In five years, George here will be in first grade. Early Childhood will look very different in the U.S. because of the decisions we make as a nation in the next year. I believe we are on the cusp of making great strides in our investment in early childhood. Fueled by our anxiety about the achievement gap, public opinion is changing towards placing greater value on educating not only small children, but their parents as well.
Most of us agree that Congress is a mess. It's just a year until election day when we will elect a new Senate. In order to look more favorable to constituents, politicians will seek something, anything to work together on to prove to the American people that they can reach across the aisle and govern. I think early childhood is where they will meet. My own Senator, Al Franken was kind enough to ask me and a University of Minnesota researcher to work with his staff to consult on a bill to include parent education as a requirement of a preschool scholarship. I was thrilled.
Finally, you have certainly all heard of Art Rolnick by now. His work has been fundamental in convincing business leaders that an investment in early childhood is an investment in growing the economy because of the rate of return on each dollar invested. Business leaders have noticed and responded. Note the Chamber of Commerce's six action steps listed below, cut and pasted from their own website. Many of us can see the roots of policy we are dealing with today in the action statement. It's time. The situation is ripe for change. I hope the early childhood community is ready! I know I am!
Six Actions the Business Community Can Take
- Support a mixed provider delivery system
- Encourage alignment between the early learning system and the K-12 system
- Promote early learning policies as part of the economic development agenda
- Encourage the inclusion of early childhood data in the statewide longitudinal data system
- Encourage your state to adopt a Quality Rating Information System
- Encourage business organizations and networks to adopt a policy position in support of public investments for effective, high quality early education programs
For more information on action items, as well as a summary of the economic evidence behind investments in early childhood education, please visit
www.uschamber.com/icw.
Katy,
ReplyDeleteHow exciting for you to see advancements being made in the early childhood field. Your encouragement is being fueled by the opportunities you have been given and the results of a community taking action. However, I think for some of us, that kind of progressive thinking has not trickled down into our small towns or communities of business and political leaders. I will agree that we are in a better place than we have been in years in regards to change being made in early childhood. I know in Louisiana, that having the Dept. of Education take control of child care will definitely change the face of the industry. I do not know at this time whether that change will be beneficial or not but I do find this kind of radical change kind of exciting. Our situation now in my state reminds me of remodeling a house. Everything is getting torn apart and we are not really sure how things will look once it is put back together. I spoke in great lengths about parent education. I am so excited about how Minnesota is handling parent education. Their approaches to awarding subsidies to parents will make a difference in how parents view early childhood education. What a great opportunity for you!
Mary Jo