“The Next Step in Systems-Building: Early Childhood Advisory Councils and Federal Efforts to Promote Policy Alignment in Early Childhood”
Two years after the federal Head Start Reauthorization Act of 2007 required governors to name councils to coordinate early-childhood services across different state agencies, 19 states have such panels in place, according to a new white paper.
Released last month by the New America Foundation, a public-policy group based in Washington, the new report looks at states progress in putting together early-childhood advisory councils. In addition to the 19 states that have already named councils, the report finds, another 30 are in the process of establishing them. One state—South Dakota—has decided not to apply for federal funds to set up a council.
“The New Mexico Pre-K Evaluation: Results From the Initial Four Years of a New State Preschool Initiative”
Researchers evaluating New Mexico’s prekindergarten program recommend that it be expanded because it has had a favorable impact on participants’ learning.
The researchers said that the program classrooms were particularly strong in “teaching and interactions,” which take into account general supervision, the use of language to develop reasoning, and staff and child interactions. Program students improved significantly in language, literacy, and math compared with children who did not take part, according to data from the program’s first three years. The study was conducted by researchers from the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, in New Jersey.
