Today marks the release of the National Institute for Early Education Research’s (NIEER) 16th annual State of Preschool report. The NIEER State of Preschool 2018 yearbook is the only national report on state-funded preschool programs, tracking enrollment, spending, and policies to support quality since 2002. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the state preschool […]
The annual County Health Rankings – a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – were published last week, along with a report emphasizing the importance of affordable housing on overall health. As is typical for these kinds of reports, Santa Clara County looks great – ranked third in California behind Marin and San Mateo […]
Last week, the California Assembly Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on Early Childhood Education published its draft recommendations after a two year process of hearings and feedback. (Written comments on the draft will be accepted until March 20th.) The draft report makes a lengthy list of recommendations in nine key areas: Governance and Administration, Family Engagement, Access […]
You may have noticed the State of Babies Yearbook: 2019 show up in your social media feeds in the last week or so. The yearbook, an effort of Zero to Three and Child Trends, is an example of a growing focus in the ECE policy field on issues affecting children younger than preschool age. (Then […]
In 2016, the Education Commission of the States released “K-3 Policymakers’ Guide to Action: Making the early years count” discussing the importance of improving quality in the early elementary grades. The report highlighted twenty five policy steps in six key areas including “quality full-day kindergarten and mandatory attendance-age requirements”. The suggested policy steps in this […]
Governor Gavin Newsom’s much anticipated, and much foreshadowed, January Budget proposal was released at 11 a.m. and early care and education (ECE) advocates didn’t need to read beyond the first page of the 280 page budget summary to see child care referenced as a “building block necessity”. The rest of the proposal summary includes a […]
Earlier this month the Center for American Progress released an update of its reporting into America’s child care deserts. In 2016, CAP introduced a working definition of child care deserts, areas with an insufficient supply of licensed child care, defining them as census tracts were there were more than three times as many children under […]
Democratic state Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a steadfast champion of early learning, has introduced a package of bills intended to greatly increase access to preschool for low-income children across California. One bill (AB 123) would spend $1.3 billion over three years to increase the number of slots in California’s State Preschool Program (CSPP) from approximately 175,000 […]
Strong Start of Santa Clara County, in collaboration with Kids in Common (a program of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte) and the Local Early Education Planning Council of Santa Clara County, published the Santa Clara County Voter’s Guide On Children’s Issues four weeks prior to the November 6th elections. You can see the guide at sccvoteforkids.org. For […]
Are interested you in expanded access to high quality learning for ages 0-8? Take a look at Measure A on the ballot this coming November. Measure A can potentially continue funds for nonprofit organizations that provide family and children services, including early childhood education and care. Here are some organizations that received funding through […]