The Time Is Now To Invest In Early Childhood Education

Last week I had the great privilege to attend an invitational conference sponsored by the Partners in Early Childhood and Economic Development (ECED) on Investing in New Ideas to Help Children Succeed.

The ECED was founded by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, Committee for Economic Development, First Children’s Finance and Linking Economic Development and Child Care Project. This stimulating conference was sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

It brought together a wide range of federal and state representatives, early care and education groups, policy makers, and advocates to learn from each other and exchange ideas and strategies to support investment in early care and education and, in turn, to help parents become more productive employees  in support of economic growth and development.

The range of speakers and participants was varied and impressive including Joan Lombardi, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Shannon Rudisill, ChildCare Bureau, who spoke about the Obama Administrations priorities in supporting early childhood education. 

It is clear that this is a time of opportunity, but also great challenge as there is an increasing realization of the importance of early childhood education as an economic imperative of our country coupled with shrinking state budgets facing difficult tradeoffs in a time of continued economic uncertainty. There was strong consensus from disparate groups and individuals that we must continue to reframe the call for improved early care and education from a cost to society to an investment in our future.  

Given that this conference was held during the week of Veteran’s Day, It was particularly powerful to hear from the opening speaker, Major General Frank Faykes, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Budget, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, who discussed the Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve Report.

This report was issued by Mission: Readiness, Military Leaders for Kids, which is a bipartisan, nonprofit, national security organization led by more than 60 retired generals and admirals, including General Wesley Clark and General Hugh Shelton, former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sadly this 2009 report concluded that 75% of 17-24 year old Americans are unable to serve because of inadequate education, criminal history, or excess weight. While describing the magnitude of the problem, the report concludes that the beneficial impact of investing in high quality early education is in the interests of national security.

According to General Shelton, “Our men and women in uniform are the best in the world. But the sophistication of our military is increasing every year so we will soon need even better-qualified recruits. Unfortunately, the number of young Americans who have high-school degrees, are in good physical shape, and are without criminal records is declining. To keep our country strong and safe, we need to ensure all young Americans get the right start in life – we need more investments in high-quality early education.”

It was truly encouraging to see so many leaders of diverse organizations come together to seriously address the problems of our children’s future. And while there was lively debate and discussion on many issues, there was consensus on at least one point–that we cannot afford to sacrifice another generation of children. The time is now to invest in quality early childhood education.

Change and Accountability For Your Child’s Education Begins At Home

I feel a bit caught up in the politics of education these days. There is so much activity, particularly at the Federal level, that has the potential to dramatically impact our educational systems from early childhood education through post-secondary education. The rhetoric is about change and accountability, both of which are sorely needed in education today. But none of this will happen without parents taking the lead, standing up for what is right for their children and in their communities. 

This past week, President Obama and Secretary Arne Duncan went to Madison, Wisconsin to talk about educational reform, specifically highlighting the Race to the Top (RTTT) grant program, which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

RTTT is a $4.35 billion competitive program that is designed to encourage and reward states that create the conditions for making significant improvements in student outcomes through educational innovation and reform. You may have heard about the RTTT funds in the context of the controversy regarding breaking down the “firewall law” in some states that says that you can’t link student performance with teacher evaluation, an automatic disqualifier for eligibility for the funds.

The RTTT calls for reform in 4 key areas:

• Adopting internationally-benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace; 
• Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals; 
• Building data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices; and 
• Turning around our lowest-performing schools.

Yet despite President Obama’s commitment to direct significant sums of money to those states and districts prepared to move education from business as usual to a system of accountability and innovation, his speech in Wisconsin reaffirmed the personal responsibility of parents and students, who ultimately must own their own success or failure.

Citing an example with his daughter Malia, he spoke to the primary role of the family in advancing educational achievement:

Lifting up American education is not a task for government alone — it will take parents getting more involved in their child’s education.  It will take schools doing more to reach out with parents.  It will take students — students — accepting more responsibility for their own education.

So, while the health care debate seems to dominate the headlines and divide our country along partisan lines, the battle over our children’s future is also being waged. But whatever your political leaning or beliefs about education policy, the importance of family involvement in a child’s education, from infancy through the teenage years, is irrefutable. It is perhaps the most significant responsibility one could ever have.

Secretary Duncan’s Speech On Quality Education Inspires Parent Advocacy

Recently, Secretary Duncan spoke at Columbia Teachers College, highlighting the inadequacies of schools of education in preparing teachers for 21st century classrooms. While citing the growing challenges that teachers face, he questioned whether we are adequately preparing future teachers to face those challenges.

He did praise some Schools of Education including my alma mater, Stanford University, as well as some other smaller and less well known schools. One theme, prevalent throughout his speech, is the need to use data on student outcomes to gauge the effectiveness of teaching and, in turn, the preparation that teachers have received.

Another important characteristic is the use of field-based programs so that the course work is closely tied to the practical realities of teaching. And once the characteristics of effective teacher preparation programs are identified, those best practices should be shared and integrated into other programs.

But the burden of ensuring high-quality teaching cannot be left in the hands of the profession itself. As parents, you must be advocates for ensuring the quality of the educational opportunities for your children, whatever the setting. This applies to preschool education as well as K-12 education. Schools will not hold themselves accountable unless your voice, on behalf of your children, rings loud and clear. Teachers and administrators must know that you are engaged in the process of your child’s education, and that you hold them and yourself accountable to “unlocking” each child’s potential and preparing them for the complex world that they will face.