Prekindergarten
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Research has shown that 80 percent of brain development occurs before age five. While we know that learning begins at birth, many states have seized an opportunity to create early learning programs for preschool age children across the country. The growth of state-funded preK has altered the early childhood education landscape. It has brought billions of dollars in new investment, developed new standards, and heightened attention to the early learning years. Forty states spend nearly $4 billion annually to reach over one million children each year.
State preK programs are funded, governed, and delivered in a variety of ways, but all aim to prepare preschool age children to be ready for school through additional standards than otherwise required of early learning providers. In most states, these programs target at-risk children for whom research has demonstrated high-quality early childhood education can address the achievement gap. In a few states, “universal” preK programs intend to serve all 4-year-old children, although funding is not always available to meet that goal.
Of primary importance is that nearly 11 million children are in child care each week while their parents are at work. Children from birth through age five need high-quality early learning environments, and working parents need options. PreK is a piece of the birth-to-five system, not a “silver bullet” for school reform and academic achievement. Children develop across multiple domains from the time they are born, including cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. Effective programs for young children must acknowledge and address all the domains of child development.
ECEC Resources
Resources and Reports
Background
ECEC Resources
Prekindergarten Initiatives
ECEC Policy Brief
"Investing in Early Education"
Testimony of Eric Karolak, Executive Director of the Early Care and Education Consortium
U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, January 23, 2008
Resources and Reports
Pre-K Now’s National Satellite Conference
Child care and early learning providers interested in state-funded preK should visit the online archive of Pre-K Now’s national satellite conference, “Breaking Down Barriers to Quality Pre-K,” held on December 10, 2008. For the first time, this annual event focused on implementation issues, and in a panel discussion ECEC Executive Director Eric Karolak specifically addressed the importance and benefit of preK delivery by community-based providers.
Conference Call Series: A Center Piece of the PreK Puzzle
With the number of state-funded prekindergarten programs continuing to grow throughout the country, the National Women’s Law Center, with a grant provided by the Early Care and Education Consortium, recently released a report, A Center Piece of the PreK Puzzle: Providing State Prekindergarten in Child Care Centers, highlighting the many advantages of using child care centers within these programs. NWLC and ECEC also partnered to produce a series of national audio calls on the role of community-based learning centers in delivering state-funded prekindergarten.
“Financing State Prekindergarten Programs in Child Care Centers.” March 25, 2008.
“Workforce Issues Facing Child Care Centers Operating State Prekindergarten Programs.” May 22, 2008.
"Governance Issues Related to Prekindergarten." October 28, 2008.
To view a transcript and listen to a recording of these calls, visit the National Women’s Law Center website.
News and Reports Archive 2007, including:
Hearing of the Joint Economic Committee June 2007
“Necessary But Not Sufficient” Briefing on Capitol Hill, June 2007
Telluride Summit: Financial Leaders Hear ECE Prospectus
Background
The State of Preschool 2008
W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., Dale J. Epstein, Ph.D., Allison H. Friedman, Ed.M., Judi Stevenson Boyd, Ed.M., Jason T. Hustedt, Ph.D.
National Institute for Early Education Research (April 2009)
Partners in Closing the Achievement Gap: How Charter Schools Can Support High-Quality Universal Pre-K
Sara Mead
Democrats for Education Reform (March 2008)
A Center Piece of the PreK Puzzle: Providing State Prekindergarten in Child Care Centers
Karen Schulman and Helen Blank
National Women's Law Center (December 2007)
Title I and Early Childhood Programs: A Look at Investments in the NCLB Era
Danielle Ewen and Hannah Matthews
Center for Law and Social Policy (October 2007)
Making Pre-Kindergarten Work for Low-income Working Families
Rachel Schumacher, Katie Hamm, and Danielle Ewen
Center for Law and Social Policy (June 21, 2007)
Pre-K 101
Stephen Goldsmith and Nina Rees
Hoover Institution (Summer 2007)
Starting Off Right: Promoting Child Development From Birth in State Early Care and Education Initiatives
Rachael Schumacher, Katie Hamm, Anne Goldstein and Joan Lombardi
Center for Law and Social Policy (July 2006)
The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation
Committee for Economic Development (June 2006)
All Together Now: State Experiences in Using Community-Based Child Care to Provide Pre-Kindergarten
Danielle Ewen, Rachel Schumacher, and Katherine Hart
Center for Law and Social Policy (Revised February 2005)
Serving Preschool Children Under Title I: Non-regulatory guidance
U.S. Department of Education (March 4, 2004) |
