Congress has begun debating how to revamp the No Child Left Behind Act and one of the nation’s newest superintendents has an idea lawmakers should keep in mind: Education reform begins with child care, preschool and prekindergarten.

“If you want to reform high school, you need to reform early childhood. You don’t reform high school in high school, you reform very early on in life,” incoming Minneapolis Public School Superintendent Gregory Thornton told Milwaukee’s Business Journal.

This comment highlights the idea that early learning could play a pivotal role in the discussion about how to improve the federal law that governs K-12 education. As lawmakers begin to hold hearings, there are key questions about that role, including: Will the PreK-3rd movement translate its momentum into concrete changes that integrate pre-k with early elementary grades?  How will President Barack Obama’s commitment to quality early learning be reflected in any new law?

While preschool and prekindergarten ideas will likely be part of the debate, this is an opportunity for the Obama administration to translate its commitment into change. The test will not be how loudly Obama and his congressional supporters support any changes, but ultimately by how legislators weave early learning reforms into a final bill.

Will the bill strengthen links between pre-k and kindergarten, first and second grades? Will it contain new support for early learning teachers to get training and earn college degrees? Or, will these and other efforts be drowned out by battles over how to measure teacher effectiveness?

Unlike other educational reform ideas, there seems to be wide support in Washington, D.C., this year for quality early learning. The legislative battles over No Child Left Behind should tell us how deep that support really is.

We will keep an eye on what should be an interesting debate.

First Lady Michelle Obama gave the fight against childhood obesity a major boost when she took a leading role last month, and one of the places she may want to focus on is preschool, the National Institute for Early Education Research suggests this week.

While parents may think preschool is a place where their kids race around, run and play, a study found students engaged in “moderate to vigorous exercise” only 3.4 percent of their day at preschool. Granted, there are other things to do beyond run around outside, but the level found in the Children’s Activity and Movement in Preschools Study seems way too low.

Researchers also highlighted one of my favorite topics: well-designed open spaces in early learning. They found open space, fixed equipment, ball and object use “are associated with high levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity.” – Preschool’s Role in Fighting Childhood Obesity. 3/9/10.

“In view of the high levels of sedentary activity observed, the researchers call for careful attention in designing outdoor spaces for preschoolers. Designs should include sufficient open spaces and specific outdoor play materials associated with increased levels of physical activity.”— Preschool’s Role in Fighting Childhood Obesity.

What are parents noticing at their preschools? Are your kids getting enough exercise? The story is short and worth checking out.

Child Care Economics in the News: Another writer tackled one of my other favorite topics in The economics of child care: Why do long waiting lists persist?The story offers reasons why child care doesn’t fit the supply-and-demand model from Ohio State University professor David Blau, who edited a book entitled The Economics of Child Care. The reasons include the idea that many child care services are not run as typical businesses and that many parents “aren't willing to pay a premium for high-quality child care…,” according to the Vancouver Sun article. It is another easy read worth checking out.

This spring one of the giants of family research will launch a campaign to connect parents and teachers with all of the research on benefits of quality early learning, and help them use it.

Next month, Family and Work Institute head Ellen Galinsky will kick off “A Mind in the Making,” an ambitious and multifaceted effort that will be the culmination of eight years of work on early childhood learning research, why kids lose interest in learning and what can be done to keep them engaged.

“Too many kids were dropping out of high school, too many are not prepared for college, and there is a disturbing lack of engagement in learning – the fire that burns brightly in babies’ eyes is dimmed in school,” Galinsky wrote in explaining her ideas and goals. “We have focused on content that young children need to learn, but we have paid much less attention to the learning – ultimately the life skills - they need to have.”

The core of the campaign is Galinsky’s soon-to-be released book “Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Skills Every Child Needs,” which outlines modern skills parents should encourage their children to develop: Focus on control; perspective taking, communicating; making connections; critical thinking; taking on challenges; and pursuing ongoing learning. (April 6, HarperStudio.)

But, the campaign extends far beyond that 352-page book.  The effort includes a congressional launch event, learning modules for early childhood teachers and families, web-based videos for families, a DVD on great experiments in child development research and other efforts.

But, perhaps the most important tool will be lessons Galinsky will offer parents. Instead of telling them they should do something, she will show them steps and exercises they can take to instill those life skills that help children become productive contributing adults.

For example, parents should focus on praising their children’s efforts, not their talents.

“Studies have found that this kind of praise encourages children to challenge themselves,” The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. “Life is full of stresses and challenges. Children who are willing to take on challenges (instead of avoiding them) do better in school and life.”

As one of the leading voices in the field of family research, Galinsky is more than qualified to lead this effort. She has written more than 40 books and reports, and currently is president of the Families and Work Institute in New York City. We will check back on this campaign as it unfolds.

The Early Learning Challenge Fund – potentially worth $8 billion over ten years – might make it to President Barack Obama’s desk this year as part of a massive health care reform bill, K-12 Politics reports.

Congressional leaders are considering packaging health care reform as a reconciliation package that also could include the early learning fund legislation, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate this year, according to the Education Week’s insightful blog. Check out K-12 Politics for all of the details.

Reading to kids is a critical part of development in the first years of life, but there is a wide gap between how often kids in low-income families hear stories and how often those in other families get story time, according to a new literacy campaign.

A new National “Read to Kids” campaign wants to close that divide, and it needs your help. 

Everybody Wins USA, a national literacy and mentoring nonprofit, has proposed a national effort to encourage parents, teachers and community volunteers to read to kids 20 minutes a day from birth through high school in change.org’s Ideas for Change in America contest. Change.org will present the top 10 ideas to the Obama administration.

The reading campaign is at once simple and powerful. Supporters compare it to the national fitness campaign, which supports kids getting 60 minutes of exercise a day. In this case, if kids listen to 20 minutes of stories, magazine articles or other writing every day they are better off, they suggest.

According to the National Commission on Reading report, Becoming a Nation of Readers, “the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.” However, The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study found that only 36% of kindergarten students of a low socioeconomic status were being read to every day by their parents. In total, low-income children hear only half to one-third as many spoken words as children in more affluent households. – National Read to Kids Campaign contest description at change.org.

This morning, the campaign had a real shot of making the cut, ranking 15th among all of the proposed ideas. It needed 478 votes to crack the top 10. Cast your vote now in support of literacy!

Final round voting closes Friday.

Washington State News

• Op-Ed: Let’s give kids the best start we can  – 3/4/10, Port Orchard Independent
• Letter to the Editor: Early Head Start a keeper – 3/3/10, Spokesman Review
• Study Of State’s Child-welfare System Show Families Having Trouble Meeting Basic Needs – 3/3/10, Seattle Medium
• Parents often miss early autism signs – 3/2/10, The Spokesman-Review
• Baby Bonding – 3/1/10, The Spokesman-Review
• Reading time is special time with children – 2/28/10, The Olympian

National/International News

• Editorial: Preschool is right investment – 3/5/10, The Daily Advertiser (LA)
• Editorial: Child care rating system can be useful – 3/5/10, Appleton Post Crescent (WI)
• 'Crisis nurseries' are a big hit – 3/5/10, Philadelphia Daily News (PA)
• Letter: Saving children: Early intervention is crucial 3/4/10, The Plain Dealer (OH)
• Preschool plan rejected – 3/4/10, Argus Leader (SD)
• Georgia child care can be safer, even more affordable – 3/1/10, The Atlanta Journal Constitution (GA)
• Study: Pre-K programs do little for blacks – 3/3/10, UPI (NAT)
• Hawaii might halt junior kindergarten – 3/1/10, Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
• 1 in 4 parents buys unproven vaccine-autism link – 3/1/10, Associated Press
• Risk of Childhood Obesity Higher Among Minorities: Study found risk factors start before birth, stretch into preschool years – 3/1/10, U.S. News & World Report
• Not child's play: Mary Reed keeps early education front and center – 3/1/10, Boston Herald (MA)
• 'Education is the civil rights issue of our time' – 3/1/10, Essence Magazine (NAT)

Research/Policy

• Teachers: Preparation begins in pre-school  – 3/3/10, Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media Blog: Early Stories
• From England, with worries: toddlers need more support – 3/1/10, Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media Blog: Early Stories
• Dual Language Learners: What Early Educators Need to Know – 2/26/10, New America Foundation Blog: Early Ed Watch

With time running out in the Washington State legislative session, a cut in child care subsidies for poor families remains a $30-million part of a House plan to balance the budget, though the Senate appears to support more funding.

The House budget plan now has a smaller version of Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposed cut to the Working Connections Child Care program – a move that would force thousands of poor families from the program that provides child care subsidies and support, according to interest groups.

But, over in the Senate, the budget blueprint would preserve funding for the program.

Supporters argue that working but still poor parents would have a far harder time pulling their families out of poverty without this help with often hefty child care bills.

Without work supports such as WCCC, maintaining employment can be difficult if not impossible. According to the state Department of Early Learning, the average cost of a child care center for two children is about $1,177 per month. (Assuming one toddler and one school-age child.) As shown in the graph below, that is over half of the total monthly income for a family earning $24,000 per year. – “Important Work Support in Jeopardy,” Washington State Budget and Policy Center.

While it isn’t clear what will happen to the program, something should happen soon. The regular legislative session is slated to end March 11.  With a long and slow economic recovery now likely, the question is: Will legislators make the connections between working, the need for affordable child care and a stronger economy?

For further reading:

• “Child Care Subsidy for Working Parents in Jeopardy,” The Children’s Alliance, 1/29/10.
• “Important Work Support in Jeopardy,” Washington State Budget and Policy Center.

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!    

– “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss

Since today is Dr. Seuss’s birthday it is a good time to report that Thrive by Five Washington will encourage more kids to travel off to great places by investing $350,000 on programs that help them learn to read.

The $350,000 investment will launch Thrive’s Culture of Literacy initiative, which will spend the public and private dollars largely in rural communities around Washington State.  It will spend a lot of the money on the Reach Out and Read Washington program, which encourages doctors and nurses to give new books to kids, and their parents, during checkups.

 The Culture of Literacy initiative has broader goals than spending this $350,000, and one is to create an early literacy system in Washington.

Thrive will step in with funds at a time when Reach Out and Read Washington could use some help.  For the last two years, the federal Reach Out and Read program has not been able to give its Washington affiliate new books. Now, the Washington program will be able to get new books to families in underserved and sometimes un-served rural and tribal communities.

Early literacy is key, setting the stage not only for later literacy, but development and school readiness. The one thing parents hear over and over again is ‘Read to your child.”

Thrive by Five’s early literacy efforts extend beyond this investment. For example, Thrive partnered with the Department of Early Learning to spend $1.5 million in Reading Readiness grants during 2007-08, funds that helped 12 groups around Washington encourage early literacy. But, the partnership was not able to invest in 2008-09 because of budget cuts.

While Thrive’s literacy campaign will take a big step forward with this new investment, imagine the places it might go with more state and federal funding.

Vaccine fears are back in the news today. Many parents are concerned about negative reactions to vaccines and one-quarter think these shots can cause autism, a new study found.

Overall, 54 percent of surveyed parents said they were concerned about “serious adverse effects of vaccines,” according to a story on the new research published today in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  In addition, 25 percent agreed with the statement that “some vaccines cause autism in healthy children.”

That is the bad news. The good news is that the vast majority of parents (90 percent) agreed that vaccines are a good way to protect against disease, and 88 percent said they follow their doctor’s advice on shots, researchers said.

These findings come with a caveat. The work was done before a key study suggesting a link between autism and vaccines was retracted last month. But, widespread worry about vaccines shown in this new report suggests there is a bigger problem than one discounted study.

“Although information is available to address many vaccine safety concerns, such information is not reaching many parents in an effective or convincing manner,” researchers wrote in Parental Vaccine Safety Concerns in 2009. “Continued high childhood immunization rates will be at risk if current safety concerns are not addressed effectively and increase in the future, resulting in more parents’ refusing vaccines.”

Further reading: “1 in 4 Parents Thinks Shots Cause Autism.” Associated Press, via MSNBC.com, 3/1/10.

Research News: A expectant mother’s stress can affect a baby’s cognitive development, but a mom’s nurturing can offset the impact, “Good Parenting Triumphs Over Prenatal Stress.” Thanks to Early Childhood Brain Insights for highlighting the story.