Washington education leaders unveiled a 10-year plan today that would build an early learning system that runs from pregnancy through third grade and could help the state compete for a bigger slice of federal education funding.
The ambitious draft covers everything from children’s health and nutrition to support for parents and teachers.
There is another reason for the 119-page blueprint. It could put Washington in a far better position to compete for billions of dollars in fresh and future federal early learning dollars. The Obama administration is pushing to expand investment in early education – it helped insert $2 billion to help poor families pay child care bills in the economic stimulus package – and more is contained in pending legislation to overhaul the U.S health care system and student lending.
“With a solid plan for advancing a systemic approach to early learning, Washington State will be in an advantaged position for capturing some of the new and significant funding coming from the federal government,” said Lynn Kagan, one of the nation’s leading experts on early education and co-director of the National Center on Children and Families at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
The challenge for states is that comprehensive early learning infrastructures may be key in winning these federal funds, in part because Obama made it clear the funds should largely go to proven strategies.
The draft’s goals are far broader than this, however, and build on years of past work. For example, a key goal is to break down walls between agencies responsible for early learning by uniting them under a coordinated strategy. It also would create a more seamless transition between early learning and the first four grades of school – a concept known nationally as Prek-3rd.
It encourages breaking down the barriers created by traditional silos based on children’s narrow age ranges, old funding patterns, different types of development (i.e., physical, mental, social-emotional, etc.), and the historic distinctions between the preschool and school years. – Plan for the Washington Early Learning System, 2010 – 2020, Draft, 12/1/30.
The changes won’t happen overnight, especially given the precarious state of the economy. In fact, the plan won’t even be finalized until late March. In the meantime, the public is invited to read, comment on and hold public meetings to discuss the blueprint. The plan actually has two parts: a long-term blueprint and recommendations for Gov. Christine Gregoire and the upcoming legislative session.
While the draft is ambitious, funding remains a concern. It would use federal and state money differently and more efficiently. It also introduced the idea of a public-private financing tool, though that idea is still developing.
But, if Washington doesn’t implement this plan, it may have a harder time winning federal funds that could become available as early as next year.
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