Quality Rating Systems = More Money

We reported last week on the Early Learning Challenge fund, a historic bill currently awaiting passage in the House that is intended to increase funding for pre-k across the country. As proposed, the legislation gives preference to states that have already begun to develop infrastructure for high quality pre-k and aims to increase participation among disadvantaged children. In a conference call hosted by a whole passel of non-profit organizations including NWLC, CLASP, NAEYC, AFSCME, First Five Years Fund, Early Care and Education Consortium, Zero to Three, National Head Start Association, NACCRRA and NAFCC, Dr. Ruth Friedman,  Senior Education Policy Advisor, House Committee on Education and Labor, highlighted some of the juicy parts of the bill. You can listen to the call here.

 

The grant competition will give preference to states that have made progress on eight focus areas and demonstrate the capacity to continue making progress in these areas. These include: 

 

·      Reforming early learning standards

·      Implementing evidence-based program quality standards

·      Enhancing program review and monitoring program quality

·      Providing comprehensive professional development

·      Coordinating systems for facilitating screenings for disability, health, and mental health needs

·      Improving support to parents

·      Creating a process for assessing children’s school readiness

·      Using data to improve child outcomes

 

Although the bill doesn't describe how states should ensure high quality pre-k for all three and four year olds, it does seem to hint that quality rating systems are a reliable way of showing a states' capacity to provide high quality services. Currently, 18 states have implemented Quality Rating Systems including: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont. Many other states are close behind, developing or piloting Quality Rating Systems this year. 

 

States who receive a “challenge grant” will be required to maintain their financial commitment to early education at the same funding level as was allocated in 2006. One key aspect of the bill is its focus on increasing quality across the board when it comes to pre-k programs. As Dr. Friedman explained, "We strongly feel that all providers of early learning need to be touched by this bill in one way or the other." The grant process also requires a collaborative approach. Pre-K now hosted a national conference in December that discussed communities' pre-k collaboration around the country. To learn more about how stakeholders in your state can collaborate around providing high quality preschool watch the conference video.

 

The Early Learning Challenge Fund is meant to support community collaboration and inclusive approaches to build programmatic quality. State quality systems must include family child care, center based care, Head Start and state pre-k. Friedman stressed the importance of “everyone being part of the system."

 

Learn more about the bill at preknow.org and watch the mark-up as it progresses through House on the Education and Labor website.

The Deep End of Summer

Sometimes when the summer gets really hot and the time starts to pass slower, you just need something new to spur kids' imaginations. PBS has launched a website built specifically for 3-6 year olds that uses their popular characters to teach. I recently went to the website PBSkidsplay and tried it out with my kids.

The website is extremely kid friendly. The problem with much of the online content for young kids is that developers forget that preschoolers can't read yet. This means often key directions and links are words that your kid can't understand. My 4 year-old boy had no trouble figuring out how to do the activities because the directions were clear and visual instead of just written or spoken. He could have played for hours, but we had to limit our time.

Some of the games on this website are awesome. It has Curious George, Mama Mirrabelle's Home Movies, and Super Why. These games are great not only because they are simple, educational, and fun but they can expand your child's imagination too. Playing Super Why is like stepping into the show and playing. After playing Mama Mirrabelle's hide and seek online we decided to play for real.

The site is free for a 15 day trial. Even if you don't sign-up so that you can track your child's progress and monitor their use, this website from PBS might be just what you need to help you and your child swim out of the deep end of the summer.

Pre-K Rides Student Loan Coattails

Last week, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller introduced the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. The good news about this proposal is federal funding to support high quality early childhood education around the country. The summary of the bill includes grants for states that want to build early childhood systems that include:

• Early learning standards reform.
• Evidence-based program quality standards.
• Enhanced program review and monitoring of program quality.
• Comprehensive professional development
• A coordinated system for facilitating screenings for disability, health, and mental health needs.
• Improved outreach and support to parents.
• A process for assessing children's school readiness.
• Use of data to improve child outcomes.

The bill includes Quality Pathways Grants for states that already have infrastructure for pre-k and Development Grants that may just be what states like Indiana, Mississippi, and Idaho need to jump start a public pre-k program. The bill will likely see much revision if it is to pass both houses, so please let your congress person know you support pre-k.

Thanks to Lisa Guernsey at Early Ed Watch for the coverage.

The Courage to Say No

My wife told me recently of a friend of hers, a great mom, who complained about her kids playing video games. Her two boys have been playing their Nintendo DS and Wii all day, every day, all summer. She said she couldn't take it away from them because they scream and cry and say she is a terrible mother and she doesn't love them. Her boys are 5 and 7 years old.

My heart broke hearing this. I can feel you cringing, too.

My wife's first thought was, "If you didn't let them have a DS, then you wouldn't have to take it away." I agree, but this is not the hard part. Our family has worked diligently to limit all types of media for our kids, even TV. I recently read about some research into kids and media written by Lisa Guernsey who really seems to understand the complexity of the problem of media and your little baby. She asks the hard questions in her book, Into the Minds of Babes, and in her recent article for Newsweek, Sesame Street: The Show that Counts. Lisa describes how some media, including the one that started all, Sesame Street, can actually positively affect learning. It makes understanding the choices we make about our kids and media more rainbow and less black and white.

Our kids actually watch less TV now than they did when they were younger. My son doesn't like to watch a show for more than about an hour. This didn't happen over night. We had to say no. A lot. It was hard, but not the way you might think. It took courage to say no and suffer the consequences of screaming and crying. It takes courage to say no when all your friends let their kids have a (Wii, Playstation, DS... fill in the blank). It is not a monumental courage, but rather it is a daily decision by decsion type of courage that many parents don't have. It's difficult because you know it will make your kid happy, at least for a little while, but what we don't see when we give a kid digital entertainment that can walk around with them is that their little brains can't handle more than one reality at a time, and the digital one is much more exciting. That is, unless they really get interested in the world around them.

My favorite response to the question, "Can we watch TV?" is, "No, but you can go outside."

Getting kids to give up the digital world for the beautiful world also takes more than courage. It takes time. Like the failed drug campaign, "Just say no," saying no doesn't work that way in the real world. We have to say, "No, lets do something else fun. How about painting, building a fairy house, making a potion in the garden?" "What if we go for a walk, cut the grass with scissors, build a tower out of pretzels." Once you get them involved, they will take over and teach you things about gardens, fairies, or pretzels you never knew before. It takes courage to say no, but it als takes courage to face the never ending expanse of your child's imagination and go there, without fear, stepping joyfully off the edge of adulthood and allowing them to take you across the universe.

Image by Mark A. Hicks: http://newyorkkids.timeout.com/articles/features/70656/how-to-say-no-to-kids

Universal Means a Kid Can Go if They Want To

Recently I heard Checker Finn compare the national pre-k system to the higher education structure in a panel discussion on universal preschool. His comment brought something new to the table -- kids! It was great to see them at the forefront of the discussion (rather than Finn's usual ideology).

It's an interesting concept that really made me think twice about how I understand the phrase "universal pre-k." Higher eduction is made up of a system of public, private, technical, and community colleges. It is subsidized by the state, but not provided exclusively by the state. It is beneficial to the community and the state, but still a burden on the tax payer. Not everyone goes to college. It can actually be better for some people, interested in trades or technical professions, not to go to college.

While many parents hope their child will pursue a college degree, sometimes it's not a good fit. Policymakers would never consider forcing people to go to college, just like most would never consider forcing a child to go to pre-k. Many kids go to college and don't get much out of it. Some attend and find their life calling there, hit the job market ready, only to be disappointed by the reality of the economy. Even though there's not a universal measure for college outcomes, it's safe to say that all college students get something out of their experience. We don't question the validity of going - it's part of our national education system and has provided the driving force of our economy for a long time. But the truth is, every kid who attends pre-k gets something out of that experience, too.

As it stands, I consider us to have a college-for-all system. It is not perfect and may not be entirely equitable, but technology and the Internet are changing that. There are college students all over the country who attend universities all over the world through online and face-to-face classes. 

 
Similarly, there are pre-kindergarten programs based in other states that operate all over the country. The effectiveness of these programs varies greatly from one community -- or even one center to another. But the best of the pre-k classrooms seem to be those that are either entirely private and expensive or entirely public and focused on outcomes. So how do we get all children access to these kinds of preschools?

Maybe we could get to a national pre-k system if we broaden our definition of what universal means. In the college system, universal means a kid can go if they want to. They may need to get loans and pay them back, find grants, or go to community college for a couple of years, but most of the time, if you want to go, you can. It isn't the same way with pre-k. In states with targeted pre-k programs, your child can go if your family is poor and the government will pay, or, if you can afford private pre-k. What about a community college option for pre-k? What if we had a system where kids could go and the government would pay for some of the costs?

I guess what I'm saying is, we know pre-k works. The question is not whether we should or shouldn't make it available to all kids, but how can we make it available to all kids. How many different models of effective pre-k systems are there? Have we found them all yet?

How hard can it be?

I find that people outside of education often take for granted the tremendous thought and planning that goes into teaching.  First, teachers have to figure out what to teach carefully reviewing curriculum guides and state standards.  Then, they have to figure out how to teach.  They need to break down those broad skills and concepts into manageable, bite-size chunks of information that are meaningful and developmentally appropriate for their students, and then, figure out exactly how to present that information in a way that will help their children learn.  In addition to all of this, teachers are responsible for designing assessments that accurately measure their students' progress. Through the data gathered in those assessments, they are able to adjust their lesson plans and cater instruction to meet the needs of each individual student. 

 

Not such a simple process when you step back and think about it, right?  It takes time, effort, and most importantly, reflection, to lead students to academic success.  This summer, I am excited to work with a group of new Teach For America corps members as they begin this journey into teaching.  I will be coaching them as they develop the foundational knowledge, skills, and mindsets that will enable them to plan, execute, reflect, and problem-solve in their classrooms, and ultimately ensure the success of their students. I am eager to see how much they can learn over the course of our five weeks together, and how they are ultimately able to apply that knowledge to their classrooms this summer and in the fall.  More updates about this journey are sure to come!