Economic indicators often lag well behind real-time developments, and we are now getting a clearer picture of how The Great Recession affected early learning.
A new report shows Latino enrollment in preschool dropped during the economic downturn, with the percentage of Latino four-year-olds in those classrooms falling from 53 percent to 48 percent during the years 2005 to 2009, ABC News reports.
The report will not be released until tomorrow at the Education Writers Association’s National Seminar, but University of California Berkeley, where the research was done, released a promo that said it would show “declining enrollment of Latino children…particularly in part-time programs.” (We will check out the full report Friday and cover interesting findings.)
UC Berkeley also pointed out that “One-third of all Americans are expected to be of Latino heritage by the year 2050.”
New House Budget Plan Could Hit Early Ed: In the nation’s capitol, the budget battle heated up this week when House Republicans released their 10-year budget plan. The plan doesn’t have a lot of details, but Zero to Three offers its thoughts on what it could mean for early learning, including:
- Fewer at-risk babies will get an Early Head Start on preventing the learning gap.
- More infants and toddlers who are at risk for disabilities will fall behind and need expensive Special Education because they are shut out of Part C/Early Intervention.
- Parents will scramble for already-scarce high quality child care when they have to meet new work requirements.
Remember, a budget resolution is only a blueprint and guide. Binding spending decisions are made in other bills, such as annual appropriations.
Zero to Three will track federal budget developments in early learning on its Baby Blog, so check back.