Why are these kids so short? An introduction to early childhood education

1. Why are these kids so short? An introduction to early childhood education Sara Mead Bellwether Education Partners March 2013

2. Early childhood education encompasses many different programs and providers • Experts generally define early childhood as the period from birth through age 8. • Early childhood care and education includes a variety of programs: • Childcare for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers • Pre-kindergarten programs that prepare 3- and 4-year-olds for success in school • Head Start • Kindergarten and early elementary school • Family literacy and parenting programs

3. Early childhood education is different from K-12

4. There are several important reasons to care about early childhood education Science Improved understanding of brain development and importance of early years Young children can do much more than previously realized Early years lay critical foundations for language, social-emotional, and cognitive skills Disadvantages and at-risk youngsters often lack high-quality early learning experiences Achievement gaps emerge as early as 9 months “30 million word gap” One-third to one-half of the achievement gap exists before children begin 1st grade Increasing demands on K-12 public education system Easier and cheaper to prevent problems early than fix them later High-quality K-12 providers increasingly looking earlier Equity Impact

5. Non-parental early care and education is a roughly $70 billion industry Source: Partnership for America’s Economic Success (2010), NIEER (2011), figures adjusted by author

6. Research shows that high-quality early childhood education programs make a difference Caveat: These results were produced in high-quality programs. Not all programs meet this standard of quality.

7. The early childhood field faces critical challenges

8. Use of early childhood care and education has grown dramatically in the past 50 years Percent of Children Enrolled in Pre-Primary Maternal Labor Force Participation by Age of Youngest Child <6 years old 5 year olds <3 years old 4 year olds 3 year olds Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics; U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

9. But the United States still lags in early childhood enrollments

10. Many low- and moderate-income children lack access to quality early childhood education Participation in Pre-K

11. Federal and state governments make significant investments in early childhood care and education Source: Partnership for America’s Economic Success (2010), NIEER (2011), figures adjusted by author

12. State and federal governments increased early childhood investment over the past decade $7.6 billion $5.5 billion Source: National Institute for Early Education Research, Administration for Children and Families

13. But funding remains inadequate

14. Current state and federal fiscal climate poses challenges for early childhood funding • Fiscally strapped states have cut services: • States cut pre-k spending by $90 million over past 2 years • 37 states have cut childcare funding or reduced access, even as number of eligible families has grown • Expanded federal funding since 2008 has helped maintain services, but current fiscal debate threatens funding • Major philanthropic funders of pre-k advocacy have cut back support

15. There are some signs that climate for early childhood spending may be improving • States are starting to reinvest in early childhood education • Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has proposed a 60% increase in pre-k spending, with the goal of moving toward universal preschool • Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has proposed increasing pre-k funding from $109 million to $239 million over 2 years • Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed a $131 million increase in early childhood funding for 2014 • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a $25 million increase to expand pre-k access • President Obama’s State of the Union Address called for federal-state partnership to expand pre-k access

16. Experts see little prospect for the President’s proposals in Congress, however Education Insiders’ Rating of Likelihood of Passage for High-Quality Preschool for Every Child • SOTU proposal still has impact in raising national profile of preschool. • States will need to be primary drivers of policy going forward. Source: Whiteboard Advisors, “Education Insider”

17. Expectations for quality are too low Confusion about purposes and goals of early childhood education We know what it takes to produce dramatically better early learning outcomes for disadvantaged children, but by and large we are not doing it. Too-low expectations for children’s learning Definition of “quality” focused on inputs

18. “Quality” in the early childhood context has multiple dimensions

19. Advocacy has often focused on structural features, such as class sizes and teacher credentials Source: National Institute for Early Education Research: The State of Preschool 2009

20. A new generation of quality initiatives increasingly focus on process quality measures Children’s actual experience in early childhood settings

21. Most early childhood classrooms demonstrate good quality on indicators of emotional support

22. But average quality of instruction is weak

23. Quality of teaching is most important predictor of early learning outcomes Many early childhood educators have limited formal education and lack skills and knowledge to do this work.

24. Supply of quality providers is limited Funding is not the only barrier, but a critical one High-quality providers do exist: • When opportunities do emerge, there are few quality providers available to take advantage of them: • Head Start • DC • Abbott Pre-K Lack of ecosystem or community of high-quality early childhood entrepreneurs Efforts have focused primarily on marginal improvement in existing childcare providers Traditional early childhood advocates do not think in terms of building supply

25. Addressing these challenges will require a multi-faceted approach

26. Contact Sara Mead Principal Bellwether Education Partners sara@bellwethereducation.org