Pre-K Under Review: NIEER’s “The State of Preschool 2011″ Report

With the release of “The State of Preschool 2011” by the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER), both proponents and opponents of early education programs pick up the debate over using state funds for pre-K programs with renewed vigor. This year’s report includes a comparison against...

Second Round Race to the Top Winners Announced: Do Words Matter?

Race to the Top-Phase 2 was announced by U.S. Dept. of Education early this week. The winners are: Massachusetts ($250,000,000), New York ($700,000,000), Hawaii ($75,000,000), Florida ($700,000) , Rhode Island ($75,000,000), District of Columbia ($75,000,000), Maryland ($250,000,000), Georgia ...

U.S. Department of Education Announces 13 Investing in Innovation (i3) Projects with Early Childhood Focus

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Education announced 13 Investing in Innovation (i3) awards which had an early childhood focus. There were 49 winners in all. Thirteen awards equal 36% of the $650 million awarded total. It must be remembered that the highest rated applicants must find matching grants that...

How Does Pre-K Fit into Obama’s FY 11 Budget

We learn from Early Ed Watch that the Obama administration has developed a new “Effective Teaching and Learning” category for the FY 11 budget. The budget request is for $450 million and would be a smaller silo-ed program approach. “We think fewer, more flexible programs make...

Brookings Report: Public Investment in Children’s Early Years

The Brookings Institute has released a series of reports examining federal spending for children. Public Investment in Children’s Early and Elementary Years (Birth to 11) is an examination of federal spending on children. We learn that the federal government spends $3,149.00 per child 3 to 5 years...

Keeping Up With the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) & Early Learning

As you may have read, there is very little reference to early learning in the Obama Administration’s outline for ESEA reauthorization. This outline is being used to inform the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Currently, there is mark-up activity to draft this legislation. In a recent...

What Happened to the Early Learning Challenge Grant?

Leave it to Lisa Guernsey to keep the early childhood field up-to-date with what is happening in D.C. regarding funding.  You may remember last fall I began writing about the exciting Early Learning Challenge Fund.  It was a proposed $1 billion per year program to improve the quality of child care and...

President Obama’s New Budget Request Increased Funding for Early Childhood Programs

Early Ed Watch from the New America Foundation condensed the FY11 budget for early childhood. I appreciate Lisa Guernsey providing this information. Here is the summary: “The administration has requested an additional $989 million in funding for Head Start and an additional $1.6 billion for federally...

Federal Spending for Children Requested

Maggie Stevens, with Early Ed Watch, informs us on January 19,2010 that the question is arising again, as it did before the ARRA fund release, “What will happen to state and federal budgets for programs that serve children when they run out?” Panelists discussed this question last Thursday at the...