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Partnership for Wisconsin’s Economic Success urges policymakers to repair Wisconsin Shares funding

The Partnership for Wisconsin’s Economic Success (PWES) recently urged Wisconsin policymakers to repair the declining funding in the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program by significantly increasing the payment rates.

In a letter sent to the Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance, PWES writes, “We are concerned that the decrease of Wisconsin Shares payments has made it difficult for child care providers to maintain and improve the quality of their programs and impedes their efforts to move up the YoungStar quality scale. Declining Wisconsin Shares payment rates are undermining the very goals of YoungStar.”

Given that the Wisconsin Shares rates have been frozen for seven years, PWES believes that, “Shifting $35 million of federal funds intended to help low-income children and families to other purposes may seem prudent in the middle of current budget deliberations, but it seems a poor choice when that money could be helping our most vulnerable children learn and progress.”

To read PWES’s full letter sent to the Joint Committee on Finance, click here.

About PWES:

PWES was formed in 2008 and is the first state chapter of the Partnership for America’s Economic Success, now named Ready Nation. PWES is a network of business and non-profit leaders interested in the development of young children, both for their individual benefit and for the long-term economic development of the State of Wisconsin.

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Stepping Stones to Caring for Our Children

The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (NRC) has just announced the release of Stepping Stones to Caring for Our Children, 3rd Edition (SS3).  SS3 presents 138 essential standards intended to reduce the rate of morbidity and mortality in child care and early education settings.  You may access and download this document through the NRC’s website at http://www.nrckids.org/spinoff/steppingstones/index.htm.

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The Debate Over Improving Education Should Focus on the Early Years

Recent studies have found that the education gap between children with lower quality early experiences and those with higher quality early experiences is formed well before children enter kindergarten. Additionally, this gap tends to remain in place despite interventions targeted at children during middle childhood. “The gap is there before kids walk into kindergarten,” James Heckman has stated. “School neither increases nor reduces it.”

The his New York Times article, “Investments in Education May Be Misdirected,” Eduardo Porter took a look at this very important issue and found that:

  • The debate over how to improve the nation’s education should incorporate the most important piece: the education of infants and toddlers.
  • If children begin school with cognitive, social, and emotional deficits, no amount of targeted interventions may be enough to overcome the initial gap.
  • “Raising high school graduation rates of the most disadvantaged children to 64 percent from 41 percent would cost 35 to 50 percent more if the assistance arrived in their teens rather than before they turned 6.”
  • Public spending on higher education is more than three times as large as spending on preschool.
  • In 2008, the government spent around $10,000 per child in kindergarten- 12th grade. By contrast, 3- to 5-year-olds received $5,000 in public funds. Children under 3 received $300.

Read the complete article here and let us know what you think.

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WECA’s Ruth Schmidt in Cap Times: “Raise WI Shares payments”

The Capital Times ran a letter to the editor this weekend from WECA Executive Director, Ruth Schmidt, in response to the “Give all 4-year-olds a chance” Op-Ed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

In the letter, Schmidt also responded to State Senator Julie Lassa’s recent statement on Wisconsin Shares payments, “The problem we see, and that she [Sen. Lassa] echoes, is that child care providers receiving Shares payments are being financially penalized as they work to grow their program’s quality rating through Youngstar. We believe raising the Shares rate by 7 percent is a smart move with long-term benefits.”

Click here to read the full letter.

What do you think? Is raising the Wisconsin Shares rate by 7% a good move for child care? Leave us your comments below…

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Report Finds Business Community Supports Early Childhood Education

ReadyNation, in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, recently published the results from a survey that examined private business support of early childhood education programs. The good news is that since 2007, 44 states have had at least one large business group publicly support early education policy or program initiatives. Business groups included state chambers of commerce, large city chambers, and/or state business roundtable groups.

The report also found that:

  • About half of the local chambers responding to the survey reported that their organization took action to support early childhood policy initiatives
  • Business organizations in nearly all states (49 states) have publicly supported early childhood policy or program initiatives at some point.
  • Early childhood—traditionally viewed as a family or social services issue—has become more of an education and economic development issue for businesses.

Read and share the full report or the executive summary. Readers have been granted permission by ReadyNation to print copies to use at future events.

readynation

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Cap Times Article by Arne Duncan: Give all 4-year-olds a chance

Recently, The Cap Times published an article by U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, on the need to give all young children an equal chance to begin kindergarten ready to learn.

Secretary Duncan writes that, “President Barack Obama put forward a plan last week to make access to high-quality early learning a reality for every 4-year-old in America by making full-day preschool available to families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.”

Duncan notes that parents and education professionals across the country agree that more needs to be done to ensure that children from disadvantaged families begin kindergarten just as ready as children from better-off families.

But members of Congress have asked Secretary Duncan questions, doubting the impact of early childhood education. “How do we know early learning works?” Congress members ask, and “What about its lasting impact?”

The Secretary uses the article to share research on the impact of quality child care in states ranging from Oklahoma to Georgia and New Jersey.

He also writes about the need to invest in early learning to compete globally. “The countries we compete with economically are well ahead of us in preschool opportunity. We rank 28th in the proportion of 4-year-olds enrolled in early learning in surveys by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and 25th in public funding for early learning.”

Click here to read the full article.

Share your opinion: What do you think needs to be done to make sure all children receive quality early learning opportunities? Comment below…

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WECA’s Ruth Schmidt on Walker’s Budget: Invest in Early Education

Ruth Schmidt, WECA’s Executive Director, was on Wisconsin Public Radio this morning to discuss the importance of investing in early education in Governor Walker’s upcoming budget. Listen here: http://news.wpr.org/post/pre-k-advocates-want-more-early-education-funding-walker-budget

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Press Release: Exhibit at State Capitol to Show Why Early Education Matters

Exhibit open to the public on April 18 & April 19 from 9am to 5pm

MADISON, Wisconsin, April 15, 2013 — Legislators, their staff and the public are invited to a national exhibit on display in the Capitol Rotunda. Called “Invest in US” – the interactive exhibit shows why quality early education matters to the nation, and to Wisconsin.

“Early education is a priority in President Obama’s proposed budget and this exhibit points out the return on that investment,” says Ruth Schmidt, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.
“The exhibit is a great way to learn the science underlying ‘child’s play’ and why what happens in early childhood has lifelong impact on children as they grow,” she says.

An opening celebration on the morning of Thursday, April 18 in the North Hearing Room will feature brief, expert perspectives on:

  • The return on investments in early learning—George Lightbourn, President, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.
  • Early brain development and its connection to school readiness—Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
  • Why school readiness matters to Wisconsin—Ann Terrell, Administrator with Milwaukee Public Schools and Board member, National Association for the Education of Young Children.

The exhibit is funded through generous contributions from the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Irving Harris Foundation, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Pritzker Children’s Initiative, and an anonymous donor.

The exhibit is a traveling project of the First Five Years Fund, hosted by Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA).

Learn more and watch the “Invest In US” video below: Image

PRESS CONTACT:
Caroline Oldershaw
608-729-1047 
coldershaw@wisconsinearlychildhood.org
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Happy Week of the Young Child!

In addition to the hard work of all early education professionals, we have more to celebrate.  Last week President Obama released his 2014 budget with significant new investments in early childhood – $66 billion over the next 10 years!  New funding will create new partnerships between Early Head Start and Child Care, provide a boost in quality improvement dollars, expand access for four-year old children, and support home visiting programs to vulnerable families.

Of course, this is only a budget proposal and it will take lots of work to get it passed through the Congress.  That work has begun already with the formation of a new and strong coalition called the Strong Start for Children – Building America’s Future campaign.  We will need all advocates on board, starting right now.

In your Week of the Young Child plans, please include sending a Thank You to the President from you, the children, and the families you serve for making young children a priority in his budget.  A letter accompanied by children’s artwork can be sent to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for personal delivery to the White House; these must be received by April 25th , so make it a project this week!  Be creative; send one group project or one from each child.  Include your program’s name, city and state on the artwork and a note about the age of the child(ren).  Send to:

Kayleigh Rogers-Torres, NAEYC, 1313 L Street NW, Washington DC 20005.  Please include your contact information for us in the package. Contact Kayleigh if you have any questions at 202-350-8840 or krogerstorres@naeyc.org

Celebrate this Week of the Young Child by acknowledging how important early education professionals are, and by recognizing (along with President Obama) that an investment in early education is one worth making!

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Registration open for Let’s Move! Child Care workshop

Register now for this day long workshop that will give participants an understanding of the Let’s Move! Child Care Initiative and describe resources available to support breastfeeding, encourage good nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce screen time for young children in ECE settings.

When & Where:
Saturday, May 4, 2013; 9:30AM-3:30PM
Mid-State Technical College, Wisconsin Rapids
Lunch will be provided

Three more GREAT reasons to attend
1. Continuing education credits will be offered!
2. Workshop attendees will receive free materials, books, and resources!
3. This entire workshop is FREE to attend!

REGISTER HERE!