Arguing Early Education:

• 4 good reasons why ECE (Early Childhood Education) is not just important, but essential – ChildCareExchange
• Slow the Preschool Bandwagon – The Washington Post, 5/15/09.
  “For all its surface appeal, universal preschool is an unwise use of tax dollars.”  

Plus:

• Providing Equal Access to Full-Day Kindergarten, – The Washington Post, 5/14/09.

Parenting News

• Is Laziness the Secret of Successful Parenting? – Wall Street Journal, 5/11/09.
• Pregnant, newborn most at risk of flu – UPI, 5/14/09.
• Chicago is first U.S. city to ban BPA baby bottles – Associated Press, via MSNBC.com

Research:

• Almost 1 in 5 WA kids don't get enough to eat – No Kidding! Children’s Alliance blog, 5/13/09.
• Mirror Neurons Key to Social Skills: Researchers Explore Differences in Children with ASDs, Winter 2009 – CHDD Outlook, News from the Center on Human Development and Disability at the University of Washington Health Sciences Center, Winter 2009.

(Thanks to the Foundation for Early Learning, Hechinger Institute’s EarlyStories and Pre-K Now for helping find these stories.)

This was a week about early learning money. The news was full of stories about fragmented funding for preschool, pre-kindergarten and child care in California, how to spend economic stimulus cash on child care ratings and Texas money on better classes.

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• In One Pocket and Out the Other for Preschool Funding

 A promised deluge of federal stimulus funds for preschools, a major priority for President Barack Obama, will start flowing to centers in San Diego just as state funding is being clipped.

That might sound like a blessing, but dollars from state, federal and other programs cannot be easily swapped to plug gaps. The push-and-pull on preschool money is putting many centers in the paradoxical position of juggling expected cuts with investments in better programs and training, benefiting some families and not others. The fates of different preschools and their different programs will vary dramatically depending on where they get their money, and whether they can find ways to tap the stimulus. – VoiceofSanDiego.org, 4/28/09 (Thanks to Early Stories for finding this news.)

• A Stimulus for Second-Generation QRIS (Quality Rating and Improvement System)

The stimulus presents a unique opportunity for states to invest in QRIS, which can help them ensure the quality of their growing investments in pre-K and early childhood programs while also driving improvements in child well-being and educational development across the ECE sector. Several states have “shovel-ready” plans for QRIS expansion or pilot programs that could put stimulus funds to work immediately. – New America Foundation, April Issue Brief.

Plus: Making a Connection Between Social Behaviors in Preschool and Kindergarten Success

Hanish and her colleagues also found that, in preschool, children who play well with their peers are more likely to do well in preschool teachers' assessments of their math and literacy skills, as well as their ability to pay attention and follow instructions.

Contrary to what some researchers expected, however, the data did not show any significant link between social behaviors in preschool and literacy and math skills in kindergarten. – Early Ed Watch, 4/28/09.

• New Peabody institute to conduct first-ever assessment of Tennessee's pre-k program

Vanderbilt University’s new Peabody Research Institute and the Tennessee Department of Education today announced a partnership to conduct the first statewide evaluation of the effectiveness of Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-K Program. (Cost is $6 million). – Vanderbilt University, 4/27/09.

• Childhood nutrition: WIC's workload grows as others' shrink

Oregon WIC is now at 103 percent of capacity, serving more people than they're actually funded for. – The Oregonian, 4/26/09.

• No teacher can wrangle an infinite number of 4-year-olds

In Texas, though, the sky’s the limit. Of the 38 states that sponsor pre-K classes, Texas is the only one that doesn’t cap student-to-teacher ratios. In the Houston area, we hear of classrooms in which a lone teacher wrangles a herd of 28.…The Texas Legislature is considering bills to raise the quality of our state’s pre-K programs. – Houston Chronicle, 4/28/09

(Thanks to Pre-K Now for finding many of these news stories.)

We know kids need good teachers, well-stocked classrooms and inspiring curriculums for a good start, but without healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners a lot can be lost.

Preschool lunch will be served in Congress this year when legislators debate a critical early learning law, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, which helps ensure preschoolers have enough brain food to learn, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy.

It’s early in the congressional game, but the center is already pushing to boost funding by $3 to $4 billion over five years for the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the portion of the law for early learning, according to Helen Blank, director of public policy at the Washington, D.C.-based group.

With so many two-income families, many kids spend a lot of time at centers. That means they get a lot of their meals there, Blank adds.

“If you want children to thrive you need a comprehensive approach,” Blank said in an interview. “Good nutrition is key.”

The program is a key line of nutritional support, with 3.2 million children at child care centers relying on it, CLASP reports.

Since 1996, the number of participating child care centers has increased by nearly 50 percent, while the number of participating family child care homes has fallen by 27 percent. Stringent eligibility guidelines and complex reimbursement structures have contributed to the reduction in participating family child care providers and effectively prevented many low-income children from receiving the nutritious meals they need. – Improving access to nutritious meals in child care settings – Center for Law and Social Policy, 4/28/09.

The debate appears poised to become a lobbying frenzy, with food industry-types, unions, child care advocates and others all expected to jump in, Blank says.

That dialogue is only beginning, though Congress is slated to reauthorize and revise the law this year. The Senate held a hearing, but the House has yet to hold its own.

CLASP isn’t waiting for legislation to pick up steam. The interest group already set out its recommendations, including:

• “…Eligibility for low-income children and family child care providers should be streamlined to ease participation.”
• “Meal reimbursements should be enhanced to cover increased food costs and offer an option of a third meal for children in care for long hours.”

Read the group’s full list of proposals here.