Brown should seek feds' $100 million
09.15.2011
More than 1 million California kids under age 5 are in some kind of out-of-home early learning and care setting as their parents work. This is one of the most important decisions that parents make for their young children. But quality varies dramatically.
Last year, U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, championed a state-based federal grant program to encourage improvements so that more children enter kindergarten ready for success. That has become a new federal Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant competition. Applications are due Oct. 19.
All states, including California, should apply. The four largest states can get up to $100 million over three years. Leaving these federal dollars on the table when the state already has been plugging away at improving quality in early learning for a decade would be foolish and shortsighted.
California looms large nationally. Each year, 470,000 kids start kindergarten in California full of hope, with schooling as a great engine of mobility. Yet even at that stage, too many are behind. Laying a foundation for learning in the early years is better than playing catch-up with remedial programs for older kids.
California would be a strong candidate for one of the $100 million grants.
With the deadline only a month away, Gov. Jerry Brown hasn't decided whether California will apply. He is concerned that one-time investments could bring cost pressures for further improvements in the future. Given the importance of early learning to later academic success, that's a good problem to have.
The state ought to leverage federal dollars for one-time investments, which can be incorporated into California's long-term vision for quality early learning.
Some examples:
• The newly enacted Transitional Kindergarten for 130,000 4-year-olds, beginning fall 2012. Getting the pieces in place to make that work would be an excellent use of one-time funds.
• Local efforts to create quality rating systems so parents and public funders can make good decisions. Yolo, Merced, Fresno, San Diego, Orange, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties and the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco have done great work on this front. Bringing the best elements of these statewide would be an excellent use of one-time funds.
• Assessing where kids are with language, motor development and social skills at kindergarten entry. California is field-testing this locally now. One-time funds could bring it statewide.
Does it make sense to push ourselves on the early-learning front given our budget crisis? Certainly.
Even if California does not win a grant, the act of applying would outline current strengths and weaknesses and next steps for getting more kids ready to succeed in kindergarten.
This opportunity to apply for federal dollars may not come again. In this time of budget cuts, it would be foolish for California to leave federal dollars on the table to pay for activities that we would be pursuing anyway.
Brown should get California's application going and send it in.
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