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Universal Preschool News

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In this section, you'll find editorials, legislation, public policy and trends on issues relating to preschool, pre-kindergarten, childcare and the push toward universal preschool education. Particularly of note are articles concerning the states claim of a compelling interest in compulsory preschool education. Visit often for the latest preschool news.

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States That Spent Most Per-Pupil Get Labor Dept. Grants; States That Spent Least Get None The U.S. Labor Department announced last week that it will distribute $75.7 million in taxpayer-funded YouthBuild grants to provide instruction and occupational training for high school dropouts, ages 16 to 24. With some 5,000 individuals expected to benefit, the grants average $15,140 for each "out of school" individual. Meanwhile, the nation's elementary-secondary public school systems spent an average $10,615 per pupil in fiscal year 2010, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. According to a June 2012 Census Bureau's report, the District of Columbia spent the most on education in 2010 - $18,667 per student. The Labor Department just awarded a $1,099,932 YouthBuild grant to the city's Sasha Bruce Youthwork Inc., which helps young people "transform their lives." by Penny Starr September 3, 2012 [More Results from CNS News]
Does state preschool crowd-out private provision? The success of any governmental subsidy depends on whether it increases provision or crowds out existing supply. Universal preschool policies introduced in Georgia and Oklahoma offer an opportunity to investigate the impact of government provision and government funding. Using difference-in-difference estimation frameworks, we examine the effects of universal preschool on the supply of childcare providers. August 18, 2012 [More Results from cepa.stanford.edu]
Arizona earns an "F" in child welfare The report card is in and Arizona gets a failing grade when it comes to the well being of kids in our state. Arizona slipped 9 places to finish 46th on the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count Survey. Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Mississippi are also in the bottom 5. So why did Arizona rank so low? The annual Kids Count study says 68 percent of Arizona kids don't attend pre-school. It's why the state fell to 46th in well-being of children. by Linda Williams July 25, 2012 [More Results from myfoxphoenix.com]
Preschoolers get six new shows on NBC in partnership with Sprout channel Preschoolers will have six new shows to watch on Saturday mornings starting this weekend on NBC. The Peacock Network will launch "NBC Kids" Saturday, a new three-hour block from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. that aims to address developmental needs of preschool children and to promote healthy lifestyles. When Comcast acquired NBC Universal last year, it joined forces with Sprout, the first 24-hour channel for kids ages 2-5 and their families. by Brenna Walton July 6, 2012 [More Results from nydailynews.com]
Bob Kingsbury, New Hampshire Legislator, Explains Remarks Linking Kindergarten To Higher Crime A Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire explained his controversial statement last week that kindergarten leads to higher crime was based on statistics: He found a 400 percent jump in crime in towns with this early childhood education program, he claimed. Last week Rep. Bob Kingsbury (R-Laconia) told fellow Belknap County lawmakers that research he has conducted since 1996 shows a connection between the state's kindergarten program and higher crime rates, attributing it to children being taken "away from their mothers too soon." Kingsbury discussed with The Huffington Post on Tuesday his research showing a dramatic jump in crime. "The sources I have is I went to the Department of Education and got a list of kindergartens and I went to the safety department and got the crime report," he said. "In general, the towns with a kindergarten have 400 percent more crime than other towns in the same county. In every county the towns and cities with kindergarten had more crime." by John Celock July 3, 2012 [More Results from huffingtonpost.com]
Dad breaks window to fetch girl locked in day care A Massachusetts dad says he smashed the window of a day care center to fetch his 3-year-old daughter, who'd been locked inside after staffers left for the day. May 2, 2012 [More Results from CNS News]
Free Market America If I wanted America to fail... April 21, 2012 [More Results from freemarketamerica.org]
Police handcuff Georgia kindergartner for tantrum Police in Georgia handcuffed a kindergartner with her arms behind her back after the girl threw a tantrum and the police chief defended the action as a safety measure. The girl's family demanded Tuesday that their central Georgia city change policy so that other children aren't treated the same way. They say the child was shaken up by the ordeal. While it's unusual to see a young child handcuffed in school, it's not unheard of. School officials around the nation have wrestled with the issue of when it's appropriate to call police on a student. April 17, 2012 [More Results from CNS News]
Bob Beckel Tells Female Tea Partier On Live TV 'You Don't Know What the F--k You're Talking About' Fox News contributor and former Democratic strategist Bob Beckel directed an F-bomb at female Tea Party activist Jennifer Stefano during Monday's Hannity. The two were arguing through a commercial break, and Beckel apparently didn't know they were back live when he made his indelicate remark. "If you say that Head Start is a failure, you don't know what the f-k you're talking about," exclaimed Beckel as the program came back from commercial. by Noel Sheppard April 16, 2012 [More Results from newsbusters.org]
Early kindergarten fails to take off California's budget crisis may prevent local school districts from fully accommodating students who fall short of new kindergarten-age requirements, according to school administrators in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. Most elementary schools in Tuolumne County, and many in Calaveras County, are not planning to offer separate "transitional kindergarten" programs for students who turn 5 after Nov. 1. Previously, students who turned 5 before Dec. 2 could enter regular kindergarten classes. A state law enacted in 2010 will require schools to provide a modified, "developmentally appropriate" curriculum for students who are now too young for regular kindergarten. by Margie Hiser March 28, 2012 [More Results from uniondemocrat.com]
Pre K Scholars Launches New Website Pre K Scholars has adopted a strategy that focuses on homeschoolers, parents of 3-5 year olds and preschool and kindergarten teachers seeking primary and supplemental classroom materials. Pre K Scholars began in 2008 with its Teacher Kit, a comprehensive preschool curriculum with supporting instructional materials in a box that initially sold for $800.. Its target was a former teacher turned stay at home mom who would like to teach kindergarten readiness in her home. "We built the website to support that strategy. We offered signup sheets for classes and even allowed teachers to have their own webpages within our website," reflected Schwary. March 1, 2012 [More Results from timesunion.com]
'I poisoned four kids' Parents who entrust their children to the care of Christian Kids Daycare are still coming to grips with what day care center owner Connie Kacir admits was "a major concern" last week when four 6-year-old children were served bleach water. Kacir, however, maintains that the children, all of whom recovered from the unexpected concoction and whose parents continue to bring their children to the center each day, were not poisoned, saying they drank nothing more dangerous than "swimming pool water." by Lynn Adams February 21, 2012 [More Results from gonzalesinquirer.com]
Growth In Prekindergarten Slowed In Recession The expansion in public prekindergarten programs has slowed and even been reversed in some states as school districts cope with shrinking budgets. As a result, many 3- and 4-year-olds aren't going to preschool. In Arizona, a block grant that funded prekindergarten for a small percentage of kids was cut altogether, although a separate public fund still supports some programs. In Georgia, a drop in state lottery dollars meant shaving 20 days off the prekindergarten school year. Proposed cuts in such programs have led to litigation in North Carolina and legislative battles in places like Iowa. January 17, 2012 [More Results from Fox News]
Safety violations found at Head Start centers It's the kind of stuff that gives moms nightmares: a machete near a play area, household chemicals accessible to preschoolers, and instructors teaching without a criminal background check. These violations and others were found at Head Start centers across the country, according to a report released Tuesday by the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department. Head Start, the federal program with roots in President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, provides early education services to nearly 1 million low-income kids nationwide. The federal government gives grant dollars to public, nonprofit and for-profit programs to provide the services. by Kimberly Hefling December 13, 2011 [More Results from CNS News]
Obamacare Showers Millions of Dollars on School Health Clinics Under Obamacare, more than $14 million in taxpayer money is going to health clinics at 45 schools, many of them in poor parts of the country. "Today's infusion of new money will enable them to expand their capacity and modernize their facilities," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Thursday. The clinics -- in 29 states -- are now providing health care to 112,000 children, and Sebelius expects the number of children served to increase by an estimated 53,000 as the school clinics are expanded and upgraded. by Susan Jones December 8, 2011 [More Results from CNS News]
Police: Janitor left gun in preschool classroom Police say a school janitor in Connecticut has been arrested after leaving his loaded handgun in a preschool classroom. Police say 25-year-old Cody Willette of Woodbury was charged with reckless endangerment and failing to properly store a firearm after the incident Monday at Bucks Hill Elementary School. December 7, 2011 [More Results from CNS News]
Judge: Facebook post should cost job of NJ teacher A New Jersey administrative law judge has ruled that a first-grade teacher who wrote that she was a "warden for future criminals" on Facebook earlier this year should lose her tenured job. The state education commissioner now has 45 days to accept, reject or modify the decision regarding Jennifer O'Brien. The Paterson teacher posted her remark to 333 friends on March 28. But it was forwarded and several parents saw it. November 8, 2011 [More Results from CNS News]
Arizona Professor Banned from McDonald's, Found Disease-Causing Bacteria [VIDEO] A university professor in Arizona has been banned from eight McDonald's restaurants in her area, after she found dangerous bacteria in the children's play area. Erin Carr Jordan received a hand-delivered letter from an attorney stating that she was no longer allowed to set foot in the specified McDonald's restaurants near Phoenix. The letter also threatened her with criminal trespassing charges if she did. Carr Jordan believes she received this notice because of an incident at a McDonald's in Gilbert, AZ in which she pointed out to the manager that she found an antibiotic-resistant bacteria, called MRSA, in its PlayPlace and then warned parents at the restaurant to clean and sanitize their children's hands. by Kathy Landin October 31, 2011 [More Results from newsradio1310.com]
Companies fail to provide mandatory child care More than a fifth of the nation's biggest corporations were found to have neglected to provide some form of day care to its employees' infants as required by law, a government report said Sunday. According to a report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 22 of the top 100 corporations failed to provide either day care facilities or an allowance to cover least half the total cost of child care. by Robert Lee September 25, 2011 [More Results from koreaherald.com]
Preschool study: Do books cause good behavior? Preschoolers who like books are better behaved, says a researcher at Purdue University. I'm not sure that they found out anything new. Have coffee with a couple of preschool teachers and they'd probably tell you the same thing. Kids 3-5 years old who show less interest in "literacy activities" apparently are more likely to be chucking Play-Doh at classmates, stuffing Lego pieces in their nose or otherwise getting into mischief. The findings of this study, which focused on 61 predominantly low-income preschoolers ages 3-5, are published in the April edition of Early Child Development and Care. by Jane Henderson June 11, 2011 [More Results from stltoday.com]
Branstad: Expect preschool voucher proposal next session Universal preschool may remain in place for the next school year, but Gov. Terry Branstad said Tuesday the fight to reform early education isn't over. Branstad this session proposed an income-based voucher program for at-need four-year-olds attending preschool to replace the universal program in place now. Though the proposal flopped this session, Branstad said legislators can expect to see the idea proposed again in subsequent sessions. by Meghan Malloy June 11, 2011 [More Results from iowaindependent.com]
Editorial: Now not the time to cut preschool funds Decades after 1,000 poor Chicago kids attended an intensive, high-quality early childhood education program in the early 1980s, their lives are far better than similar kids who did not, a new study shows. This research is particularly timely as Illinois politicians tussle over a final state budget. Early childhood education, which generally gets high marks for quality, is slated for a 5 percent cut. That will translate into a loss of roughly 4,300 seats. June 11, 2011 [More Results from suntimes.com]
Kamehameha educator takes job as state's childhood coordinator Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed a longtime educator to the newly created position of state early childhood coordinator Thursday, taking what he described as the "big first step" toward creating a universal preschool system. Terry Lock, director of Kamehameha Schools' early childhood education division, will step into her new job in mid-July, overseeing work to plan a "state structure that supports an early childhood system," bring together state agencies to improve services for children and families, and advocate for public policy improvements to help Hawaii's children. by Mary Vorsino June 11, 2011 [More Results from staradvertiser.com]
Jennifer Garner: Obama's $500 Million 'Not Enough' for Federally Funded Toddler Education Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner applauded President Barack Obama for already committing $500 million to federally funded education programs for "toddlers" but argued that it is "not enough." "Last week, President Obama, such great news, he delivered on 500 million dollars for innovative early learning programs. I was proud to fight for this funding with Save the Children alongside our allies like the First Five Fund," she said in a press conference at the Capitol. by Nicholas Ballasy June 9, 2011 [More Results from CNS News]
Vermont's Sanders Renews Push for Federally Funded Day Care, Preschool The "Foundations for Success Act" by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would allow the subsidy to start when a child reaches just six weeks of age. In the face of a $1.6 trillion federal budget deficit, a national debt topping $14 trillion, and with Congress debating a plan to cut spending by $6 billion over the next decade, one U.S. lawmaker is proposing a new program entitling parents to federally funded universal preschool and childcare. by Sarah McIntosh May 20, 2011 [More Results from heartland.org]

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