Early Childhood Education – Broader BOLDER Approach to Education

EPI paper and factsheets on national investment in ECE

Don Long — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 21:45:58 +0000

It’s time for an ambitious national investment in America’s children: Investments in early childhood care and education would have enormous benefits for children, families, society, and the economy

By Josh Bivens, Emma García, Elise Gould, Elaine Weiss, and Valerie Wilson http://www.epi.org/publication/its-time-for-an-ambitious-national-investment-in-americas-children/

BBA blog posts on ECE investments

Don Long — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 17:45:15 +0000

These BBA blog posts offer a range of perspectives on the importance of ECE investments:

Educare: A Model for Early Childhood Policymaking, by Karen Howard of First Focus and Elaine Weiss demonstrates how a high-quality, birth-to-five system of supports for children and their families can substantially mitigate the impacts of poverty and other risk factors.
In Pre-K’s Potential as Part of a Comprehensive Pro-Children Strategy, WE Upjohn Institute Senior Economist Timothy Bartik joins Elaine Weiss to place high-quality early education in the broader education improvement context.
Lessons for K-!2 from Pre-K Classrooms, co-authored with Julia Dadds of Educare of Lincoln, highlights several ways that best early childhood education practices could be adapted to help make K-12 education more equitable and effective.

BBA case studies

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:46:07 +0000

The BBA case studies highlight the diverse approaches that communities have taken to ensuring that all children begin school with the benefit of quality early care and education.

The State of Preschool

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:43:39 +0000

The National Institute for Early Education Research has produced The State of Preschool, a report card on state pre-k programs through 2014, enabling you to compare your state’s investments in its young children to those of others across the country.

Film “Ready for Kindergarten” on the need for public investments in early childhood care and education

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:41:40 +0000

In conjunction with Nebraska Loves Public Schools, an initiative of the Sherwood Foundation, BBA has hosted a series of screenings of the film Ready for Kindergarten, which illustrates both the evidence regarding the need for public investments in early childhood care and education and examples of such investments done well. Use these resources to host your own screening:

Click here for a Link to the film or here to contact filmmaker Sally Barrett-Nelson
Click here for a 2-page policy brief documenting ECE problems and policy fixes.
Click here for a list of questions to jumpstart your discussion after the movie

Building High-Quality Early Support Systems for Children and families

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:38:30 +0000

This state policy guide, produced jointly by BBA and the Schott Foundation’s Opportunity to Learn campaign, provides state and local policy leaders with guidance on Building High-Quality Early Support Systems for Children and families.

BBA Early Childhood Policy Statement

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:36:23 +0000

The Broader, Bolder Approach to Early Childhood Policy Statement provides a 10-year blueprint for transforming federal, state, and local policy to ensure that all families and caregivers have the resources they need to establish the foundations for young children to thrive.

Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start U.S. Children Out on Unequal Footing

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:32:17 +0000

This paper, authored jointly with EPI education economist Emma Garcia, documents how Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start U.S. Children Out on Unequal Footing and, thus, the need for a Broader, Bolder Approach to Education.