Smart Start & The North Carolina Partnership for Children » Raising Quality of Care & Education

Pew Report Calls K-12 System a “Relic”

Monday, October 03rd, 2011 | Author: Tracy

As the Pew Center on the States completes its 10-year commitment to the Pre-K Now campaign, the organization has released a final report that challenges the nation’s policy makers to transform public education by moving away from our current K-12 system. The report concludes:

Our nation is at a crossroads. Public education that begins with five year olds is a relic. Decades of costly reform efforts targeted at older children have not delivered the results we need. To strengthen our democracy and secure our future, we must once again meet George Washington’s call to promote the institutions of knowledge. The challenges ofthe 21st century demand a new vision of public education, a Pre-K-12 vision.

Dowload the report.

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Jennifer Garner speaks about the importance of early education

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 | Author: Tracy

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Do Middle Class Children Benefit from High Quality Early Education?

Thursday, September 15th, 2011 | Author: Tracy

The eye on early education blog addresses this question. Irene Sege writes:

Much of the research on the long-term effects of high-quality early education has focused on children from low-income families. What about children from middle class families? A new working paper suggests that both low-income and middle class children who attended a high-quality pre-kindergarten program will experience greater earnings as adults, and the projected increase in dollar amounts is similar for both groups of children.

Read the post to get the whole story.

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Charter Colleges of Early Childhood Education

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 | Author: Tracy

A new report from Brookings-Rockefeller proposes that states create “Charter Colleges of Early Childhood Education,” research-driven, flexible and accountable institutions that would help increase the supply of high-quality early childhood educators.

Download the report.

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Despite Weak Economy, Child Care Costs Continue to Rise

Thursday, August 25th, 2011 | Author: Tracy

Quality child care is becoming increasingly difficult to afford for working families. According to a report released by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), the cost of child care continues to increase while families struggle to afford quality care. Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2011 Update provides results from a survey of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) State Networks and local agencies, which asked for the average fees charged by child care programs in 2010.

The report, which provides the average cost of child care for infants, 4-year-olds, and schoolage children in centers and family child care homes nationwide, reveals that in 36 states–including North Carolina, the average annual cost for center-based care for an infant was higher than a year’s tuition and related fees at a four-year public college.

In every state, center-based child care costs for two children (an infant and a 4-year-old) exceeded annual average rent payments.

“Child care is essential to working families and working families are key to economic growth. But, child care today is simply unaffordable for most families,” said Linda K. Smith, NACCRRA’s Executive Director. “During the critical years of birth through age 5, 90 percent of a child’s brain is developed and essential learning patterns are established which affect school-readiness. Children need to be safe in child care and they also need to be in a setting that promotes their healthy development or our early childhood policies undermine our school readiness goals. It is time for policymakers to recognize that connection. Children spend an average of 35 hours a week in child care which means child care is a key early learning program.

Download a copy of Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2011 Update.

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Senators Brown and Hagan Introduce Ready Schools Act

Friday, July 29th, 2011 | Author: Tracy

This just in from NAEYC:

U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Kay Hagan Introduce NAEYC’s Recommendations for “Ready Schools” for All Children in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Senators Brown (Ohio) and Hagan (North Carolina) have introduced the Ready Schools Act of 2011, based on recommendations in NAEYC’s “Call to Action” for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

‘“School readiness’ involves ready schools as well as children ready for kindergarten. This legislation, building on the National Education Goals Panel Report on Ready Schools, as well as work in Ohio, North Carolina, and other communities, will help elementary schools provide the conditions and collaborations that will support all children in sustaining the gains they make in preschool through the early grades,” said Dr. Jerlean Daniel, Executive Director of NAEYC.

Nearly 30 years ago the President and the nation’s governors announced national education goals, with the first goal being readiness of every child for school. The concept of readiness includes much more than children’s readiness. As defined by the National Education Goals Panel, the School Readiness Indicators Initiative, and others, readiness includes ready children, ready families, ready communities, ready early care and education, and ready schools. All are necessary for our nation’s children to experience success.

Under the Brown–Hagan bill, local educational agencies would help elementary schools undergo a “ready schools” needs review to support children’s success particularly in the early grades by examining conditions such as the use of developmentally appropriate curricula and teaching practices, support for teachers to enhance their knowledge of child development and learning, strong collaborations with families and community early childhood education providers, and professional development for school principals.

Download the Ready Schools Act.

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Webinar on QRIS and the CLASS™ Tool

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 | Author: Tracy

The QRIS National Learning Network and the BUILD Initiative are hosting a webinar on QRIS and the CLASS™ Tool: Emphasizing Effective Teacher-Child Interaction to Improve Child Outcomes.

This webinar will be helpful to state leaders currently developing, piloting or updating their QRIS systems and those who want to learn more about CLASS ™ and how it can be used to not only assess but also improve the quality of teacher-child interaction. It will be held at 1 pm EDT on August 17, 2011.

Studies have shown consistently that the quality of teacher-child interaction is related to preschooler gains in pre-reading and math skills and contributes to preschoolers’ social competence in the kindergarten year and beyond. With that in mind, researchers at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education created the Classroom Assessment Scoring System™ (CLASS™) tool to observe and assess emotional, organizational, and instructional elements of quality in early childhood educational environments. The system is now being used to assess preschool classrooms and is being piloted in toddler programs as well. Final publication of the Toddler CLASS is expected in January 2013, while the Infant CLASS tool is under development.

Several states have now integrated CLASS™ into their quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS). On this webinar, you will learn more about the CLASS™ tool. You will also hear from several states that have integrated CLASS into their quality rating system. They will share both the benefits and challenges of using this system.

Register online. For more information, email gcobb@buildinitiative.org.

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FCD Accepting Proposals for 2012 Young Scholars Program

Thursday, July 21st, 2011 | Author: Tracy

The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) is now accepting proposals for its 2012 Young Scholars Program. The program supports a new generation of scholars conducting research on the development of young children (birth-10) in low-income immigrant families. FCD created the program to:

Stimulate both basic and policy-relevant research in this area.
Support the career development of young investigators – from the behavioral and social sciences or in an allied professional field – to attain tenure or who have received tenure in the last four years from a college or university in the United States.

Fellowship recipients are expected to produce a book or article(s) suitable for publication, and to articulate how their research may potentially inform public policies regarding young newcomer children.

The deadline for proposals is November 2, 2011.

Download the 2012 FCD Young Scholars Program Description.

Download the 2012 FCD Young Scholars Proposal and Budget Format.

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Higher Quality Child Care for Struggling Working Families

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 | Author: Tracy

North Carolina General Assembly members took an important step to raising the quality of child care for working families who receive help paying for early care and learning. The FY2011-12 Budget includes a special provision that prohibits, with some exceptions, subsidy payments to non-licensed child care homes and one and two star licensed programs. Specifically, the provision says:

10.7.(g) The Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) shall adopt policies that improve the quality of childcare for subsidized children. The DCDEE shall phase in a new policy in which child care subsidies will be paid, to the extent possible, for child care in the higher quality centers and homes only. The DCDEE shall define higher quality, and subsidy funds shall not be paid for one- or two-star-rated facilities. For those counties with an inadequate number of three-, four-, and five-star-rated facilities, the DCDEE shall establish a transition period that allows the facilities to continue to receive subsidy funds while the facilities work on the increased star ratings. The DCDEE may allow exemptions in counties where there is an inadequate number of three-, four-, and five-star-rated facilities for nonstar-rated programs, such as religious programs.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education has issued Subsidy Policy Guidelines for the new provision. Effective August 1, 2011, non-licensed child care providers can no longer enroll new children who are approved for subsidized child care services. Payment will continue for the children already enrolled and receiving care.

Download the DCDEE Subsidy Policy Guidelines.

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Early Educator Certification in North Carolina Lives!

Friday, July 15th, 2011 | Author: Vivian

Contrary to reports of its demise, the Early Educator Certification (EEC) lives! While it’s true that it is no longer required by law, the EEC continues on its previous voluntary state.

Demand for the certificate remains high. Parents are asking their child care providers about the certification. And educators recognize the value a certificate yields in the long-deserved professionalization of the field.

Many child care providers have worked tirelessly in multiple ways for more than five years to grow a certified workforce with a growing bank of benefits. The NC Institute for Child Development Professionals needs continued support as North Carolina moves into the next phase of system development and to help Early Educators understand the benefits and compute the savings associated with EEC.

The NC Institute for child Development Professionals continues to:
• Process all applications received (see updated quarterly numbers on website) and certify those working directly with or on the behalf of children ages birth to twelve in North Carolina.
• Work with partners to integrate EEC into various systems.
• Grow the types and number of discounts (EEC Rewards) available to certified professionals.
• Transfer education data based on the EEC with permission to DCD and WAGE$.
• Endorse adult educators to offer continuing education units (CEUs).
• Support partners in continuing the supply of college courses/degrees and building a supply of CEU options to inform practice and meet in-service training requirements for DCD facility licensure.

“All certified Early Educators and those who have submitted their applications will be receiving a letter from the Institute outlining our next steps,” says Debra Torrence, the Institute’s Director. “We are hearing from providers who want to be certified and some who need help in understanding the why, the benefits and the savings. We need your partnership to help the field continue its forward progress.”

Watch for new tools for the provider community and stay informed about EEC, by visiting www.ncicpd.org.

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