
Everything is at Risk in a New ESEA
Congress is working to
reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA), otherwise known as No
Child Left Behind. This presents
our field a wonderful once-in-a-generation opportunity as well as a huge
challenge. We need to assure that a new ESEA is updated based on the research
that irrefutably says education begins well before kindergarten. But early learning only helps when K-12
is strong. Many forces are trying
to weaken the major
equity and other strong parts of ESEA that have helped improve education
over the last decade for all children.
So we want early learning incorporated, but only if the remainder of the
law is strong as well.
As the House and Senate continue to discuss
what the new education law should include, educators, researchers, and
advocates across the country are making their
voices heard. Last week, the
Secretary and I had the opportunity
to hear some of those voices when we visited Patrick Henry Elementary School in
Alexandria, VA (Virginia
was recently awarded a Preschool
Development Grant). At Patrick
Henry parents, teachers, administrators, and community members told us
during a roundtable
discussion how they are working to increase the whole continuum of early
learning programs and how high-quality preschool is a key part of their
educational system.
I hope everyone will pay attention to what
is happening with ESEA reauthorization.
“The goal here isn’t to pass a bill,” said the Secretary, “it’s
to pass a good bill.” The new
education law must ensure all families have access to high-quality early
learning so that all our children—not just some—have a fair shot at life.
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Voices from the Field
 Interview
with Steven Dow, Executive Director, Community Action Project of Tulsa County
“The resources that
communities have right now -- that state and local governments have -- are
limited and so the role of the federal government in saying that this is not
just something that we want to leave up to states and local communities, but
that the federal government is going to prioritize it and begin to make its own
commitments to young children, I think is critical.” Read more here.
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Preschool Development Grants
 Alabama's Preschool Development Grant gives the state an opportunity to add 400 classrooms to their high-quality voluntary First Class Pre-K to serve an additional 7,200 children over the course of the grant. This will expand the availability of high-quality pre-K in Alabama from 9 percent of eligible children to 26 percent by 2018. Alabama’s First Class Pre-K students consistently over time and across grades score higher in reading and math, miss fewer days of school, are less likely to need special education services, and are less likely to repeat a grade than students who did not participate in First Class Pre-K. Read about Alabama and the other Preschool Development Grant states here.
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RTT-ELC: Program Spotlight
 North
Carolina’s K-3 Formative Assessment
Through the RTT-ELC Grant, North Carolina is designing a
developmentally appropriate individualized K through grade 3 formative
assessment. This assessment will provide feedback on the whole child and
provide data to inform daily instructional practices and address all
developmental domains in NC’s early learning and development standards.
Statewide implementation will begin in fall 2015. More information can be
found on NC’s RTT-ELC website.
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RTT-ELC Technical Assistance
 Building
High-Quality Systems: The ECTA Center Completes its New System Framework
After 18 months of development, the ELCTA Center have created a
comprehensive tool—the System Framework—designed to support states in building
and sustaining high-quality early intervention and preschool special education
systems.Read more here.
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 Early Learning as a School Improvement Intervention
At the 2015 National Title I Conference , Jana Martella of CEELO, joined Libby Doggett, Lenay Dunn, and Carlas McCauley in presenting Early Learning as a School Improvement Intervention, an “overview as to how early learning strategies can improve achievement as a school improvement intervention. Also, key research on the impact of high quality early learning programs will be presented.” The Policy Report on Integrating Early Learning Strategies in the SIG program, a related resource, is available here.
Young immigrants and dual language learners: Participation in pre-K and Kindergarten entry gaps
A new blog from Milagros Nores, Associate Director of Research for NIEER, highlights findings from a recent CEELO webinar. Both discuss what it means to be Hispanic and a DLL (a dual language learner) or Hispanic and come from a home with immigrant parents, and the impact of each factor on Kindergarten readiness.
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Early Learning at ED
 IRIS
Center Modules about Evidence-Based Practices and Programs
The OSEP-funded IRIS Center developed three modules
that feature information about evidence-based practices and programs to support
children with disabilities. Module 1 discusses the importance of identifying
and selecting evidence-based practices. Module 2 provides an overview on
implementing an evidence-based practice or program with fidelity.
Module 3 examines how to evaluate the effectiveness of
evidence-based practices. These resources are free and are available here.
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International News
 Early child development for 2030: China's post-MDG plan
In December, China’s State Council issued the National Child Development
Plan (for 2014‒2020) for Poverty-Stricken Areas, which aims specifically to
reach 40 million rural children in 680 counties. Read more here.
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Federal Agencies at Work
 Summer Food
Service Program (SFSP) Raise Awareness
Promoting summer
feeding sites in your community is one of the most important things you can do
to ensure no child goes hungry this summer. Read more here.
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 Reporting child abuse and neglect
Each State designates a specific
agency to receive and investigate reports of suspected child abuse and neglect.
Find out how to report child abuse
and neglect in your State.
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Research and Reports
 New Report on Math
Teaching Practices
Strengthening the math-related
teaching practices of the early care and education workforce: Insights from
experts by Sharon Ryan, Marcy
Whitebook, and Deborah Cassidy. This report, supported by the Heising-Simons
Foundation, explores the perspective of nationally recognized experts in math
and early care and education. Read
more here.
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 Organizational
climate and early learning
The author of this study found a significant association
between organizational climate in preschool centers and overall classroom
quality. Findings suggest that policies should focus less on structural
influences on quality in early childhood education and more on process quality
and organizational climate. Read
more here.
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Resources You Can Use
 Help Your Child Become a Great Problem Solver
Families can help children
develop problem-solving skills by taking advantage of opportunities to talk
about solving problems. Here are some conversation starters. Read more here.
NAEYC's Week of the Young Child is back, April 12-18!
Join thousands of young children, teachers, and
their families across the country for an exciting, week-long celebration of
early learning. Each weekday focuses on different ways to make play meaningful
and learning fun! Visit the NAEYC Week of the Young Child website for more
information on how you and the young children in your life can get involved
this year.
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 Dual Language Learners (DLLs) National Work Group
In January, New America launched the Dual Language Learners (DLLs) National Work Group,
which will serve as a hub for policy analysis surrounding DLLs. New America
will be working with organizations and experts around the country to improve
the conversation around DLLs and find research-based reforms that support this
growing group of students. More of New America’s early education work is
available here on EdCentral.
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 NICKELODEON CHAMPIONS EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION WITH 2015 NICK JR. BEYOND THE BACKPACK CAMPAIGN
NEW YORK
--Nickelodeon has kicked off its 2015 Nick Jr. Beyond the Backpack
kindergarten readiness initiative geared to help parents and caregivers prepare
their preschoolers for academic success, see more here.
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 New Publication Released
The Cooney Center and members of the Aprendiendo
Juntos Council (AJC) released three new publications that take a
closer look at the way Hispanic-Latino families engage with media. Read more here.
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Monthly Multimedia
 Little Kids, Big Questions: A Parenting Podcast Series From ZERO TO
THREE
ZERO TO THREE’s
podcast series Little Kids, Big Questions addresses some
of the most common (and challenging) issues facing parents of babies and toddlers,
such as: helping a baby learn to sleep through the night; dealing with a picky
eater; and learning to set limits on children’s behavior. Read more here
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Last Word

Secretary Duncan and an early learner at Patrick Henry Elementary School in Alexandria, VA (Paul Wood/U.S. Department of Education) Find out more here.
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