Early Childhood in the News

The Virginia Star Quality Initiative is expanding to the Danville region. Nine early childhood programs have volunteered to participate in this quality rating and improvement system. read more ...

Occupy Wall Street is casting a national spotlight on inequalities that exist in the US, but a New York Times columnist claims that the solution has nothing to do with finance or bankers. He calls for an expansion of early childhood education as the most effective way to reduce inequality from the start.  read more ...

In a recent CNN article, Professor Alison Gopnik explores the complicated minds of infants. She explains how science supports the need for improved early childhood systems and emphasizes that children learn through play.
"The scientific work on the way babies learn demonstrates that neglecting our youngest children is self-destructive. Our moral intuition ought to tell us it's just plain wrong." read more ...

CNN Money spotlights the struggles of twelve families as they deal with the rising costs of child care and preschool. In Virginia, the average annual cost of full time care for an infant is over $9,600.  read more ...

A new report promotes an increase in preschool enrollment worldwide. The analysis found that middle- and low-income countries could see a return of $6-$17 for every dollar invested in preschool. “Early childhood is the most effective and cost-effective time to ensure that all children develop to their full potential,” noted Patrice Engle, of California Polytechnic State University. read more ...

Experts agree that pre-k needs to be incorporated into our existing K-12 education system. This clip from MSNBC features Dennis Van Roekel, President of the National Education Association.  read more ...

Time Magazine's article summarizes progress that has been made surrounding early childhood education and the current state of pre-k. It also features the Pew Charitable Trust's recommendations for improving the nation's prekindergarten system. read more ...

A new report from Smart Start & the North Carolina Partnership for Children examines the crucial role that child care plays to the state's economy. Often overlooked, child care actually accounts for more jobs than nursing facilities and real estate.  read more ...

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan blogs about the importance of starting early for NBC's Education Nation. He explains what the Department of Education is doing now to improve early learning, and what is left to be done.  read more ...

Smart Beginnings Martinsville Henry County partnered with local health organizations to hold an event to promote school readiness. Local officials are working to make sure parents are aware of the kinds of skills their children need before they begin kindergarten. The event offered free developmental assessments for children and educated parents on local resources. read more ...

The NIEER blogs about a new research brief from Timothy Bartik and the Partnership for America's Economic Success, which explains how early childhood education supports business growth and job creation. This new research makes a strong case for both the short- and long-term benefits of quality early education programs for students, parents, employers, and taxpayers.  read more ...

Once upon a time, in an era far, far away, children went to kindergarten to prepare for first grade. Kindergarten was their first school experience, their prep for elementary school. Now, children need to go to pre-school to prepare for kindergarten. read more ...

Scott Hippert, President of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, and Barbara Couto Sipe of Smart Beginnings Greater Richmond, appeared on CBS's morning show today to discuss school readiness.  read more ...

The president of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children promotes early childhood investment as a fiscally responsible way to reduce deficits and generate long-term gains for children and taxpayers. Over a lifetime, children who are exposed to high-quality early learning will be healthier, more self-sufficient and less likely to enter the criminal justice system.  read more ...

The Virginia Star Quality Initiative is utilizing the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) to improve child care programs across the Commonwealth.
Gardiner and her staff have been trained to use the CLASS instrument to rate each of the centers, and use the information gathered to develop a two-year, quality-improvement plan and provide mentoring with the aim of raising future scores.  read more ...

On Wednesday, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released a national study on child well-being. Researchers found that  found that 14.7 million children are living in povety--2.5 million more than in 2000. Low-income children are more likely to suffer academically, economically and socially throughout their lives. read more ...

This weekend, families across the commonwealth will take advantage of the state's annual sales tax holiday to purchase back-to-school supplies for their children. But there's so much more to being ready for school — especially kindergarten — than walking into the classroom with a new outfit and backpack. read more ...

A Goochland child care provider was a member of a pilot program to improve child care services in home based settings. From last December through July 1, Helen Payne, who operates Glory Home Child Care Preschool in her home in western Goochland, was part of the Virginia Star Quality Initiative’s statewide pilot program. read more ...

Smart Beginnings Heartland, Smart Beginnings Northumberland Lancaster and Smart Beginnings Fluvanna Louisa received funding to ensure that children in these areas will enter school prepared and ready to learn. read more ...

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more solid case for the importance of good early education: A study published late last week by Science shows that attendance at the Chicago Parent-Child Centers – a program designed to extend from pre-k through 3rd grade in the inner city’s public schools – is connected to a person’s success in life 25 years later.  read more ...

Rob Krupicka shares his views on the state of early childhood in Virginia. Virginia is regularly ranked as one of the top five or 10 states in the country for K-12 education. We have a strong higher education system. We are doing a lot of things right. But there is a huge amount still to do, especially in children's early years. read more ...

Smart Beginnings Danville Pittsylvania hosted its first School Readiness Camp. The day camp is for children who did not attend preschool in order to teach them the skills they will need to start kindergarten. The coalition was able to offer this camp after receiving a $5.4 million grant from the Danville Regional Foundation earlier this year.  read more ...

The Dominion Foundation awarded a grant to support the Southwest Regional School Readiness Initiative of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. The resources will be used to expand high quality early learning initiatives to ensure that young children in the Southwest Virginia region, ages 0-5, are well-prepared to be successful in school and, ultimately, in the future workforce. read more ...

Children who participate in preschool programs funded through the Virginia Preschool Initiative improve their performance in kindergarten and first grade, researchers at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education have found.
The study, conducted by senior scientist Francis Huang and Marcia Invernizzi, Henderson Professor of Education, is the first peer-reviewed analysis of the effectiveness of the Virginia Preschool Initiative program. Created in 1996, the program provides programs for at-risk 4-year-olds that include preschool education, health and social services, and transportation. read more ...

A recently released study of 1,000 poor children who benefited from Chicago’s Child-Parent Center Education Program (which includes intensive preschool, parent training and support for students through third grade), suggests that every dollar spent on the program yielded nearly $11 to society, including increased tax revenue and reduced spending on child welfare, special education and grade retention. read more ...

Smart Beginnings Western Tidewater held a community breakfast at Paul D. Camp Community College last week. At the event, Ellen Couch, executive director, explained the importance of investing in early childhood and reported on the coalition's many accomplishments from the past year. read more ...

This week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new state-level grant competition to support early childhood education in order to strengthen the future workforce, reduce crime rates, and improve national security."To win the future, our children need a strong start," said Secretary Duncan. "The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge encourages states to develop bold and comprehensive plans for raising the quality of early learning programs across America." read more ...

The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation won a First Place trophy in the national 2011 Nonprofit PR Awards sponsored by PR News, a provider of media relations tools and tactics for professional communicators. The entry, VECF Reaches New Audiences with Strategic PR, was awarded top honors in the “PR on a Shoestring” category. read more ...

An article in the Huffington Post explains why budget cuts for early childhood programs are not in the best interest for our nation. 'Dr. Heckman may say it best, "It is a natural reaction to cut spending when faced with a budget deficit. Make no mistake, reducing spending in some areas in necessary and warranted. However, when one has dug themselves into a hole, the solution is not to stop digging as much as to start digging the hand and toe holds that facilitate climbing out. Investing in early childhood education is that hand and toe hold." read more ...