eNotes
September 30, 2016In this Issue:
- Federal Guidance - English Language Learners Source: U.S. Department of Education - September 23, 2016
- Child Care and Development Fund - Final Rule Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care - September 30, 2016
- Implicit Bias in Preschool: A Research Study Brief Source: Yale Child Study Center - September 28, 2016
- Early STEM Education - New Website Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement - September 15, 2016
- Journal of Early Intervention Abstracts Available Online Source: DEC's Journal of Early Intervention - OnlineFirst September 26, 2016
- Video - Using Child Assessment Data to Achieve Positive Outcomes Source: Results Matter, Colorado Department of Education - September 29, 2016
1. Federal Guidance - English Language Learners
Non-Regulatory Guidance has been released to help States, school districts, and schools provide effective services that improve the English language proficiency and academic achievement of English language learners through Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The ESSA promotes the inclusion of English language learners as young as age 3 in early learning programs as part of Title III (see the relevant statutory provisions on pages 31-34). This and additional guidance related to the ESSA can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/index.html
2. Child Care and Development Fund - Final Rule
U.S. Census data show that nearly 12.5 million children under the age of five spend an average of 36 hours per week in some form of child care arrangement each week. The Child Care and Development Fund - Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2016. The final rule updates regulations to incorporate changes made through the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 and provides guidance to states, territories and tribes in a number of areas, including:
- requiring all staff in child care facilities have mandatory criminal background checks;
- enhancing the health and safety of children through more robust standards for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program providers, including requiring initial and ongoing training and professional development on 10 key topics (e.g. First Aid/CPR, medication administration, SIDS prevention) for the early childhood workforce;
- disseminating information to help parents choose child care, including through an accessible website;
- devoting more funding to improve quality across all child care settings; and
- ensuring CCDF programs are monitored at least annually so children are healthy and safe in child care programs.
See key CCDF Final Rule Resources here.
3. Implicit Bias in Preschool: A Research Study Brief
New research findings suggest that preschool teachers and staff show signs of implicit biases in administering discipline, and the nature of these biases differ based on the race of the teacher. The findings may help to explain why black children are suspended at significantly higher rates than white children. The authors provide a number of recommendations for how implicit biases may be addressed and reduced. To learn more, see Do Early Educators' Implicit Biases Regarding Sex and Race Relate to Behavior Expectations and Recommendations of Preschool Expulsions and Suspensions? (September 28, 2016), by Walter S. Gilliam, Angela N. Maupin, Chin R. Reyes, Maria Accavitti, Frederick Shic.
4. Early STEM Education - New Website
Early exposure to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) can have positive impacts across the spectrum of learning. For example, early math knowledge has been shown to predict later math success, as well as later reading achievement. The Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) recently announced the launch of a new Web site that highlights recent activities related to Early STEM Education and provides easy access to tip sheets, archived webinars, lists of STEM commitments, and other materials.
5. Journal of Early Intervention Abstracts Available Online
Abstracts of the following articles are now available online at http://jei.sagepub.com/content/early/recent
Interactive Storybook-Based Intervention Effects on Kindergartners' Language Development
Loes van Druten-Frietman, Heleen Strating, Eddie Denessen, and Ludo Verhoeven
Dialogic Reading: Language and Preliteracy Outcomes for Young Children With Disabilities
Jacqueline A. Towson, Peggy A. Gallagher, and Gary E. Bingham
The Journal of Early Intervention (JEI) is an official publication of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children and SAGE Publications. It offers articles related to research and practice in early intervention for infants and young children with special needs and their families. Freely available Podcasts of interviews with JEI authors can be accessed online.
6. Video - Using Child Assessment Data to Achieve Positive Outcomes
The Results Matter Video Library has posted a new video, Using Child Assessment Data to Achieve Positive Outcomes, showing how administrators, teachers, and parents use authentic child assessment data to inform funders, inform classroom level instruction, support teachers, and meet the needs of individual children and their families. It can be found at the top of the page in the Using Technology for Authentic Assessment section of the library.
As with all Results Matter videos, this clip can be viewed online and may be downloaded at no cost for use in educational and professional development activities. There are more than 175 videos in the Results Matter Video Library.