What’s New

• Children better prepared for school thanks to California Head Start programs. A new study released by the California Head Start Association and Child Care Results indicates significant improvement for Head Start participants across various development areas, including language and literacy, math, motor and social skills. The study included 6,600 children from 15 Head Start programs across California. The analysis compared preschool children of the same age who had participated in Head Start for various lengths of time; the study’s results noted that children who had participated in the program for longer periods of time had higher levels of development in all areas. Read the study.

• New brief on using Title I Investments for preschool. A new brief providing an overview on how to use Title I, Part A Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funds for preschool in California is now available from the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA). The resource, “Ready for K…With ESEA” is for administrators of public school districts and county offices of education that receive Title I funds. It discusses what school district leaders need to know about Title I and existing preschool programs in their districts and different ways to implement “Ready for K” programs. Download the report. A similar national resource, “Tapping Title 1: What Every School Administrator Should know about Title I, Pre-K and School Reform,” is available from Pre-K Now. Download the Pre-K Now paper.

• New report on state-by-state early childhood program cuts. A new report is available from the National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies (NACCRA) that provides a state-by-state description of early childhood programs that have been cut due to budget concerns. The new paper, “State Budget Cuts: America’s Kids Pay the Price,” also includes recommendations for future investments. Read the report.

• Para Los Niños Exhibit and Conference. Para los Niños will be hosting an international exhibit, “The Wonder of Learning: The Hundred Languages of Children,” which opened on Jan. 31 and will be shown until April 25. Co-hosted locally by Para Los Niños and the First Presbyterian Nursery School in Santa Monica, the “Wonder of Learning” is a 4,500 square foot traveling exhibit that calls attention to the importance of education and schools as places for discussion and change. Para Los Niños will also host a related conference on March 4 to 6, focused on “School as a Place of Community and Collaboration: Community as a Context for Learning.” Please see more information on the conference and exhibit.

• Save the Date: California Working Families Policy Summit. The California Center for Research on Women and Families is convening advocates at the California Working Families Policy Summit on Thursday, Feb. 25 at the Sacramento Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. [more] The summit, in addition to offering an expert and information-packed plenary on the budget crisis, will include conversations on proposals and long-term agendas to preserve the safety net, build family economic security and promote family-friendly workplaces. Register and see more information.

• Save the Date: First 5 California and Water Cooler Joint Symposium.  Join early learning advocates from across the state on March 9 to 10 at the First 5 California and the Water Cooler Joint Symposium on Early Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy. The Water Cooler is a collaborative effort to advance early care and learning for California's children birth to five. The conference will be at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. The first day of the conference will focus on “Investments in Early Learning: Making an Impact,” while the second day’s theme is “Stronger Together: Expanding the Larger Education Conversation.” Please see more information and registration.

News from the Field

• Advocates gather at ELQIS town halls. More than 80 local preschool supporters gathered in Sacramento on Feb.3 to provide feedback on the development of a statewide early learning quality improvement system (ELQIS). The town hall meeting was hosted by the Sacramento County Office of Education and featured an expert panel discussion on the latest advancements in federal, state and local early learning policy.  Participants also worked in groups to provide feedback on the state’s emergent ELQIS and brainstorm ways to align the state system with Sacramento County’s work toward a comprehensive quality rating system. The feedback will be forwarded to the California Department of Education for consideration in their ELQIS development work.

Preschool Perspectives: Good Beginnings Preschool. Read about Head Start federal funding has already been put to good use in communities across California, including Good Beginnings Preschool in the Pico-Union area of Los Angeles County.