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More state funding helps fuel preschool growth
Study: It's worth it in the long run
USA Today (May 12, 2008) By Greg Toppo - Lisa Downs Henry's father and stepmother opened Downs Preschool in 1984 as a private day care center in Watkinsville, Ga. Business was good, but it really took off in 1995 after the state approved state lottery receipts to pay for pre-kindergarten classes. -see story
Get Your Child the Pre-School Boost
Find Out What Pre-School Support Options are Available in Your State
ABC News (May 11, 2008) By Gigi Stone - This year is the 25th anniversary of "America at Risk," the report on the state of education that shocked the country. But a new report shows there has been little progress.
Educators say one solution to closing the achievement gap encovered by the reports is preschool. -see story
Bloomfield school budget includes pre-K program
MPNnow.com (May 5, 2008)
By Kelli O'Brien, staff writer -
Bloomfield, N.Y. -- The school district’s proposed $18 million budget for next year shows an increase of $332,375 from this year’s budget of $17,697,110. -download story
Universal Pre-K
The American Prospect (May 2, 2008) Ezra Klein's Blog - Responding to the poor performance of Reading First, and my comment that most educational interventions turn out to be flops, Kevin Drum sighs, "It must be a discouraging field to work in." The big bright spot, it should be said, is universal pre-k, which has not only shown itself to have massive educational benefits, but to be tremendously cost-effective as well. -see blog
WHAT GETS CUT BECAUSE OF THE STATE BUDGET CRUNCHES?
The American Prospect (April 29, 2008) Tapped Blog -
Pre-school funding, that's what. And that's a shame because currently, less than 20 percent of American 4-year olds have access to free, public education. -see story
Lawrence district giving pre-kindergarten a boost
newsday.com (April 10, 2008) By Christina Hernandez
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Aaron Portillo is a turtle expert. As the class "Star of the Week," he researched the animal with a librarian, collected books about the hard-shell reptile and presented his findings to fellow students. -see story
Budget boost in school aid helps ease Mayor Bloomberg's pain on congest flop
nydailynews.com (April 10, 20080 By Joe Mahoney, Daily News Staff Writer-
ALBANY - Two days after killing his congestion- pricing plan, the Legislature passed a $122 billion state budget Wednesday giving Mayor Bloomberg most of the cash he wanted. -see story
City prekindergarten enrollment hits limit
Democrat and Chronicle.com (April 9, 2008) By Erica Bryant, Staff Writer -
The Rochester School District is expected to return more than $400,000 in prekindergarten funding to the state because not enough 4-year-olds enrolled in this year's program. -see story
Guest viewpoint: Services can help children get a healthy start
Press & Sun-Bulletin/pressconnects.com (April 9, 2008) Viewpoints By Kathy Cerny -
Public health plays a very important role in promoting early childhood development and quality child care through the Early Childhood Coalition, Child Health Promotion Specialist Services, and home visiting. -see story
District to offer pre-k next school year
Goal is to give students easier transition to kindergarten
dailygazette.com (April 2, 2008) By J. Jude Hazard - STILLWATER — Parents of local preschoolers will have another option in September thanks to a new prekindergarten program at the Stillwater Central School District. -see story
DOE Pushes For Full Day Pre-K, But Funding Could Be Lacking
www.ny1.com/NY1 News (March 31, 2008) By Michael Meenan -
The city's Department of Education has started a big push to get every four-year-old into a pre-kindergarten class. The move is getting cheers from the city's working parents, but as NY1 Education reporter Michael Meenan reports in the following story, the money for that schooling may not be there. -see story
City pre-Kindergarten forms available online, but only in English
nydailynews.com (March 26, 2008) By Carrie Melago, Daily News Staff Writer-
Directories and applications for the new pre-kindergarten process are currently available only in English, causing advocates to worry that parents who speak other languages will be left out. -see story
City Streamlines pre-k application
nydailynews.com (March 25, 2008) By Jess Wisloski, Daily News Staff Writer -
Ten years ago this fall, New York state led the country in offering the first universally-funded, voluntary pre-kindergarten classes to 3- and 4-year-olds. -see story
Pre-K Advocates of a Certain Age
The Early Ed Watch Blog (March 25, 2008) By
Christina Satkowski -
The secret to pre-k advocates' success in many states has been their ability to build diverse coalitions that include unexpected allies, such as business, community groups, and politicians from both sides of the aisle. But we often don’t think of senior citizens as potential allies for pre-k because we tend to think of seniors’ and children’s programs as competing for scarce public resources. That’s a mistake. A new report from Generations United, a non-profit group that supports intergenerational programs and policies, explains why. -see story
Frewsburg Board Authorizes Universal Pre-K
The Post-Journal (March 24, 2008) By S. Alexander Gerould -
FREWSBURG — If everything goes well, the Frewsburg Central School District will begin a universal pre-kindergarten program next fall. -see story
NHSA Survey: 77 Percent of Head Start Programs are 'At Breaking Point,' Unable to Absorb New Cuts and Hundreds of New Rules
U.S. Newswire (March 19, 2008) -
Underfunded and overburdened Head Start programs across America are in crisis today, with more than three out of four (77 percent) reporting that they are "at or near the breaking point" and unable to absorb a Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget cut and hundreds of new unfunded mandates imposed in the 2007 Head Start Reauthorization Act, according to a survey released today by the National Head Start Association (NHSA). -see story
E.I. considers all-day kindergarten
Democrat and Chronicle.com (March 14, 2008) By Erica Bryant, Staff Writer - IRONDEQUOIT — "Reading time" for kindergartners meant listening to stories when Debby Merritt started teaching 26 years ago. Today her Helendale Elementary School students are asked to sound out words, use sight vocabulary and start developing literacy strategies. -see story
Rural preschoolers get short shrift in access to early education programs
Cornell University/Chronicle Online (March 3, 2008) By Susan Lang -
Numerous studies have shown that children who attend high-quality preschools fare better in school and have brighter job prospects later in life. That's a big reason why New York state funds pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs for 4-year-olds. -see story
Garcia: Pre-K education key to workforce development
MSN Money (February 29. 2008) By bizjournals.com - Early childhood education for Hispanics makes a huge difference in their future success -- more so than for any other population. -see story
Rethinking pre-k money
The Post-Standard/syracuse.com (February 29, 2008) By Gina Chen, Family Life Notebook - Gov. Eliot Spitzer says it makes sense to him that state universal pre-kindergarten money be used for full-day pre-k, as well as half-day. -see story
Dover seeks residents to research pre-K plan
PoughkeepsieJournal.com (February 28, 2008) By staff writer -
WINGDALE -The Dover Union Free School District is seeking community participants for a committee to research the possibility of a universal pre-kindergarten program. -see story
Universal Pre-K may be in school district's future
HarlemValleyTimes.com (February 21, 2008) By
Jennifer Barry, Staff Reporter -
DOVER - Early childhood development experts often say that the formative years of a child's life are when his or her development is the most accelerated. -see story
Pre-K parent bulids bonds with fun
The Ithaca Journal (February 19, 2008) By Linda Stout, Journal Staff - NEWFIELD — Whenever Beki Weaver has gone into her children's pre-K classrooms in Newfield she has always felt welcome. And the mother of three wants to make sure every other parent and family in the class feels the same way. -see story
Child care workers vote for CSEA representation
Times Union (February 16, 2008) By Jimmy Vielkind - ALBANY - Around 17,000 child care workers voted almost unanimously to unionize, the Civil Service Employees Association announced Friday. -download story
DAY-CARE CUTS
CITY WON'T PAY FOR EMPTY CRIBS
nypost.com (February 13, 2008) By DOUGLAS MONTERO -
The Administration for Children's Services will slash the budgets of city-funded day-care centers that aren't at full capacity in an effort make them more accountable for their own enrollment practices, according to a new plan announced yesterday. -see story
Fixing Poor Vision Boosts Preschoolers' Test Scores
Early intervention with glasses brought them up to snuff with peers, study finds
HealthDay News (February 13, 2008) -
Preschoolers with poor vision significantly improved their test scores within six weeks of consistently wearing prescription glasses, a new study shows.-see story
How Do Working Parents Keep Up With School News?
The Wall Street Journal (February 11, 2008) Posted by John J. Edwards III, in The Juggle blog -
As “symbolic analysts” — former Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s term for knowledge-industry workers who manipulate words and numbers rather than physical tools — my wife and I are bombarded with information all day long. But it’s often a challenge to get the right amount of school information into the mix, since we’re not around for most school pickups and other midday class events. -see story
Child Care Challenges in New York State
NYSAC News (Winter 2008) Edited By Jenn O'Connor - For too long, the focus in early care and education has been on quantity to the detriment of quality. -download story
Winning Beginning NY: Supporting Early Care and Education for All Children
NYSAC News (Winter 2008) By Jenn O'Connor - In October 2006, the Child Care That Works (CCTW) Campaign merged with the UPK Coalition, creating a new coalition known as Winning Beginning NY (WBNY). -download story
Glens Falls starting pre-K program; Not everyone will get to attend
PostStar.com (February 6, 2008) By Omar Aquije - GLENS FALLS — The Glens Falls City School District will offer pre-kindergarten in the 2008-09 school year, using a lottery system to select students. -see story
Child Care Providers Receive $1 Million for Expansion
New York Nonprofit Press E-Newsletter (February 6, 2008) Today’s Headlines -
Child care facilities across New York State will be receiving over $1 million to launch and expand school-age child care programs and day care centers. -download story
Aid funds day-care slots
Times Union (February 2, 2008) By Jimmy Vielkind - Albany - State officials announced Friday that narly $1.16 million in federal aid will be used to create 268 new day-care slots for children around the state. -download story
Child-care centers struggle to stay open in Syracuse’s lower-income neighborhoods
Syracuse Post-Journal (February 1, 2008) By Gina Chen, Family Life Editor -
Kelley Baker, who lives in Syracuse's Skunk City, looks for the same things in child care any parent would. -download story
Entry Process Is Simplified at City Schools
nytimes.com (Januray 24, 2008) By Jennifer Medina - Trying to simplify the often bewildering process of enrolling children in prekindergarten and kindergarten classes in New York City and to make it more fair, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein announced Wednesday that he would standardize applications and deadlines citywide. -see story
School Readiness Project can lift community in Chemung County
Studies prove benefits of good pre-kindergarten programs.
Star-Gazette.com (January 22, 2008) Guest View By Ben Riggs -
During the past several years it has been my privilege to be a part of the Chemung County School Readiness Project. -see Guest View
Kids need quality pre-K
Newsday (January 10, 2008) Letters to the Editor by Dr. Dina Lieser -
I am a pediatrician, and in my practice I see the difference that quality prekindergarten makes for my youngest patients, including access to nutritious meals, immunizations and developmental screenings; greater social-emotional and cognitive development, and improved readiness for kindergarten. -download letter
An Argument For Preschool
Newsweek magazine (January 3, 2008) By Peg Tyre -In the 1970 and '80s, the notion that three- and four-year-olds should be taught in classrooms was a provocative idea. Today 40 states spend about $4.8 billion a year providing schooling for preschoolers.-see story
Invest more in quality early education
Newsday (January 2, 2008) Letter to the editor by Diane Wolffer -
New York has recently invested millions in prekindergarten expansion with beneficial results. Yet, a great deal more needs to be done to leave a legacy of first-rate education for children, the leaders of tomorrow.-download letter
Red Tape Leaves Tots Without Pre-Kindergarten Schools
The New York Sun (December 21, 2007) By Elizabeth Green, Staff Reporter - Governor Spitzer's push to give all of the state's 4-year-olds a free education has won him praise, but the program is hitting a snag: $88 million of the funding is sitting fallow. -see story
Greater public and private investment needed in child care
LoHud.com/The Journal News (May 9, 2008) By Kathleen Halas - Harvard just received another big gift - $100 million from the Rockefeller Foundation. I'm sure the university can use it. But I'm just as certain that at the other end of the educational spectrum - early care and education programs that serve young children birth to age 12 - major new investments are sorely needed. -see opinion
Child care must be on the state's agenda
Syracuse Post-Standard (May 5, 2008) Editorial -
While former Gov. Eliot Spitzer focused on expanding pre-kindergarten and children's health coverage, he had not yet committed the state to creating a comprehensive child care policy. -see opinion
Baby Steps: When will child care be taken seriously by leaders?
Syracuse Post-Standard (February 24, 2008) Opinion - It seems such a simple concept to grasp. In order for the Upstate economy -- or any other economy in the state -- to thrive, people have to work. In order for parents to work, they must have accessible, reliable, affordable and safe child care. Yet that reality does not seem to be sinking in with state and local leaders. -download opinion
Failed Follow-Up
More than words are needed to support Head Start.
washingtonpost.com (February 20, 2008) Editorials -
LAST YEAR'S reauthorization of Head Start was cause for celebration. Congress gave overwhelming, bipartisan support to the successful preschool program, and the president agreed that it should be renewed, even strengthened. Sadly, the celebration was short-lived. -see editorial
Preschool Priorities
Education Week (January 25, 2008) Commentary By
Elanna S. Yalow & Nina S. Rees - Should preschool be the new kindergarten? Our nation appears to be embroiled in debate about the most significant expansion of public education since the early 20th century, when kindergarten was first widely introduced. -see commentary
Pre-School now critical
PressRepublican.com (December 18, 2007) Editorial - School districts that don't provide a robust pre-kindergarten program are costing their students and even their taxpayers dearly. Yet not all do. -see editorial
Head Start Renewal
A program that works for vulnerable children
washingtonpost.com (November 26, 2007) Opinions - THERE'S NOT much that Congress and President Bush agree on these days. So the unanimity surrounding the reauthorization of Head Start says much about the worth of the preschool program. And, that, in turn, should help fuel the movement for states to expand and enhance education in childhood's critical early years. -see opinion
All institutions must work to close education gap
The Buffalo News (October 24, 2007) Opinion By Richard C. Iannuzzi - Most public schools in New York are very successful. In fact, there is plenty of data to show that New York is home to some of the highest-achieving students and bestperforming public school districts in the nation. -see opinion
Introducing the "No Toddler Left Behind" Era
Politico.com (October 22, 2007) By Richard Whitmire - As an education ’08 campaign issue, No Child Left Behind has been a bit of a dud. -see opinion
None Dare Call It Child Care
New York Times (October 18, 2007) By Gail Collins - In the last presidential candidate debate, Chris Matthews of MSNBC asked whether this country would ever get back to the days when a young guy could come out of high school, get an industrial job “and provide for a family with a middle-class income and his spouse wouldn’t have to work.” -see opinion
Read or fail
Project to break the cycle of illiteracy offers hope
The Buffalo News (October 10, 2007) Opinions - The importance of early childhood education can't be overstated in a city that holds the dubious distinction of being the second poorest in the nation. Study upon study highlights the direct link between early childhood education and future economic growth. -see opinion
Region must embrace child development
Times Union (October 1, 2007) Opinion By KAREN BILOWITH and F. MICHAEL TUCKER - The Capital Region continues to be a region with enormous growth potential. This growth is being realized through the deliberate planning efforts of the Center for Economic Growth, the chambers of commerce, state and local officials and universities working collectively to build a tech-oriented economy in the region. -see opinion
Fund Preschool Where It's Needed Most
Education Week, (May 21, 2007, Vol. 21, Issue 38, page 33) By Vicky Schippers - Dewan is a pint-size, sweet-faced 1st grader who lives with his uncle, grandmother, and assorted relatives in a cramped apartment in a poor New York City neighborhood. - download opinion
No Retreat on School Reform
washingtonpost.com (March 25, 2007) By Edward M. Kennedy - Five years ago, Congress and President Bush made a bold and historic promise. We pledged in the No Child Left Behind Act that the federal government would do all in its power to guarantee every child in America, regardless of race, economic background, language or disability, the opportunity to get a world-class education. -see opinion
Saving Kids
Times Union (March 10, 2007) Editorials - Does early exposure to school help young kids succeed in later grades? - download editorial
Nuture learning at home
timesunion.com (March 1, 2007) Opinion By David Brooks - All the presidential candidates this year will talk about education. The conventional ones will talk about improving the schools. The creative ones will talk about improving the lives of students. - see opinion
Schools urged to expand pre-K
The Journal News (February 26, 2007) Opinion By Kathleen Halas - Gov. Eliot Spitzer's addition of $99 million to the New York State Pre-Kindergarten Program represents an important expansion of a vital pro-gram. The Child Care Council of Westchester Inc. urges public school leaders to implement growth in this vital area by taking advantage of the educational expertise and physical resources that currently exist in community-based early childhood settings throughout Westchester. - see opinion
Time for tough calls
nydailynews.com (January 29, 2007) Opinion by Gov. Eliot Spitzer - New governors from California to New Jersey have cut spending and reordered priorities in recent years in an attempt to get their states on a path toward stability and prosperity. People were uncomfortable with these actions at first, but later saw that change was necessary and beneficial. -see opinion
Can Spitzer fulfill education promise?
timesunion.com (January 24, 2007) Opinion by Billy Easton -During his State of the State address, Gov. Eliot Spitzer made a clear commitment to make educational excellence a top priority. -see opinion
Schools need real support, not politics
recordonline.com/Times Herald Record (Januray 12, 2007), Opinion - The annual report on school quality published recently in Education Week has timely news and a useful perspective for a state on the verge of spending more money and seeking more accountability. -see opinion
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