Here’s a resource geared toward parents and teachers looking to strengthen early numeracy skills, and an article explaining why it’s so important.
Quotable & Notable
“We’re in a crisis situation that can’t be fixed through the free market... Until the government can help support the cost of child care, the system can’t pay for itself.”
who:
Phil Fisher, psychology professor at the University of Oregon and director of the RAPID-EC project (a bi-weekly survey tracking experiences of caregivers and families with young children during the pandemic)
Results from Action for Children’s Central Ohio Child Care Provider Survey showed that 37% of licensed child care programs have had to raise tuition since July 1, 2021 and parents are struggling to keep up.
Policy Radar
City
Columbus City Council recently voted to allocate $3.9 million in federal relief funds toward signing bonuses for early childhood educators as well as scholarships of up to $10,000 to about 250 families, as part of an overall effort to strengthen the early childhood profession.
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Federal
As the Build Back Better Act continues to wind its way through Congress, we’ve found these articles helpful to explain not only what’s in the bill but also its larger political and policy context:
CLASP explains the child care and pre-K provisions in the bill;
New America offers further links and resources related to major care provisions that are expected to pass;
Huffington Post describes the historic nature of the bill, but also what’s at stake if child care funding is not renewed in six years – when it’s set to expire; and
NPR explains how tough lessons learned from Obamacare are guiding Democrats in their messaging on this bill
FYI
New America's Early & Elementary Education Policy Program and EducationCounsel are looking for educators willing to share their experiences from this year. You can provide your contact information to participate here.
Beyond the Buckeye State
The Pennsylvania Education Diversity Consortium (PEDC), a broad coalition representing school districts, higher education, and the nonprofit world, is working together to diversify the teacher workforce. The group recently released a set of policy recommendations related to recruitment and retention of diverse talent as well as preparation in culturally responsive practices.
This article describes Alabama’s efforts to expand pre-K across the state, with its latest goal to make it accessible to 70% of all 4-year-olds by 2025. To gain a sense of the sheer scale of this, Ohio’s latest figures (2020) show only 11% of the state’s 4-year-olds enrolled.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation published a report on the years-long effort by Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in “remaking” its child welfare system, “designed to inspire and equip child welfare leaders who seek to make improvements in their jurisdictions.”
What We're Reading
The Washington Post offers a quick but powerful read that busts five common child care myths, like the idea that over-regulation is to blame for its high costs, or only the “elite”/affluent want it for their children.
This fact sheet examines data from a national survey on the alarming rates of emotional distress among parents.
The National Association of States Boards of Education published a brief describing the actions being taken by states to address lead in school drinking water.
A new white paper from the Child Care Services Association examines salary/wage scales for early childhood educators, arguing that “funding and instituting well-designed salary or wage scales that provide transparent and equitable wage lattices and make ECE a competitive career once again is one key strategy for rebuilding the ECE system.”
Research Round Up
A paper published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly by Drs. Iheoma Iruka and Elizabeth Pungello Bruno reexamines the renowned Abecedarian Project – a North Carolina program begun in the 1970s that was studied extensively and informed early arguments for expanding early childhood education. As described in an article about the new paper, it “outlines ways the study was ‘color-blind,’ including not considering race in the development of the early educational intervention or the teacher workforce.” It also points out how the original study did not take into consideration that all of the lead teachers in the program were Black – a factor which in and of itself can impact Black children’s long-term success.
New America describes research that found full-day pre-K had positive effects for English language learners. Specifically, English language learners in Chicago Public Schools who were studied were found to have better learning outcomes as well as attendance – and these effects lasted through the third grade.
This edition written by: Jamie O'Leary, Associate Director of Policy and Caitlin Lennon, Communications & Policy Specialist
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