All children deserve the best start in life and school possible ... and we all benefit when they get it. They're healthier, more successful in school and more engaged and productive in society and life.

Washington's new statewide early learning plan, which was released on Sept. 1, will help give more children that great start in life and school.

The plan is the roadmap for building a comprehensive early learning system in Washington over the next decade. It is designed to better coordinate all of the great work already happening for children and families and guide policy, funding and ongoing work by organizations and agencies. And it shows how we all make a difference in the lives of children.

Watch this Learning for Life as we talk with Dr. Bette Hyde, director of the state Department of Early Learning, and Nina Auerbach, president and CEO of Thrive by Five Washington, the state's public-private partnership for early learning, about the new statewide early learning plan, what big changes are in store to help young children and families in Washington state and what role parents and families play in the plan.

Learning for Life airs every Wednesday on KING 5 Morning News on KONG 6/16 TV between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m.

At 1 p.m. today, Bette Hyde and I will present to the House Early Learning & Children Services Committee on the progress of the field test of Seeds to Success, the state’s quality rating and improvement system (QRIS). The presentation will include a progress report on the work being done in each of the five communities involved in the pilot. In addition, a provider-coach pair from both Clark County and Yakima County will speak about their experiences with QRIS and provide perspective on the impact QRIS is having in their communities. 

Watch the hearing LIVE on TVW.

Washington State News

• Gloomy economy has parents joining forces for child care – 9/14/09, Spokesman Review
• Video: Dr. Bette Hyde, State Director of the Department of Early Learning, testified this week before the House Education Appropriations Committee about implementation of early learning budget reductions – 9/14/09, TVW

National News

• Early Education Issues Return to Spotlight – 9/18/09, Education Week
• Better Day Care, Smarter Kids? – 9/16/09, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
• The third-grade reader – 9/16/09, The Boston Globe (MA)
• Less TV Brings More Parent-Child Interaction – 9/16/09, US News & World Report
• Close Oregon's achievement gap by starting early, study urges – 9/14/09, The Oregonian
• The Social Hierarchy of Preschoolers – 9/14/09, Newsweek
• Youngsters who skip preschool because of economy may not be ready for kindergarten – 9/12/09, Vero Beach Press Journal (CA)
• Kentucky tackles high school dropout problem – 9/10/09, Louisville Courier-Journal (KY)

Policy

• A Tilt Toward Literacy – 9/15/09, New America Foundation: The Early Ed Watch Blog
• Quality of early child care plays role in later reading, math achievement – 9/15/09, Society for Research in Child Development
• Children under 3 can't learn action words from TV -- unless an adult helps – 9/15/09, Society for Research in Child Development

Misc

• Business Leaders Eye Early Childhood to Move America Toward Economic Recovery – 9/16/09, Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)

I didn’t have to look far for today’s news because Bremerton, Wash., is gaining national kudos for its early learning success, including its ability to integrate pre-k and kindergarten.

Bremerton’s strategy is both simple and comprehensive. It crafted partnerships with the region’s preschools, child care providers and Head Start centers, according to Public School Insights, and narrowed the achievement gap.

The results were impressive.  The percentage of kindergarten students who knew the alphabet jumped from 4 percent to more than 50 percent over the last seven years, the Web site said. (Read Insights for the full story.)

But, the bigger news is that last month Gov. Christine Gregoire asked former Bremerton school chief Bette Hyde, now head of the state’s Department of Early Learning, to work on a plan to ensure all Washington children have access to quality learning as they prepare for kindergarten, and her letter includes a call to include community groups and non-profits.

“I am asking you to work on a proposal about the state’s role in providing early learning opportunities to all children birth to five, their families, early learning caregivers and educators. I believe children should have early learning opportunities from birth,” Gov. Gregoire wrote in the letter sent to Hyde and Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn in June.

Since she picked Hyde only four months before sending the letter, it’s obvious she wants Hyde to draw on her experience and success in Bremerton.

It is also clear Gov. Gregoire isn’t wasting much time. She wants Hyde and Dorn to send her a plan by December 1.

Finally, for budget hawks out there, Bremerton’s success offers another lesson in the economics of early learning.

According to [Linda] Sullivan-Dudzic [Bremerton School District’s director of Special Programs], while a set of curriculum materials costs the school district $2,000, the district saves $2,500 for every kindergartener who does not need remedial reading services. “All I need is one kid coming out of that preschool who does not need remedial help to make up that first year’s investment,” she says. – Public School Insights, Jan. 13, 2009.

(Thanks Early Ed Watch Blog for picking up this news and Public School Insight for covering the developments.)