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The Fiscal Effects of Investing in High-Quality Preschool Programs
The Brookings Institution has released a new report entitled The Fiscal Effects of Investing in High-Quality Preschool Programs (2009) by William T. Dickens and Charles Baschnagel. The authors look at the potential long-term effects of two model preschool programs on federal, state and local government budgets. They find that both programs would pay back in reduced costs and increased revenues in excess of three-fourths of their costs within a seventy-five year budget window. The report can be accessed online at http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2009/04_preschool_programs_dickens.aspx
Source: Brookings Institution - Retrieved May 28, 2009; NECTAC Notes
Making the Most of Playtime: New Resource from CSEFEL
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) has published a new resource for families entitled Making the Most of Playtime, which offers tips and strategies for families to consider when playing with their infant or toddler. It is part of the CSEFEL Family Tools Collection and can be accessed online at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/familytools/make_the_most_of_playtime2.pdf
Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School
New research shows that many kindergartens spend 2 to 3 hours per day instructing and testing children in literacy and math-with only 30 minutes per day or less for play. In some kindergartens there is no playtime at all. The same didactic, test-driven approach is entering preschools. But these methods, which are not well grounded in research, are not yielding long-term gains. Meanwhile, behavioral problems and preschool expulsion, especially for boys, are soaring. Read the Alliance's new report, Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School at http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/valueofplay/Kindergarten_8-page_summary.pdf
Source: Bulletin of the World Association of Early Childhood Educators (WAECE), No. 413, May 22, 2009
New Video on Early Childhood Inclusion
A new 12-minute video, Foundations of Inclusion Birth to Five, includes highlights from the recently released Joint Position Statement on Early Childhood Inclusion as well as bite-sized information on big ideas about inclusion. The video was produced by CONNECT, a US Department of Education-funded national center that is developing web-based resources and modules on effective and evidence-based practices to support professional development.
For more information and to view the video: http://community.fpg.unc.edu/connect
To view or download the position statement: http://community.fpg.unc.edu/resources/articles/Early_Childhood_Inclusion
New DEC/NAEYC Joint Position Statement on Early Childhood Inclusion
The Division for Early Childhood and the National Association for the Education of Young Children have recently approved a joint position statement that underscores their commitment to quality early childhood inclusion. Early Childhood Inclusion: A Joint Position Statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) takes an historic step by providing a shared national definition of inclusion as “the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability, to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society.” The document, which was developed through a collaborative national process that the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI) coordinated, represents the first time these two leading national organizations have partnered on a joint product that is expected to have a widespread impact on the early childhood field.
Check the NPDCI website in upcoming weeks for additional resources including blogs, multimedia modules, and a 2-page summary of the position statement.
Download: Early Childhood Inclusion: A Joint Position Statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) [ pdf ]
Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
This report is intended to help ensure implementation of the improvements in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives. It was prepared by an informal coalition of 18 organizations, many of whom have been working individually and together for years to support children being raised by grandparents and other relatives. In this guide, the collaborating organizations have answered a number of questions posed to them by persons interested in implementing the new act. The Guide is intended to be useful to those charged with implementing the improvements for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives, as well as others who are advocating for the new improvements and assisting with implementation. Download at http://www.clasp.org/publications/NewHelpForChildrenRaisedByGrandparentsAndOtherRelatives.pdf
CSEFEL Infant Toddler Training Modules Now Available in Spanish!
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) recently introduced a new Spanish version of the popular Promoting Social and Emotional Competence: Infant Toddler Training modules. These modules were designed based on input gathered during focus groups with program administrators, T/TA providers, early educators, and family members about the types and content of training that would be most useful in addressing the social-emotional needs of young children. Both the English and Spanish versions can be downloaded for FREE.
URL for English version: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/inftodd.html?utm_source=TACSEI+%26+CSEFEL+Updates&utm_campaign=1724c11355-TACSEI+and+CSEFEL+Updates_4.2009&utm_medium=email
URL for Spanish version: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/modulos_inftodd.html?utm_source=TACSEI+%26+CSEFEL+Updates&utm_campaign=1724c11355-TACSEI+and+CSEFEL+Updates_4.2009&utm_medium=email
Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide
The Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide is a set of tools for taking action and improving public policies that impact the lives of infants, toddlers, and their families. It offers options and strategies to uses in efforts to affect policy change. Each section (e.g., good health, strong families, positive early learning experiences, systems) includes mini-policy briefs, practical tools, in-depth policy papers and more. Developed with the generous support of the A. L. Mailman Family Foundation and the Carol Berman Fund, the guide is available for download from the ZERO TO THREE website at www.zerotothree.org/policyguide. A limited number of print copies are available on a first-come, first-served basis. To request a single print copy of the complete Early Experiences Matter Policy Guide, please email policycenter@zerotothree.org.
State of the World’s Mothers Report
In commemoration of Mother’s Day, Save the Children has published its tenth annual State of the World’s Mothers report. Focusing on the critical importance of children’s experiences in their early years, this report suggests specific activities mothers and caregivers can do with their young children to help them reach their full potential in school.
The report highlights the urgent need to reach 75 million children in developing countries who fail to complete primary school as well as the 2.5 million fourth graders in the United States who are not reading at grade level. It shines a spotlight on places where children have the best chance to succeed in school and shows that effective solutions to early education challenges are affordable – even in the poorest communities. Download the executive summary at http://www.savethechildren.org/jump.jsp?path=/publications/state-of-the-worlds-mothers-report/state-worlds-mothers-summary-2009.pdf?WT.mc_id=0509_sowm_b_exec
or the full report at http://www.savethechildren.org/jump.jsp?path=/publications/state-of-the-worlds-mothers-report/state-worlds-mothers-report-2009.pdf?WT.mc_id=0509_sowm_b_fullr
Supporting Early Childhood Opportunities with Stimulus Funds
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has published a new paper on how a variety of American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (stimulus) funds can be used to promote professional development for early childhood educators. The paper provides examples of ways in which these funds can be leveraged with other existing resources to help build high quality programs through the professional development of early childhood educators. Emphasis is included on strategies to support inclusion and culturally responsive practices. Download at www.naeyc.org/policy/arra/pdf/PDARRA.pdf
ZERO TO THREE developed an interactive tool to help decision makers and advocates navigate the ways in which American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds may be used to positively impact the healthy development of our youngest children. The tool is organized around the needs of the whole child – Good Health, Strong Families, and Positive Early Learning Experiences – and is simple to navigate. For each featured program, just click on the links within the tool to explore the overview of the current program, the population served or eligible, the specific provisions in the ARRA, and potential ways in which programs and eligible families may use the recovery funds. Take a look at http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Interactive_Stimulus_Tool_v3vs.pdf?docID=8121
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