Sharing Web Resources

I have chosen to study the NIEER website and this week I have explored even further. I went into the Research section. This section contained an area called Access. It brought me to a section with links to various articles about access to high-quality early education.

This article stated the importance and evidence that supports the fact that local, state, and federal governments should expand access to quality pre-k and other enhancements of early education, especially for low income families as these children benefit the most from high quality education and will close achievement gaps for these children. Policy makers need to invest in policies that enable all children, especially those in low-income families, to access quality pre-k.

http://nieer.org/publications/nieer-working-papers/expanding-access-quality-pre-k-sound-public-policy

Children that are African-American may experience opportunity gaps from limited access to high quality early education. This may cause achievement gaps. These gaps are hard to close but can be preventable if more access to early education were available. Equity and excellence can only be achieved if access to high quality programs increases.

The recommendations in this article are:

·         Increase public support for high quality care and education along with support from the federal government to improve quality

·         Offer high quality programs to families living 200 percent below the poverty level

·         Federal incentives for states to expand access to state funded Pre-k

·         Improve data collection on specific income and ethnicities

http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/Equity%20and%20Excellence%20African-American%20Children%E2%80%99s%20Access%20to%20Quality%20Preschool_0.pdf

I looked at the most recent newsletter on NIEER’s website and found much information related to the topics we are studying. The first part of the newsletter was called Hot Topics. Under this section the very first article addressed a topic we are discussing. It was the federal budget proposal as stated Obama’s State of the Union address. Obama is putting forth initiatives to simplify childcare for families. It also tells Obama’s plan for expanding funding for preschool development grants and also add funding for childhood and expansion of the Child and Development tax credit.

http://nieer.org/publications/online-newsletters/volume-14-issue-3

  

I next went to Resources. That brought me to a wealth of information. I found a link to Wonder What’s Happening in Your State. I then went to Early Education in the News, next Pre-K funding across states, and lastly Preschool Yearbook. You can go there and find your specific state. It addresses all of the trends and issues we are studying. You can find out information on access, state spending and quality.

http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/yearbook2013.pdf

The website and the newsletter both contain information that adds to my understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education. The research is clear high quality education is so important for good outcomes for children and families. Children in low income families need high quality education the most. Quality early education needs to be attainable for all but most importantly for children living in low income families. The website and newsletter offer ample information about equity. I can see from the NIEER website that early education is at the forefront of conversation and debate.

The other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I gained this week from exploring the website and /or the e-newsletter is that these are current issues and trends for a reason. More and more families are looking for help in acquiring the very best for their children and family. The issues of early childhood are happening in all of our communities and going all the way up to the president and the federal government. All of these issues and trends go hand in hand. Children and families need access to quality programs. Expansion needs to happen to allow for more slots in early childhood care. There needs to be increased government funding to support these programs. Programs need to be assessed for high quality. We learned this week that responsiveness is part of equity. The NIEER website offered many resources for programs to access their own responsiveness to culture and language. There are many mentions to Head Start and Early Head Start. One insight that I have gained is that programs need to look at Head Start as a role model for equity in the early childhood field.