Taking Action for Children and Families: Learning from the First 40 Communities (Post #1)
“The ultimate goal of a stronger, more seamless care and education continuum is to initiate and sustain a strong foundation for future success by providing effective learning opportunities across the infant-toddler years, preschool ages, and early grades in all settings.” (National Research Council, Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation).[1]…
A Game-Changing Opportunity for Early Childhood (Yale School of Medicine)
As we rebuild after the pandemic, we have an enormous opportunity to reinvent early education and care in the United States in ways that dramatically improve outcomes for children and families, strengthen communities, and advance equity for all. In this post, I share three core principles for rethinking how communities serve children and families and…
Policymakers Used to Ignore Child Care. Then Came the Pandemic.
“It explained how the care sector — defined as economic activity in the home and the market — was a crucial part of the economy but operated differently than other types of businesses. You can’t measure the productivity of a child-care center the way you would, say, a car factory, she explained. The incentives are…
Rosie Could Be a Riveter Only Because of a Care Economy. Where Is Ours?
School: It’s Not Just for Kids Anymore
While I disagree with the suggestion that public schools can’t do this work, I appreciate the dual generation/comprehensive services thrust of Conor’s article. See this recent webinar series for more examples of school-community partnerships for the whole child. A few excerpts: “This juxtaposition — family members decades apart, but attending classes down the hall from…
In Her Words–Child Care in Crisis: Can Biden’s Plan Save It?
“At the root of this crisis is America’s relationship with child care itself. Unlike every other developed country, the United States has never, with the exception of a few years during World War II, treated child care as an essential service. Since at least the 1970s, when President Richard Nixon vetoed a bipartisan effort to implement…
The Top 10 Takeaways from the ‘School-Community Partnerships for the Whole Child’ Webinar Series
New America’s Elise Franchino has summarized our recent webinar series in 10 takeaways. Check out her post here. She includes great insights from the presenters. Many thanks to all the panelists, moderators, and partner organizations! You can find the webinars and associated resources at these links: Collaborate to Improve Teaching and Learning Coordinate Comprehensive Services…
Spotlight on Closing the Achievement Gap for Young Students: Social Justice, Virtual Learning, COVID, and Beyond
Was recently surprised and honored to be included in the Education Week Spotlight. See articles on COVID-related learning loss, advice from Nell Duke, the impact of phonics on math, our national racial reckoning, and First 10. Spotlight on Closing the Achievement Gap for Young Students
How to Fix America: Think of Education as More Than Just School
The New York Times business reporter, Andrew Ross Sorkin, asked experts and industry leaders to name one thing we should do right now to “fix America.” Harlem Children Zone leaders Kwame Owusu-Kesse and Geoffrey Canada argue that we must, “We must broaden the focus of education to encompass the communities around the school building.” An…
COVID and Beyond: A Consensus on Systems-Change in Early Childhood Education and Care
In response to last week’s post on rethinking early education and care in the aftermath of the pandemic, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek of the Brookings Institution and Temple University pointed me to a different take on the same topic, An Unprecedented Time in Education Demands Unprecedented Change. Hirsh-Pasek and her colleagues issue a call for a “playful…