. Current appropriations from Congress do not provide enough money to expand services without cutting slots. Head Start would need about $535 million in additional money if half of its center-based programs nationwide offered a longer day and year.
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New science standards a potential boon for youngest students
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Credit: Carolyn Jones, EdSource
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Science education has long been a weak spot at some elementary schools, but educators are hoping California's new science standards -- if implemented well -- will entice teachers to expand and improve science lessons for the youngest students.
"Science education has been severely lacking, especially in K-2," said Rena Dorph, interim director of the
Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. "I hope it will change, but it will depend on a lot of
factors -- policy, resources, local control, support for teachers and quality of curricular materials, and how it's prioritized at the district level."
According to a 2016
study by WestEd, SRI International and the Lawrence Hall of Science, more than half of kindergarten and 1
st-grade teachers in California spend less than an hour per week on science.
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Social and emotional skills in tandem with academic coursework is crucial to K-12 student success
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Credit: Jane Meredith Adams, EdSource
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Researchers, educators, parents, teachers and youth advocates across the country increasingly agree that learning and practicing social and emotional skills in tandem with academic coursework is crucial to K-12 student success.
That's according to
a report issued this week by The Aspen Institute's National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development.
Social and emotional skills include the ability to understand and regulate one's emotions, practice compassion and develop healthy trusting relationships. There is growing consensus that those abilities -- imparted through stand-alone activities and integrated into academic lessons through collaborations and project-based learning -- are key to positive school climates.
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Credit: Ashley Yin for EdSource
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California lags in serving young children with disabilities
California lags behind most states in providing timely services to infants and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delays, and as a result, those children often wait weeks or months before receiving services.
That was one of the findings in a
new report published by the Legislative Analyst's Office. The report, titled, "Evaluating California's System for Serving Infants and Toddlers With Special Needs," assesses how California serves more than 40,000 children under the age of 3 with a disability or a significant developmental delay, such as not speaking or walking as expected.
Read more at EdSource
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Preschoolers with disabilities are being suspended at disproportionate rates
According to a new analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2016 National Survey of Children's Health from the Center for American Progress, children ages 3 to 5 with disabilities and/or emotional and social challenges, though they make up only 12 percent of early childhood program populations, represent 75 percent of suspensions and expulsions nationwide.
The odds of being suspended or expelled are more than 14.5 times higher for children with disabilities and emotional challenges than for their typically developing peers.
Read a summary of the report here
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How 'child care deserts' drive women out of the workforce
An article by Molly Redden of
The Guardian explores an unintended consequence of Washington state's 2016 decision to increase the minimum wage. At one child care center, that increase meant an immediate need to increase prices by $300 a month, forcing some families to leave the program -- or cause a parent to leave the workforce altogether.
According to Redden, access to affordable, reliable child care plays the biggest role in closing the gender wage gap and ensuring that new mothers can remain in the workforce. Yet 51 percent of the U.S. population resides in "child care deserts," where the number of children under age 5 outnumber available child care slots more than
three to one.
Read more
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