Understanding Last Week’s News
In addition to the good coverage over at Eye on Early Education, see EdCentral’s Early Ed Update for a helpful round-up of commentary on the White House Summit and the Preschool Development Grants.
“Collective Seeing, Learning, and Doing”
I have occasionally referred to the Collective Impact Model, a powerful approach cross-sector collaboration used by many communities across the country, including Pittsfield. The approach is based on the five conditions shown in the graphic above. The Collective Impact Forum has recently shared a great collection of resources in its Top Reads and Resources for…
Joint Sub-Committee on Birth–3rd Alignment Approved Last Night
Last night at a joint meeting of the Boards of the Department of Early Education and Care and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Boards approved motions to create a joint sub-committee on Birth-3rd Alignment. The Sub-Committee will focus on alignment and coordination and include two members from each Board and one staff…
Live Streaming Event: The Leading Edge of Early Childhood Education
I just learned that tomorrow’s convening at Harvard, The Leading Edge of Early Childhood Education: Linking Science to Policy for a New Generation of Pre-Kindergarten, will be live-streamed at this URL. The event includes an impressive roster of presenters and discussants (LeadingEdge_flyer).
“You Undermine the Very Thing that Produces that Value”
NPR’s story on the recent report, Worthy Work, STILL Unlivable Wages, includes several quotations from Deborah Phillips, one of the co-authors of the study: “There’s a disconnect between our 21st-century knowledge about early childhood teaching and these 20th-century wages,” says Phillips. “We desperately need educated young people to be working with young children, but they look at…
“What Every School Can Learn From Preschools”
See National Public Radio’s story on a new report from the New America Foundation, Skills for Success: Supporting and Assessing Key Habits, Mindsets, and Skills PreK-12. From the NPR article: … the best tack is to hold entire schools accountable for creating atmospheres that instill or support these qualities. This can be done using tools like…
Pittsfield Literacy Partnership Helps Design Innovative Family Court Program
“At first I wasn’t too thrilled about having to be here, but I was willing to give it a chance to help my son and his father.” Heather Hinckley, talking to The Berkshire Eagle, is referring to a new pilot program in Pittsfield, a 12-week course entitled, Enhancing Families through Literature. Through this course, Heather,…
New Article Collections Page
I’ve gathered together a number of articles and case studies on a new Feature Articles page. And see this week’s Marshall Memo, a weekly digest of education news for principals and other education leaders, for a summary of the Primary Years Agenda article. Happy Thanksgiving!
Texting Parents to Help Language Skills
From a recent story in the New York Times: A new study shows that mobile technology may offer a cheap and effective solution. The research, released by the National Bureau of Economic Research this month, found that preschoolers whose parents received text messages with brief tips on reading to their children or helping them sound out…
Kind Summary of the Primary Years Agenda by Eye on Early Education
For a summary of my recent Kappan article, “The Primary Years Agenda: Strategies to Guide District Action,” see Birth to Third Grade: Seizing the Opportunities at Eye on Early Education. The Kappan piece will be available for free through December.