Front Burners

TOP NATIONAL RESEARCH GROUP: FLORIDA PRE-K “FALTERS”

Other states are showing it can be done! North Carolina and Alabama met all 10 of the NIEER quality standard benchmarks. Eight additional states – Arkansas, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington met 9 of 10 benchmarks. Each of these states has earned a hearty congratulations!

Yet the Sunshine State despite the well-intentioned efforts of thousands tied for next to last in The State of Preschool 2007 released this week by NIEER, which stands for the National Institute for Early Education Research. The organization is known for objective, non-partisan information based on research.

What the other states are doing differently is this: they have embraced the national movement and are pursuing quality instead of trying to figure out how to do it on the cheap or questioning best practices and established research. The states that are doing it are saying to their early childhood communities: we will lift up the industry, all of its employees, professional and paraprofessional, and the children. They are acting to make it better.

Florida has been stuck at meeting only 4 of 10 quality benchmarks since the inception of the VPK program. Last year, Pennsylvania was the only state in the country with a rank below Florida. This year, Pennsylvania leap-frogged over Florida due to improvements made by their governor and legislature with the support of their early learning community and state agency. One year they were below us. The next year they are ahead of us. It can be done and it is being done.

This year’s bottom rank was held by Kansas, which met only 3 of 10 standards.

On the low end of the scale, meeting only 4 of 10 standards, like Florida, were Arizona, California, Maine, Ohio and Texas.

Eight states (not Florida) met higher quality standards this year.

Nearly all of Florida’s unmet standards clustered within classroom deficiencies, inclusive of not requiring teachers to have a bachelor’s degree. Florida did not conform either with standards for teacher specialized training and does not require specific teacher in-service. Pre-k employees, however, with their certified development associates credentials, must have 10-hours of in-service per year to renew their CDA certification.

Across the country, less than half of all 4-year-olds were enrolled in government-supported preschool education programs and one quarter received no preschool.

Steve Barnett, executive director of NIEER, commented in the release accompanying the report that failing to provide high quality early education opportunities for children compromises their ability to succeed in school and in life and has grave consequences for our society and our economy. Read the full NIEER press release here.

Average state spending increased by $175 to $3,642 per child, halting a trend of declining per-child commitments.

NEW ENDORSEMENTS FOR DEGREED TEACHER LEGISLATION

Florida would improve educational opportunities for children and jump forward in national standards if passing legislation requiring degrees by 2013. A one word change in legislation, to take effect not now but in five years, would do it.

Children’s Campaign, Inc. recognizes the following statewide organizations for their endorsement of the legislation proposed by Senator Nan Rich and Representative Janet Long: United Way of Florida, A.I. Children, Nova Southeastern University Mailman Segal Institute, Capital Area Healthy Start Coalition, University Christian Children’s Center and Kids World Enrichment Center. Thank you for joining the effort!

CHILDREN’S CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT CHILDREN AND COMMUNITIES

In response to the state budget crisis and the looming threats to have removed from the state budget effective services to children that have taken years and years to build and prove their worth for state funding, Children’s Campaign is launching the “Campaign to Protect Children and Communities.” This campaign must ensure that children do not enter into this very intense but short-lived budget fight alone.

You are our eyes and ears. Proposed cuts will come fast and furious, starting with the department recommended cuts on their way to the legislature as this is being written. Send us information. Do it right away!

The Campaign to Protect Children and Communities will serve as “message central”. We will take your information and publish regular updates so that the proposals for cuts in services are widely known, empowering our network of citizen and stakeholder advocates to take action. Send news and updates as you become aware of them to the Children’s Campaign, in care of Amanda Ostrander, aostrander@iamforkids.org.

This Early Learning Front Burner is brought to you by:

Roy Miller, President

Linda Alexionok, Executive Director/UPK Director