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Obama Evaluating Early Childhood Education Push in Second Term | 01.18.2013

Huffington Post
According to sources close to the administration, Duncan and the Department of Health and Human Services are outlining a plan to create universal pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds from low- and some middle-income families -- approximately 1.85 million children. more

Why the Democrats Are Golden in California | 01.17.2013

National Journal
Demographic shifts and coastal liberalism have given huge power to Democrats. They control the state – but there's restlessness on the left. more

Jerry Brown says California's budget deficit has disappeared | 01.11.2013

Sacramento Bee
Gov. Jerry Brown declared Thursday that California's budget deficit has vanished thanks to new tax hikes and past spending cuts, marking the first time since the recession that state leaders haven't faced a deep fiscal chasm in January. more

Early childhood funding stays flat in governor’s budget | 01.11.2013

EdSource
Scott Moore, senior policy analyst for the advocacy group Preschool California, said not restoring the lost funding was a missed opportunity. “That’s the number one glaring omission in the budget,” Moore said. “What we know from research is that when we invest in early childhood education, that’s the best investment we can make.” more

A call to Obama to focus on early childhood education | 01.10.2013

Washington Post
Here’s an open letter to Obama urging him to make early childhood education — an initiative that has proven results — a real priority in his second term. It was written by Elaine Weiss, the national coordinator for the Broader Bolder Approach to Education, and Cassie Schwerner, senior vice president of programs at the Schott Foundation for Public Education. more

EdWatch 2013: Head Start funding and transitional kindergarten | 01.07.2013

EdSource
Transitional kindergarten, a program for students on the youngest end of the kindergarten spectrum, began in 2012 as a result of the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010. It is set to hit its first expansion target in the fall of 2013. more

California wins millions in school innovation grants | 12.19.2012

EdSource Today
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A Smart Investment: Skilled Early Childhood Workforce | 12.17.2012

Huffington Post
As the school year begins and election season kicks into high gear, we are focused on getting our struggling schools and our economy back on track. There is one set of policies that can help with both. Investments in early childhood education can have a substantial impact on the future success of children as students, workers, and citizens in a democratic society. more

Tahoe/Truckee education: Understanding the value of preschool | 12.11.2012

Sierra Sun
How important is preschool? My child knows her colors; she can recognize a dozen letters of the alphabet and can count to fifteen. Isn't that enough? The simple answer: no. Studies continue to show that these early learning programs are incredibly beneficial to a child's long-term success in school. more

MENIFEE: Students in transitional kindergarten program celebrate turning 5 | 12.09.2012

San Diego Union-Tribune
It was all about the No. 5 for a class of 5-year-old students in the transitional kindergarten program at Callie Kirkpatrick Elementary School in Menifee who enjoyed a collective birthday party at school last week. more

First Five Years Fund Urges Lawmakers To Invest In Early Childhood Education (VIDEO) | 12.03.2012

Huffington Post
As Congress seeks to avoid triggering across-the-board cuts to education, the nonprofit First Five Years Fund is urging legislators to invest in quality early childhood development. According to a video released by the organization, investing now in early childhood education would ensure that students are school and workforce-ready, reducing the achievement gap and boosting graduation rates. more

New school of thought: Kindergarten becomes two-year program for some | 11.28.2012

Redding.com
Welcome to kindergarten — but with a twist. Nine of the 25 students in Torres' class are transitional kindergartners. It's a new program where some students will do two years of kindergarten before hitting first grade. "I absolutely love it," said Torres, who has taught kindergarten for 25 years. "It gives them a little more time to develop. We call it the gift of time." more

OUSD & Transitional Kindergarten | 11.28.2012

Collegial Connections
Recently, the Oakland Unified School District was pleased to announce that it had established a relationship with Oakland Rotary to adopt Transitional Kindergarten (TK) classes at ten schools (eleven classrooms) throughout the city. more

Transitional kindergarten in Mt. Diablo schools engages the youngest students | 11.28.2012

Contra Costa Times
CONCORD -- There's a relatively quiet flurry of activity in Joy Slater's classroom as boys and girls who have just turned 5 choose their activity. more

Long Beach Unified sets higher English-learner standards | 11.24.2012

Long Beach Press-Telegram
Of 19,000 students in Long Beach Unified, 22 percent are classified as English learners. Five years ago, the district toughened its criteria for reclassifying English learners after data showed that reclassified students were struggling once they left the program, Seki said. The district now requires that students who test to be reclassified as fluent score slightly higher than the state minimum on standardized English tests. more