Universal Pre-K
Early Childhood
Nashville Clears First Hurdle in Universal Pre-K Plan
Nashville's school board agreed to create two pre-K hubs, the first step in a plan to offer universal preschool by 2018, but the deal hinges on budget approval.
Education
Opinion
Let's Get Universal Pre-K Right
Let Universal Pre-K not become the next Common Core or standardized testing battle. Let's get active now, while it is still taking shape.
Early Childhood
Nashville's Chief Aims for Pre-K for All 4-Year-Olds
Nashville's top schools' chief laid out a plan to offer all 4-year-olds district-run preschool by 2018, an initiative that he says was well-received, but which must be approved by the nine-member school board Feb. 11.
Education
Opinion
Universal Pre-K in NYC? Three Questions, a Choice, and Two Pieces of Advice for the Mayor-elect
Now that Bill deBlasio is officially the next Mayor of New York City, a few folks have asked me for my take on the universal pre-k proposal that was a centerpiece of his campaign. As is often the case with campaign plans, there's not a lot of detail out there, so I don't have a lot to say. But here are a few key questions:
Early Childhood
Universal Pre-K Grows Child-Care Market
Demand for early-childhood programs grew substantially following the implementation of universal pre-K programs in Georgia and Oklahoma.
Education
Opinion
State of the Union Calls for Universal Pre-k
Big early childhood proposal in President Obama's State of the Union address:
Early Childhood
Will Maryland Mandate Pre-K for All 4-Year-Olds?
Proposed law creating access awaits action by state legislature.
Early Childhood
N.C. Gov Orders Pre-K for All Eligible 4-Year-Olds
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Purdue issued an executive order on Wednesday requiring the state to accept all eligible 4-year-olds into its pre-kindergarten program for at-risk children. The order also calls for the program to maintain the same standards for teachers and goals for students as the program previously known as More at Four.
Education
Rolling Out Universal Pre-K in West Virginia
This week, West Virginia's Beckley Register-Herald carried a story on the implementation of universal pre-K for 4-year-olds. Beckley is located in Raleigh County, near the southern end of the state. According to ePodunk, a web site started by journalists to offer quick access to community information, in 2000 Raleigh County's median household income was $28,181.
Education Funding
Opinion
Is Universal Pre-K Stalling Out Already?
Some things you might not have seen before, courtesy of Baird & Co's business-oriented Class Notes (PDF): "In its annual report on preschool funding, “The State of Preschool 2006: State Preschool Yearbook,” the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) found that states are equally as likely to cut public funding for preschool education as they are to increase funding".... and... "only two states, Oklahoma (70%) and Georgia (51%) enrolled more than half of the four-year olds in their state."
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Standardized Childhood? Rifts In Universal Pre-K
The universal pre-K juggernaut is facing a few rifts, according to this EdWeek story (Scholars Split on Pre-K Teachers With B.A.s and Richard Colvin's post in Early Stories calling Bruce Fuller the bete noir of universal pre-K. Fuller is just putting out a book called Standardized Childhood. As both pieces point out, the seeming unanimity surrounding the idea of universal pre-K leaves out key programmatic and -- even more important -- ideological issues.
Early Childhood
Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation Expanding Pre-K
Disappointed by voters’ rejection in June of a broad plan to deliver free preschool to all California 4-year-olds, advocates for early-childhood education have been reinvigorated by the legislative success of a more modest proposal to expand the state’s existing preschool system.
Early Childhood
Calif. Voters Reject Universal Pre-K Initiative
The defeat of the Preschool for All initiative in California last week is unlikely to slow the pace at which public preschool programs have been growing in other states, national experts said. Still, the outcome was a major disappointment for its backers in the Golden State.
Early Childhood
Californians Set to Vote on Universal Pre-K Plan
Supporters of California’s Proposition 82—the Preschool for All initiative—are turning to high-profile political and community leaders to help counter a backlash to the measure, which goes to the voters on June 6.