eNotes
July 10, 2015In this Issue:
- Child Care in America: 2015 State Fact Sheets Source: Child Care Aware - July 8, 2015
- Children's Budget 2015 Source: First Focus - July 8, 2015
- New Chapters Added - Rising to the Challenge E-Book Source: BUILD Initiative - July 10, 2015
- Early Educator Central: Pathways to Credentials and Degrees for Infant-Toddler Educators Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, Offices of Child Care and Head Start - July 9, 2015
- Comment Request - Study on Sustaining the Positive Effects of Preschool Source: U.S. Department of Education - July 10, 2015
- CDA and Career and Technical High Schools as an Effective Entry into Early Care and Education Source: Council for Professional Recognition - July 9, 2015
1. Child Care in America: 2015 State Fact Sheets
Child Care in America: 2015 State Fact Sheets provide state-by-state information on the state of child care in the U.S. They include data on: family characteristics related to the need for child care; the use, supply, and cost of child care; the child care workforce; and services provided by Child Care Resource and Referral agencies.
2. Children's Budget 2015
Children's Budget 2015 provides a guide to federal spending on children, including early childhood. The 2015 report finds that total spending on children from 2011-2015 is down by about 9.4%. This year the share of spending for children accounts for 7.89% of total government spending.
3. New Chapters Added - Rising to the Challenge E-Book
The BUILD Initiative has released two new chapters in the e-book, Rising to the Challenge: Building Effective Systems for Young Children and Families (2015).
- Chapter 5: P-3 Reform in Vision and in Practice by Kate Tarrant - Discusses strategies states awarded Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (ELC) funding have pursued in an effort to link early childhood and early elementary school learning. See a related BUILD blog post by Joan Lombardi.
- Chapter 6: Taking Best Advantage of Early Learning Standards and Formative Assessment: A How-To by Catherine Scott-Little and Kelly L. Maxwell - Focuses on how eight Early Learning Challenge states have created or enhanced early learning standards and assessments to support clear understanding of what we want children to know and be able to do. See a related BUILD blog post by Sherri Killins.
4. Early Educator Central: Pathways to Credentials and Degrees for Infant-Toddler Educators
The Offices of Child Care and Head Start recently launched Early Educator Central: Pathways to Credentials and Degrees for Infant-Toddler Educators, a web portal that pulls together coursework specific to infant-toddler teachers and providers, as well as early childhood program administrators, trainers, coaches, and consultants. The courses were developed with federal partners, are available for free or at low-cost, are in line with state or national standards, are designed to be "stackable and portable" so that each offering helps the user move toward earning a degree or credential, and use a competency-based approach to the assessment of student learning.
5. Comment Request - Study on Sustaining the Positive Effects of Preschool
A notice in today's Federal Register invites input from the public about the Study on Sustaining the Positive Effects of Preschool. This proposed information collection involves five case studies that will provide detailed descriptions of programs designed to help disadvantaged students in K-3 build on the positive effects of preschool or lead to positive cognitive, social-emotional, and academic outcomes by using policies, programs, and practices related to two key topic areas: (1) Preschool and K-3 alignment and (2) differentiated instruction. Comments must be received by August 10, 2015.
6. CDA and Career and Technical High Schools as an Effective Entry into Early Care and Education
The Council for Professional Recognition has released a white paper, CDA and Career and Technical High Schools as an Effective Entry into Early Care and Education (2015), which examines three key questions:
- Are high school faculties capable of creating an ideal pathway into the early care and education profession?
- Is the high school vocational level an effective entry point into the ECE profession?
- What challenges do high school faculties and students face in navigating the pathways into the ECE profession?