eNotes
February 19, 2016In this Issue:
- Survey for Families with Children under 3 Years Old Source: ZERO TO THREE Policy Center - February 18, 2016
- Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Source: National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management - February 9, 2016
- Early Learning in Promise Neighborhoods Source: Center for the Study of Social Policy - February 15, 2016
- Disparate Access: Head Start and CCDBG Data by Race and Ethnicity Source: CLASP - February 17, 2016
- Impact of the Early Learning Challenge on State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems Source: BUILD Initiative - Retrieved February 17, 2016
- Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? Source: American Educational Research Association - January 2016
1. Survey for Families with Children under 3 Years Old
The ZERO TO THREE Policy Center has published a new brief "Survey for Families with Children under 3 Years Old" to help policy leaders better understand families' experiences accessing health, early learning, and family support services. It can be used in developing policies and programs that meet families' needs and in crafting effective family engagement strategies. It was developed as a companion to the recently released Infants and Toddlers in the Policy Picture: A Self-Assessment Toolkit for States and is available under "Additional Resources" on that page as either a fillable PDF or SurveyMonkey template. ZERO TO THREE recommends that policy leaders work with service providers or other partners to disseminate the survey to families with young children.
2. Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention
A new bi-annual peer-reviewed online journal, the Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (JEHDI) (launched February 9, 2016), provides free access to articles on evidence-based practice, standards of care, and research related to all aspects of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI). The journal is a publication of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM), which provides extensive resources for families of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and for those who provide their services.
3. Early Learning in Promise Neighborhoods
The Center for the Study of Social Policy has published a new resource highlighting strategies that the first cohort (FY 11) of federal Promise Neighborhood implementation grantees are using to ensure that all children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school. Early Learning in Promise Neighborhoods (January 2016) describes how three Promise Neighborhoods are promoting early learning in their communities, how they are measuring progress and tracking results, the challenges they have faced, and three common "neighborhood success factors" that have contributed to their success. See the press release here.
The Center for the Study of Social Policy is one of the technical assistance partners for the U.S. Department of Education's Promise Neighborhoods program.
4. Disparate Access: Head Start and CCDBG Data by Race and Ethnicity
A new analysis from CLASP, Disparate Access: Head Start and CCDBG Data by Race and Ethnicity (February 2016), finds that access to Head Start preschool, Early Head Start, and child care funded through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is limited for all eligible children and even more so for particular racial and ethnic groups and in particular states. Some key findings include:
- Less than 15 percent of eligible children are receiving CCDBG services. Of these, eligible Hispanic or Latino children have sharply lower access to CCDBG than eligible children of other backgrounds.
- No more than 6 percent of eligible children in any racial/ethnic group have access to Early Head Start (EHS).
- Fewer than half of all eligible children have access to Head Start preschool programs, however access does not appear to be as significantly impacted by race/ethnicity.
- Access by eligible children to Head Start, EHS, and CCDBG varies tremendously across states.
5. Impact of the Early Learning Challenge on State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
A new chapter in the BUILD Initiative e-book, Rising to the Challenge: Building Effective Systems for Young Children and Families, is now available online. Chapter 8, Impact of the Early Learning Challenge on State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, traces the history, trends and innovations of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), the progress Early Learning Challenge (ELC) states have made in implementing their QRIS, and the challenges they have faced and continue to face. An Executive Summary of Chapter 8 is also available.
6. Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?
A new report, Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? (January 2016), examines changes in public school kindergarten classrooms between 1998 and 2010 using two large, nationally representative data sets. The report finds substantial changes across five key dimensions of the kindergarten experience: (a) teachers' beliefs about school readiness, (b) time allocated to academic and nonacademic subjects, (c) classroom organization, (d) pedagogical approach, and (e) assessment practices.