Birth–3rd Policy Developments in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts team that participated in the National Governors Association early learning policy academy reports several new developments: The Boards of the Department of Early Education and Care and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have created a joint birth through grade 3 sub-committee that will include representatives from both boards. The team has released…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Quality and Family Engagement
The political dynamic seems to have changed since this Washington Post article was published almost a year ago, but see Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s discussion of preschool quality and wraparound services for parents as he describes his administration’s work on early education in Chicago. Too many Republicans today ridicule the value of early education. That would come…
Family Engagement Teaching Cases
The renowned Harvard Family Research Project has developed a new resource that is available to the public, The Create Your Case Toolkit. This toolkit builds on the Harvard Family Research Project’s extensive work on Family Engagement Teaching Cases. Here is how the Family Research Project describes the new tool: Stories help people form relationships and…
Announcing: New Early Educators Leadership Institute in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is sponsoring Getting It Right for Children: Early Educators Leadership Institute, a series of four full-day workshops that begins in late February. The EEC has contracted with Early Childhood Associates to offer the Institute. The Institute will feature prominent national and state early learning leaders, including: Albert Wat…
Preparing to Launch: Early Childhood’s Academic Countdown
Also don’t miss the helpful collection of articles in Education Week’s 2015 edition of Quality Counts, which focuses on early childhood education.
Not To Be Missed: Chris Martes in Commonwealth Magazine
Don’t miss the recent article in Commonwealth Magazine by Chris Martes, president and CEO of Strategies for Children: “A Chance to Lead on Early Education.” As Martes says, From the White House to business boardrooms to the offices of scores of Republican and Democratic mayors, governors, and members of Congress, we’re seeing historic momentum on…
Why Some Teams Are Smarter Than Others?
Are some teams “smarter” than others? Researchers at MIT and Carnegie Mellon say yes. They have found three characteristics that distinguish smarter teams. You may be surprised by the results, which make a strong case for well-structured, interactive meetings guided by discussion protocols that create a level playing field for rich conversations.
Playbook for Becoming an Early Learning Community
The White House has released a Playbook for Becoming an Early Learning Community in conjunction with its recent Summit on Early Education. The Playbook outlines 7 steps, each with a number of recommended strategies and helpful examples from around the country: 1. Mobilize key stakeholders in your community. 2. Use data to share the basics on young…
Executive Function & 21st Century Skills
Lisa Kuh, Somerville’s Director of Early Education, has started the Somerville Early Education blog. For a good introduction and number of helpful links, see two posts Lisa wrote on Executive Function & 21st Century Skills: Executive Function & 21st Century Skills – Part 1: Making Choices and Environmental Design Executive Function Part 2: Tools to…
Education Week and the New America Foundation On the Primary Years Agenda
For external perspectives on “The Primary Years Agenda: Strategies to Guide District Action,” see: Districts Play a Key Role in Building Quality Early Childhood Programs (Education Week) Who Knows What’s Happening? Creating Pre-K through 3rd Alignment (New America Foundation) Happy Holidays!