Building the Foundation

If not now, when?

2007-10-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

This week I learned of a blog post in the New York Times that talks about the important role of parents as their children’s first teachers and I wanted to share it with you.

Wil Okun is a Chicago school teacher who teaches English and Photography. One of his recent blog posts “If Not Now” asks questions about the level of involvement parents have in their children’s learning between the ages of zero to five.

In his post he asks
• Why are some parents not teaching their infants basic skills like numbers, colors, letters and objects?
• If the period between ages zero to five is the most important in a child’s development, why is early childhood education and care not a national priority?
• Should the government play a larger role in early childhood development or should that responsibility continue to rest primarily in the hands of the individual families?
• Can a child who is already academically deficient as early as Head Start or Kindergarten ever catch up to grade level, and if so, how?
• How can we get parents involved in their children’s pre-K education and how can we maintain that educational involvement into college?

Mr Okun’s blog and his questions certainly hit a chord with readers. There are more than 170 comments to his blog post. The views and opinions vary greatly, and I think its exciting to see these questions being raised by an individual outside the field of early learning. I hope you will take a moment to read what he has to say and let me (and him) know what you think. Do you agree, disagree or have something to add?

Let me know what you are thinking. It is always great to hear from you.

School Days

2007-09-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

It’s September and many parents have taken their five year-old to Kindergarten. If you listen quietly, you might hear the earth move just a little bit.

Taking your child to school for the first time can sometimes be more traumatic for the parents than the child. Thinking back to when my oldest son started school brought back a flood of memories.

I was 26 years old when he started Kindergarten and believed that kids should be able to adjust to whatever teacher they got and that this adjustment was part of their socialization. I had been told that his Kindergarten teacher was “an old school disciplinarian” and I didn’t know that I could have taken him out of that class and put him in another. My son struggled all year with this teacher. I was constantly being told that he didn’t pay attention, acted out and wasn’t learning. At the risk of understatement, it was NOT a good year.

In first grade my son had a wonderful teacher who, two weeks into the school year, asked if she could have him tested for Learning Disabilities. I allowed it, and I am glad I did because it turned out that he did indeed have Learning Disabilities. Immediately a support plan was developed to help my son succeed in school.

The experience taught me several things:

• Always advocate for your child

• Never be afraid to be the “problem parent” to the school

• Demand to have your child moved if you feel s/he is not being treated properly

• Agree to testing even if you think there is nothing wrong with your child. (Let me explain why I think this is important.)
When my younger son was in 2nd grade, his teacher wanted him tested for Learning Disabilities. I knew he didn’t have them and also knew that if he wasn’t tested, the teacher would treat him differently. Sure enough, he was not Learning Disabled. His grades went up and his teacher worked with him in a completely different way.

The resources listed below can be a big help for parents and families whose children are just starting school:

• The Children’s Home Society of Washington has resources for parents to use to become involved in their child’s school.

• The University of Washington has a web site that lists resources, Washington State Resources for Parents of Children and Youth with Disabilities.

I would love to hear your "back to school" stories as parents or as children.
Thank you for reading.

Jeanne

Look Mom! No Cavities!

2007-07-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings

Recently I received a letter from the President and CEO of the Washington Dental Service, James Dwyer (I know what you are thinking-is she really going to talk about dentistry? But please read on). In this letter, Mr. Dwyer shares his concerns about a "growing childhood health problem - tooth decay and poor oral hygiene among very young children." Mr. Dwyer goes on to say that a recent state survey found that the rate of tooth decay among the children of Washington State is growing and that one in five elementary school-aged children have rampant untreated decay-cavities in seven or more teeth.

This report got my attention as I found myself in the dental chair last week for a root canal procedure. Since the Endodontist got to do most of the talking, he shared with me that his five year old daughter was going in to get her first filling for a cavity. This is the child of a dentist!

Following this story on a national level, I found this article from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD). The article states, to keep the frequency and duration of sugar exposure in check, the AAPD offers these recommendations:

Fill sippy cups with water only. Children shouldn’t sip on sugary drinks or munch on sugary foods for extended periods of time. If you give your child beverages other than water, serve them in a can or glass and limit consumption time. If you do provide sugary drinks in sippy or other types of cups, instruct children to finish them quickly. Take away the cup after a reasonable amount of time.
Don’t let children go to sleep with bottles. Even milk can cause tooth decay. If you do put your child to sleep with a bottle, it should contain water only.
Limit candy. Sucking on candy is another way that kids can extend exposure to sugar.
Limit sweets and the time it takes for kids to consume them, and make sure children brush afterward.
Brush after meals. Have your children maintain proper oral hygiene, including brushing after meals and snacks and daily flossing, to reduce the risk of cavities.

There is a federal program called the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that provides health and dental care to low income children.

All children enrolled in Medicaid are entitled to comprehensive dental services. Medicaid's "Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT)" program, the nation's primary source of well-child care for low-income youth through age 20, must provide dental examinations for all children. The program must also provide necessary treatment or services to correct or ameliorate defects found, regardless of whether the follow-up services are otherwise covered under the state Medicaid plan.

The states have some flexibility in determining when the first dental examination occurs under EPSDT. Current recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Dental Association and the Bright Futures Project recommend the first dental visit at about age 1.

But being entitled to services and actually receiving them are two different things.

In 1996, only about 17 percent of Medicaid-enrolled children received the required EPSDT dental services, down from 18 percent in 1994 and 1995.
Only one in five children eligible for a dental screening actually gets it. When children do not receive the appropriate dental screenings, Medicaid pays the higher price of treating advanced dental disease in children. Five percent of the kids eligible for services consume 30 percent of the dollars spent on dental care.

For example:

Children with swollen faces, painful toothaches and abscessed teeth may end up in the emergency room. The treatments they receive in this setting generally address their infection and pain, but not the underlying disease-tooth decay. A visit to the emergency room averages about $100 and children may walk out the door with their teeth untouched.
Baby-bottle tooth decay, a preventable disease, requires very expensive treatment if not identified and managed early. HCFA estimates that Medicaid pays at least $100 million and as much as $900 million per year for operating room charges associated with this disease on top of thousands of dollars in dental fees per case.

The other problem is that SCHIP is now up for reauthorization in September and all indications look like the funds will either be frozen at current levels, (which will lead to a significant shortfall) or it will be vetoed.

Keep an eye on this legislation. We can't afford to have our children go without medical and dental care. Their future is too important.

The tragedy of ignoring this was brought home to everyone when a young child died of untreated cavities during Oral Health Month this year.

We can do better

Dismal condition of Child Well Being in the United States

2007-06-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Greetings

Recently a board member sent me the UNICEF Innocenti Report on Child Poverty in perspective: An Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries.

This report looked at six different areas of child well being in 25 countries around the world. These countries are predominently European with the United States and Canada included. The findings were based on data collected by each country.

The areas of well being looked at for the purpose of this report are: Material Well Being, Health and Safety, Educational Well Being, Family and Peers Relationship, Behaviors and Risks and Subjective Well Being. The last area used a survey of 11, 13 and 15 year olds who responded to questions posed by the interviewers.

All you have to do in order to get depressed is scan the charts that show the ranking of countries in each of the areas of well being. The United States come in at the bottom in nearly every one of the area unless the chart is showing negative results and then we score pretty high. I was almost thankful to the United Kingdom as that country was usually just above or below us.

A summary of the results show the following:

The Netherlands scored the highest in child well being

The European countries consistently dominated the top half of the charts, especially the Nordic countries who scored high in all areas.

The United States and the United Kingdom were in the bottom third in five of the six areas of child well being

There was no obvious relationship between levels of child well being and a country's GDP

In case you don't want to read the whole report or check out all the charts, I have summarized some of the findings below. Be warned, you will not feel good about what you read.

The US scored last out of 25 countries in Health and Safety. The measures used were:

Death rate of children before the age of one

Percentage of low birth rate

Percentage of childrenbetween the ages of 12-23 months who are immunized (we didn't do too badly on this one)

Number of deaths per accident (we did badly on this)

The US scored 14th of 25 on Educational Well Being. The measures used were:

School achievement by age 15 in the following area:Average achievement in reading, math and science literacy

Percentage of 15-19 year olds remaining in education

Percentage of 15 year olds expecting to get low skill jobs

The US scored 21st of 25 in the achievement of 15 year olds in reading, math and science.

The US scored 24th of 25 in Relationships of young people to families and peers. The measures used were:

Percentage of children in single parent families.

Percentage of children in stepfamilies

Percentage of children reporting eating main meal with their parents more than once a week

Percentage of children reporting that they spend time with their parents "just talking"

Percentage of children who find their peers kind and helpful.

Have you had enough? This report is so depressing and such an indictment of the adults in the United States. Clearly, we are a country that does not value children. Clearly, we are a country that doesn't keep its children safe or healthy. Clearly, we are a country that has a hard time carving out some time in our busy lives to "just talk" to our children.

I don't have any answers to what we should or shouldn't do. Obviously we can learn from other countries who have clearly put their children in a much more valued position. We can start advocating loudly and consistently for better health care, high quality child care, decent wages for child care providers and teachers and everyone else who works with children and their parents. We can begin to cherish our children as much or even more than we cherish our possessions. We can begin to stop thinking about "getting ahead" and figure out how to "get along". And even if you don't have children, you can still feel responsible for them.

The study begins with a quote (no author cited)

"The true measure of a nation's standing is how well it attends to its children-their health and safety, their material security, their education and socialization and their sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born."

Surely we can reverse this disheartening trend. Surely we can move up that chart to a place that makes us all proud and that tells the rest of the world that we value our children and take care of them and keep them safe. Because if we can't or won't, then what's the point?

Jeanne

Is it good for the children?

2007-06-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings

I recently attended a conference for a coalition of early learning providers and heard someone say that the group always asked the question "Is it good for the children?" whenever they make decisions affecting the children of their community. What a great idea! If we all could remember to ask that question before decisions were made, the world and our children would benefit.

There was a recent article in the New York Times magazine section that was titled
"When Should a Kid Start Kindergarten?" As I read this article, I kept thinking back the the question, "Is it good for the children?". Apparently "redshirting", the practice by parents to hold their children back a year from entering kindergarten, is increasing. Parents who do this want their children to be more socially and emotionally mature, enter kindergarten reading and knowing their numbers and letters and generally have an "edge". The vast majority of these parents are middle to upper middle income parents who can afford pre-school, high quality childcare and even private school for kindergarten and beyond.

So what about the kids whose parents have no choice? What if putting the child in kindergarten reduces the amount of money they have had to pay for childcare while they are at work? If their child has a birthday in August and is in a class with a child who also has a birthday in August but is a year older and has had enriched learning experiences prior to entering school, how does this younger child catch up?

I am not advocating that parents send kids to school if they think they are too young and won't have the advantage of maturity. Every parent should do what is best for her his child. However, the fact that "school readiness" has become more and more about having some basic academic skills instead of about children just having basic social skills has put a tremendous burden on the children and the parents. As the article states "Curriculum planners no longer ask, What does a 5-year-old need? Instead they ask, If a student is to pass reading and math tests in third grade, what does the student need to be doing in the prior grades?"

The article is fascinating and a "must read". Throughout it, I kept asking myself, "Is it good for the children?" I couldn't answer yes. Maybe the other question we need to keep asking is "What does the child need?" rather than "What does the child need to do".

Let me hear from you.

Jeanne

Speaker Pelosi's Summit on America's Children

2007-05-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Greetings

This week I attended the Summit on America’s Children that was convened by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The focus was on Early Learning and the science that supported it. The speakers were researchers, pediatricians, Jim Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, a number of university professors, the CEO of PNC Financial Services Group and the Chief of Police of Waco, Texas among others. A complete list of speakers and the panel topics can be found below.

Congressman Jim Mc Dermott was in attendance most of the time and only left to go vote. I was able to speak with Rep Norm Dicks Speaker Pelosi was there the entire time and very engaged in the proceedings. Each panel was asked to provide “take away messages” for the legislature and it soon became apparent that there was quite a bit of overlap in the recommendations among the speakers. Here are the messages that were delivered most frequently:

There is a desperate need for high quality child care, especially for the most vulnerable children.
To achieve high quality child care, providers must be adequately compensated, trained and educated.
The Nurse Family Partnership is a vital and important service for families, especially the most vulnerable families.
Parent Support is essential-too often there is help for the child but if the parents are not also receiving help, the child will ultimately suffer.
There is a disconnect between what we know about early learning and what we do about early learning
Mental Health issues are often overlooked and under diagnosed in infants.
There has been too much emphasis on cognitive ability and not enough on social/emotional ability.

Dr.James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, was asked by a congresswoman if he could give a definitive dollar figure on the return on investment for early learning. The congresswoman stated that she had heard a number of different ROIs mentioned. Heckman didn’t give her a specific number but said that when the ROIs were being developed they were based on the increase of a child’s IQ. They did not factor in mental health, physical health or social emotional development. Heckman stated that the ROI needs to be looked at more broadly and feels that there is currently an underestimating of the benefits.

Heckman went on to say that the accident of birth is the single most important indicator of success for a child.

One legislator asked Dr. Jack Shonkoff of Harvard what two issues should the government focus on. His reply was:

High quality child care that is accessible to all children
Invest as early as possible in the most at risk children

During Shonkoff’s remarks he cited Washington State as one of the states that is demonstrating how philanthropy, business and government are coming together to make policy for the benefit of young children. He also said that there was a need for more personal interaction between the legislators, the scientists and the service providers. Many of the scientists acknowledged that they were not good at speaking in public and that a “knowledge broker” who translated the science to the legislators and to business would be a crucial piece to the interaction that needs to take place.

James Rohr, CEO of PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh, talked about how his company has pledged $100 million over the next ten years to early learning. The company is funding an initiative called “Grow Up Great”. Rohr went on to say “Its how greatness grabs a foothold. Its how greatness gains momentum and how greatness lasts forever.”

Speaker Pelosi talked about why the scientists were invited to speak. She said that congress needed to get the hard, evidence based research to make a point and to have the support of the research as they proceeded. She said that “we need to value parenting more” and “We have to value how we take care of our children” and “America has to decide in favor of its children and its future”. She pledged to keep this issue on the top of her list. She also put out a paper that talked about the priorities her party had for young children. They are:

Head Start Reauthorization-to expand and improve the program
Improving the quality of the Early Childhood Workforce
Expanding access to affordable, high quality child care

I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend this summit. It remains to be seen whether or not significant funds follow but we can take some heart that it is being discussed at the national level and some encouraging legislation is coming out.

Let me know what you think about this/

Jeanne

Schedule of Events
Schedule of EventsTuesday, May 22, 2007
National Summit on America’s Children – by invitation only All events will be held in Room 345 of the Cannon House Office Building.
Opening Remarks9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House The Honorable George Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Education and LaborThe Honorable Rosa DeLauroThe Honorable Chaka Fattah
Panel I: The Science of Early Childhood Development9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Pat Levitt, Ph.D.
Professor of PharmacologyAnnette Schaffer Eskind Chair and Director, Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dolores G. Norton, Ph.D.
Samuel Deutsch Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago
Charles A. Nelson, Ph.D.
Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research,Children’s Hospital BostonProfessor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Megan Gunnar, Ph.D.
Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D.
Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and DevelopmentDirector, Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University
Panel II: Early Learning11:00 a.m – 12:15 p.m.
Oscar A. Barbarin, Ph.D.
L. Richardson and Emily Preyer Bicentennial Distinguished Professor for Strengthening Families, School of Social WorkSenior Investigator, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
James E. Rohr
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, PNC Financial Services Group
Karen W. Ponder
Former President and Chief Executive Officer, North Carolina Partnership for Children
Donna Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer, Easter Seals of North Georgia
Alberto Melis
Chief of Police, Waco Police Department, Texas
Luncheon12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Buffet Lunch provided)
Keynote Address: James Heckman, Ph.D.
Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of EconomicsDirector, Economics Research Center at the Department of EconomicsDirector, Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago
Panel III: Health and Mental Health1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Jane Knitzer, Ed.D
Director, National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Paul H. Wise, M.D., MPH
Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society Center for Health Policy, Freeman Spogli Institute for International StudiesCenter for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University
Glenn Flores, M.D., FAAP
Professor, Pediatrics and Population Health, Medical College of WisconsinDirector, Center for the Advancement of Underserved Children, Medical College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Carol Wilson Spigner, MSW, DSW
Co-Director, Field Center for Children’s Policy Practice and ResearchKenneth. L.M. Pray Professor, School of Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania
Col. Elisabeth M. Stafford, M.D.
Fellowship Director, Adolescent Medicine, San Antonio Military Pediatric Center
Panel IV: Income and Family Support3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
J. Lawrence Aber, Ph.D.
Director, Institute for Human Development and Contextual Change Professor of Applied Psychology and Public Policy, Steinhardt School of Education, New York University
Rucker C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
Deborah A. Frank, M.D.
Director, Grow Clinic for Children Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine
Jody Heymann, Ph.D., M.D.
Founding Director, McGill Institute for Health and Social PolicyFounding Director, Project on Global Working Families at Harvard UniversityProfessor, Faculties of Medicine and Arts, McGill University
Gordon Berlin
President, MDRC
Closing Remarks4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

How many rewards are too many rewards?

2007-04-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the New York Times talks about the practice of parents to use "bribing" to get their kids to behave in public, sleep in their beds at night and be potty trained. Early Childhood Professionals worry that this may be sending the wrong message to the child. It is one thing for a parent to reward behavior that is above and beyond normal expectations but are parents who bribe their children to simply act in an acceptable manner doing their children a disservice?

The professionals urge parents to get away from material rewards like video games, toys, clothes and food and focus on "rewards" such as a star for every night the child stays in his own bed or brushes her teeth without a fight. They also suggest that parents reward their kids with more story times, songs and together time.

Parents are busier and busier today and can make choices that may be expedient but not necessarily what's best for the child.

I often see parents running, dog on a leash, ipod in the ears pushing a stroller with a child clearly old enough to be walking and getting exercise. I can only assume that this parent is trying to cram in as many activities as possible into as little time as possible. But what's the outcome? The child doesn't get any exercise, there is very little interaction between parent and child, the parent doesn't have a great run (given all that he or she has to juggle), and I'm not sure how the dog feels about it.

Imagine a different situation. The parent is strolling with the child, they are pointing out interesting things to each other. The ipod and the dog are at home so the parent can focus on the child. Sure, the parent will have to find another time to exercise the dog and get in a run, these activities could even be combined.

If parents could find more time for interactions with their children that did not include a number of other tasks that have to be accomplished, then maybe, just maybe, the child wouldn't need as many material rewards to not act out or "misbehave". Maybe all the child is looking for is attention from her parents and we all know that people who want attention will figure out ways of getting it.

The years that a parent has a child at home are all too short. The years that a child thinks of his parents as perfect and heroic people are even shorter. Why not enjoy those years while you have them?

Jeanne

Information for Parents:
* Zero to Three
* Adelhi University
* Born Learning

Is child care harmful?

2007-03-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

You have probably seen the newspaper articles this week about the recent study on child care. The lead in the vast majority of the stories tends to be about "problem behavior". The Seattle PI story had the headline "Study Links Child Care to Problem Behavior".

The lead paragraph states that the research shows that the more time that children spent in child care, the more likely it was that their sixth grade teachers reported problem behavior. The second paragraph stated that if the children were in high quality child care they had better volcabulary scores in fifth grade than children in lower quality child care.

The headline in the the Science Daily was different "Early Child Care Linked To Increases in Vocabulary, Some Problem Behaviors in Fifth and Sixth Grades."

There are also some discrepancies in the articles themselves re: the findings. The bottom line is that the increase in vocabulary and in problem behaviors was small and that the quality of parenting is much more important in predicting a child's behavior and the size of his vocabulary.
The research itself is an NIH, (National Institutes of Health) funded longitudinal study of 1,364 children who have been tracked since birth and are now in fifth and sixth grade. It is important to note that the researchers evidence of problem behavior was within the normal range. You would not be able to walk into a classroom and pick out the children who had been in child care.

What I find disturbing is the fact that this was big news for several days and that so many people only saw or heard the words "Child Care" and "Problem Behaviors". Most likely, few people took the time to read the article -so many parents are left with doubts and concerns about whether they should keep their children in child care.

What was lost in the Seattle PI article was the difference between the children in high quality child care and low quality child care. The Science Daily article was much more accurate and balanced and I suspect it was read by a much smaller audience.

Those of us in the field of Early Learning need to be pro-active and prepared when these stories come out so that we can re-assure parents they are making the right choices and are doing the right thing for their children.

Where are the four year olds?

2007-03-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the Seattle Times talked about a report issued from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University showing states spent at least $3.3 billion last year on pre-kindergarten. This is up from $2.8 billion in state funding in 2005. The report also states that 20% of the four year olds in the United States (approximately 1 million children) were in state pre-K last year. That figure is up from 17% from the year before. Another 35% of four year olds are in private preschool or childcare centers and 31% are at home.

Historically, most of the pre-K programs funded with state and federal dollars were for children from low income families. Recently, three states-Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma-have begun to offer pre-K to all children and other states are considering the concept.

Here in Washington State six percent of our four year olds are in state sponsored pre-K.

Experts see many benefits for a child who attends pre-K and feel that if pre-K is offered to every child that there will be a better chance of getting political support for the program.

The article goes on to mention the fight that went on in the 1970s over access to full day kindergarten. At that time only 20% of kindergarten children went to all day kindergarten. Today the figure is approximately 65%.

We still have a long way to go. Washington State schools primarily offer half day kindergarten but there is legislation this session to make kindergarten full day for all children. There is quite a bit of momentum in our state around early learning and there is every possibility that in the near future our children will all have high quality child care, pre-K and full day kindergarten.

What's a parent to do?

2007-02-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Greetings

Recently my daughter Katie sent me an article on parenting in The New Yorker, "How Not to Talk to your Kids". The article reported on research that has been done on how children react to praise/encouragement. While the research was done on elementary school children, the researchers stated that it could be applied to children under the age of five.

The researchers wanted to find out what kind of praise motivated children more, to be told they did well because they worked hard or because they were smart. What they found was fascinating. Researchers gave the children the same test. The children who were told they did well because they had made an effort were more likely to select a harder test the next time while the children who were told that they did well because they were smart tended not to select a harder test and to shy away from areas where they didn't feel confident.

Why? The researchers postulated that the children who were told they were smart were invested in continuing to be viewed as smart while the other children felt that if they worked hard enough, they would do well. The children who were praised for their specific efforts were more likely to challenge themselves further in the next round.

Remember when we were all told that if we built up our children's self esteem that they would be successful in everything? We eliminated competition, gave prizes to everyone and never uttered a negative word to our kids.

This research claims that self esteem is not necessarily a key predictor of a child's success in school or reduction in substance abuse or aggression.

So what is a parent to do? This research looks strong and is probably valuable information for parents to have but so was the research on self esteem when it came out. In this world of "too much information" perhaps the best thing we can all do is read what is out there, decide what fits us and our children the best and go from there.

As long as we know in our hearts that we are doing the best we can, that we are providing our kids with love, learning opportunities, safety, and a healthy and nurturing environment, then I think they will grow up to be successful and happy and we will know that we did a good job because we were not just smart but also tried really hard.

Let me hear from you.

Jeanne

Sesame Street Memories

2007-02-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

Hello

Recently I was invited to attended a meeting at Talaris to get an update on Sesame Street . The CEO and the Director of Education for Sesame Street gave the presentation to a small group of people and I was one of the lucky ones invited.

Truthfully, I hadn't thought much about Sesame Street in a while. Not since my children have grown up. So I was very surprised and impressed to hear that Sesame Street is now in 120 countries. It is in India and Israel and Palestine lots of South American and European countries. Sesame Street worked with the Israelis and the Palestinians to do cooperative programming.

Sesame Street has also developed a program specifically for the children of parents who are serving in a war zone. Many of these children have their parents, sometimes both their parents, leave for a second and third tour of duty. This program, Talk, Listen and Connect(TLC) is being distributed to bases across the country. Click on the link but make sure you have plenty of tissues handy, it really gets to you.

Listening to the dedicated people from Sesame Street brought back a flood of memories for me. I was a very young mother of a six month old son named Andy when my husband left for Viet Nam. When Andy turned one, I discovered Sesame Street. Andy and I would cuddle on the couch, I would say the letters and numbers with "the Count", we would laugh at the Cookie Monster and Bert and Ernie and I would always look forward to the unexpected celebrities who showed up. I probably got more out of the show than Andy did. But it gave us the time in a scary and upsetting period in our lives to just be together and enjoy ourselves.

I talked to the Sesame people and told them how happy I was to hear about the TLC program and how much I was comforted by Sesame Street when I was going through a similar situation. They were very pleased and proud of the work they have done in that field and happy to hear that their program helped others so many years ago.

In the course of our discussion, the people from Sesame Street told me something interesting. They said that they always build in something for the parents to keep them there so that the children aren't watching the show alone. They also said that they never tell the parents what not to do and only deliver positive and reinforcing messages. I suddenly understood the key to their longevity and success and why Sesame Street is now in so many countries around the world.

Do you have any memories you would like to share about Sesame Street? Add a comment.

Jeanne

Big Changes

2007-01-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

Greetings

The Foundation for Early Learning is undergoing some big changes this year and I wanted to keep you updated. Garrison Kurtz, our Program Director, is leaving to take a position at the newly established Thrive by Five Washington. We will miss him tremendously. Garrison has been the Program Director at the foundation since the beginning and has been instrumental in setting the direction of our grantmaking, initiating community relationships and building community capacity through our Getting School Ready! approach.

The other big change that we are undertaking is a change in how we currently do business. At a board retreat in November, we developed a plan that will make the Foundation for Early Learning much more of a partner with the different communities in the state. We still have much to do before we unveil the completed plan but I will give you some highlights.

At the Governor's Summit conference on Early Learning held late last year, communities throughout the state said that they feel isolated and cut off from other communities and the bigger cities. In order for Washington State to have a statewide early learning system, this isolation has to be eliminated. Communities talking to other communities, sharing best practices and getting together via video conferencing, webinars and other electronic, technical and in person ways will reduce the time needed to form this statewide system. The Foundation for Early Learning will be working hard to make this happen through planning grants, technical assistance, the provision of equipment, training, fund raising assistance and consultant help. More details will be appearing in this blog and on our website-Foundation for Early Learning

We have so much information and resources available to us and our children and sometimes it takes a story from another country to make us step back and remember what we have. Recently, a former board member of the Foundation for Early Learning, Sheri Flies from Costco, was traveling in Central America. She relayed this story to me:

I was in the middle of a field in the Highlands of Guatemala last week addressing Maya families about the importance of education and family related to the sustainability work we are doing. All of a sudden I noticed that most of the children were between 2 - 5 so I gave a very simplified version of the importance of 0-5. It was quite amusing at one point because as my English was being translated to Spanish (and then again for some into Quiche, the local Mayan dialect) it came across that the children's brains would grow really big and then the heads might grow too big. Anyway after much laughter, it was clear to them what I meant and they understood and were very grateful to learn some "modern American ways". So the Foundation for Early Learning is reaching families in places and in ways we never imagined.

We have so much to be optimistic about here in Washington State re: Early Learning. The legislature is in session so now we need to keep an eye on how the budget is accepted. Testimony is already in progress so if you can go and put in a good word, that would be extremely helpful.

Let me hear from you. I would love to know what you are all doing for our youngest children.

Jeanne

2007.....A Wonderful Year for Early Learning

2006-12-15T10:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2007 is shaping up to be a great year for early learning in Washington State and around the country. The public, parents and politicans have joined the parade of supporters who want to provide our youngest children with high quality child care, universal pre-school and informed, educated caregivers.

Recently, Governor Gregoire completed her budget and made it public. Although many of you may have already seen it, I thought that the narrative I received that relates only to early learning is clear and understandable and I wanted to share it with you. I would love to have your comments on the proposed budget. See below:

Governor Gregoire's Early Learning Budget for the Bienenum
2007-2009

1) Parent, Family, and Caregiver Supports ($4.8 million GF-S)

Provides funding to develop and distribute supports to parents and other caregivers, such as care giving booklets, play and learn resources, and a public awareness campaign. Funding is included to conduct a needs assessment for these and other tools, enhance the resource phone line, provide parenting education workshops and play and learn groups, and integrate programs with social service agencies. DEL must measure effectiveness and report back by October 2008.

2) Quality Rating and Improvement System ($9.3 million GF-S)

This item provides funding to continue developing, and to begin implementing on a limited scale, a quality rating and improvement system for state-funded child care providers in Washington. Under the QRIS model, providers will be able to access supports such as training, grants, mentoring, and assessment in order to raise their levels of quality care. Funding is also included to support an ongoing state level advisory committee to the department.

3: Early Childhood Program Enhancement and Expansion ($27.0 million GF-S)

This item provides funding to increase the number of ECEAP slots by 1,000 per year and to increase average rates by 8% per year.

4) Family Child Care Provider Labor Agreement and Parity ($85.8 million GF-S)

$2 million of this amount will go to the DEL for a subsidy and licensing training program and to support administration of the agreement. The remaining $83.8 million will go to DSHS to support the subsidy increases outlined in the agreement. Of the total amount, $53.4 million is for a subsidy rate increase (7% the first year, 3% the second year), tiered reimbursement, infant and non-standard hour bonuses, and health care coverage for family child care providers. An additional $32.4 million is included to provide comparable rate increases to child care centers.

5) Early Learning Partnerships ($190,000 GF-S)

This will fund a DEL grant program to promote development of private-public partnerships at the local level.

6) Negotiated Rulemaking and Improved Regulations ($281,000 GF-S)

This item includes funding for negotiated agency rulemaking and to provide capacity within DEL to improve and simplify current child care regulations.

7) Benchmark Redesign Partnership ($300,000 GF-S)

This item will allow DEL to pay for a portion of the cost to complete the benchmarks redesign.

8) Cost Allocation Plan Development ($100,000 GF-S)

Funding for a consultant to create a cost allocation model for DEL, as required to draw down federal funds. An additional $100,000 is proposed in 2007 Supplemental to begin this process.

9) All Day K Phase-in at 10% per Year ($41.6 million GF-S) – OSPI

All-day kindergarten will be phased in beginning with students eligible for free and reduced price lunch in the highest poverty schools. To qualify, schools must review the quality of their programs and make appropriate changes, use a kindergarten assessment tool, and demonstrate strong connections and communication with early learning providers and parents.

10) K-3 Demonstration Projects ($9.5 million GF-S) – OSPI

Grants to ten schools will provide the opportunity to implement best practices in developmental learning in kindergarten through third grade. The grants will provide funding for all-day kindergarten, class sizes of 18 students, instructional coaches, and six additional professional development days for teachers. Participating schools will be required to use some of the class size reduction funds provided through Initiative 728 to help reduce class size to at least 18 students in kindergarten through third grade.

11) Information System Design and Development ($6 million GF-S)

The Department of Social and Health Services, in conjunction with DEL and with the assistance of the Department of Information Systems, will begin the process of designing and developing an early learning information system. This will be a new information system to allow for improved data management in the licensing and support of child care providers, plus it may eventually include a subsidy payment function.

12) High Demand CC Slots for Early Ed. Math/Science ($2 million GF-S) – SBCTC

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) will increase its statewide enrollment in early childhood education by 250 student FTEs in the biennium, with a particular focus on early math and science awareness.

13) Federal Child Care Grant Transfer ($216.8 million GF-S)

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) will move from DSHS to DEL. CCDF provides for some of the federal funding to support the state's Working Connections Child Care program. Part of this grant will remain at DEL to pay for the state's child care licensing function and quality initiatives ($80 million), and the balance will be transferred to DSHS to pay for subsidies.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this. I appreciate your comments and suggestions. We can all learn from each other and this seems like a great way to share our thoughts about early learning.

Jeanne

Early Learning in Washington

2006-12-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

Greetings

In the past few months I have been contacted by several organizations and foundations in Oregon. They all ask the same thing "What did you do in Washington to get so many people involved in Early Learning?"

The Foundation for Early Learning has been around for six plus years and we have seen tremendous changes in the field of Early Learning during that time. Whenever I am asked to recount what has happened in that time, it takes my breath away and always impresses the listeners. We all know that there is still so much more to do but I think that it is helpful, if not necessary to stop and think back to where we started.

Six years ago we couldn't imagine a Department of Early Learning, Thrive by Five Washington, the Chamber of Commerce's Business Partnership for Early Learning. Just the creation of Washington Learns with an Early Learning Council as an equal partner with K-12 and Higher Learning is astounding!

2007 promises to be a very exciting year for Early Learning in Washington. Graciela Italiano Thomas, new President and CEO of Thrive by Five will be starting in early January. We are all awaiting the governor's budget recommendations that come out next week. The Foundation for Early Learning will be unveiling its new direction in the beginning of the year. We are all working for the same people-the young children of Washington and their parents. That makes me feel really great about Washington and the people I work with throughout the Early Learning, Public, Governmental and Philanthropic communities.

Wishing you a very happy holiday season.

Jeanne

A Child

2006-12-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

The other day when I was riding the bus an older woman and a little girl got on and sat next to me up front. Smiles appeared on the faces of all the people sitting close by and a conversation started. The older man across from us began to reminisce and told us that he always wanted to pull the chord to signal a stop when he was little and he would ask his mother repeatedly to let him. She always let him do it and he smiled and chuckled at the memory. He asked the woman the little girl's age and she said she was three. Everyone remarked on her smartness, her cuteness and her sparkling personality. The little girl clearly enjoyed the attention.

The woman with the little girl said "She is my granddaughter. Several years ago my son, his wife and their two children were killed in a car crash so I spend every minute I can with my two remaining grandchildren." We all looked at this child and saw how precious she was and how loved she was by her grandmother.

When my stop came I asked the little girl if she would pull the chord for me so that I could get off the bus. She instantly and very efficiently pulled the chord and gave me the biggest smile while she was doing it. I thanked her for helping me and she smiled and said "Happy Holidays!"

As I was walking past the bus I looked at the window and was rewarded by the sight of this child smiling and waving to me. It made my day. All the way to the office I thought about how lucky I am to be working in a field and for an organization that work to make the future better for children like this little girl.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season. I hope there is a little child in your life. They so naturally bring joy to eveyone around them

Jeanne

What it takes to make a student

2006-11-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hello

I hope your holiday was a good one, filled with family, friends and neighbors. There is no let up now until the new year so please remember to take some time for yourself......and breathe!

There was a great article in the recent Sunday New York Times that addresses the achievement gap between middle class kids and children from lower income families. Researchers have been trying for awhile to figure out what the difference is, especially now with the federal mandate of "No Child Left Behind". This mandate comes up for re-authorization soon. In this article "What it takes to make a student" the writer discusses the advent of charter schools in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country and how they are increasing the performance of children from the most at risk households.

The article also calls out the research that found that the parents of middle class kids made 487 "utterances" per hour to their child compared to 178 utterances an hour in welfare homes. Additionally, the study found that by age three, children with middle class parents heard 500,000 encourgements and 80,000 discouragements from their parents and children in welfare homes heard 75,000 encouragements and 200,000 discouragements.

This article points out the importance of parents as their children's first teachers and what a profound difference they can make in their children's future. It also points out the need for high quality early learning experiences for all children, whether it is in the home, a child care center or with other family members, friends or neighbors. Supporting parents as their children's first teachers and making sure there is access to high quality early learning is vitally important to all of us but especially important to our children. Thanks for caring.

Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on this article.

Jeanne

Survey findings are encouraging

2006-11-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

Hello

A recent issue of "Time Magazine" (10/30/06) contained a survey about how Americans spend their time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Survey (ATUS) asked 13,000 household respondants to describe how they lived on one day in 2005. There are some interesting and surprising findings. The ones that most impressed me were the ones pertaining to parenting and the sharing of responsibilities.

Findings:

The survey found that although dual income middle-class mom and dads appear to be the busiest of parents, they still spend as much time-if not more-with their kids as parents did in 1965. Mothers are generally the ones who tend to sacrifice sleep and leisure time to make this happen.
Employed women spend 40% less time on housework than their counterparts in 1965.
Since 1965, men have doubled their share of housework to more than 9 hours per week. Women average over 19 hours a week on housework.
Men spend 6.5 hours a week on child care and women spend almost 13 hours.
Men spend 5 hours a week on shopping, women spend almost 9 hours.
Men have 34.5 hours of free time per week and women have almost 32.
Men work 42.5 hours a week and women work almost 24 hours.

What is encouraging to me is that parents appear to be making the choice to spend their free time with their kids. Dads are willing to pitch in and help with the housework and chores. There are still areas where women are carrying more of the responsibility but there has been progress since 1965 and the advent of women entering the workforce in great numbers.

So what do you think?
How do these numbers coincide with your life? Are you a single parent with small children? It would be wonderful to hear from moms, dads, single parents and two parent households. Post your comments below.

Thanks,

Jeanne

Another Amazing Week in Early Learning

2006-10-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

It is sometimes hard to catch your breath if you are in the field of Early Learning in Washington State. Last week,October 23-27th, proved to be one of those times when we were all scrambling to take advantage of all the opportunities presenting themselves.

Garrison talked about the Early Learning Affinity Group meeting with funders and tribal leaders at the Tulalip Tribal Center. It was a moving experience for me and one that I will remember for a long time. By the end of the week, there were three more opportunities for people in early learning to meet with experts and to learn even more about this field. It was impossible to go to all of them but I am so happy that people with expertise, experience and national stature are finding it advantageous to come to Washington State and share their knowledge.

Speaking of people with expertise, experience and national stature coming to Washington State, we have just heard that Graciela Italiano Thomas from Los Angeles has accepted the offer to become the CEO of Thrive by Five. She will be starting in January. Here is a link to the press release that details all the reasons she was selected. I am looking forward to her stepping into this important role.

Thrive by Five Press Release

Last week ending on a bittersweet note. We had a celebratory luncheon for the funders of EC2- the Early Care and Education Coalition. EC2 was founded by the Foundation for Early Learning and was dedicated to increasing the public's awareness of the importance of the first five years in a child's life. EC2 became the statewide coordinator for the "Born Learning" campaign, a national public awareness campaign created by United Way of America, Citivas and the Ad Council. There are campaigns currently running in 10 different communities around the state. So with all this activity going on, you may be wondering why EC2 is going away. Well, it's not! EC2 has become Thrive by Five Washington! Many of the funders of EC2 are funding Thrive by Five and have been instrumental in setting the strategic direction of the organization. Born Learning will continue to be an ongoing campaign and more people will become aware of the importance of early learning.

This is an exciting time to be involved in Early Learning and it is gratifying to think of all the babies being born (80,000 a year in Washington) whose lives will be changed for the better because of all the hard work and resources that are being directed toward this issue.

Thanks for reading this. You are an important part of our success. Let me know what you think by posting a comment.

Jeanne

Six years of reflection

2006-10-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

Although it is incredible to me that six years have gone by since I stepped into the role of Executive Director of the Foundation for Early Learning, it is indeed true. I remember finding out that PeterBerliner, now with the Paul G Allen Foundation, was starting his new job on the same day. It was very reassuring to know that I would enter the new fields of Early Learning and Philanthropy knowing at least one person.

I will not forget the kindness and generosity of Ron Rabin of the Kirlin Foundation who contacted me before I started, took me out to lunch and told me how much he looked forward to working with me and the Foundation for Early Learning.

There were great expectations for the Foundation for Early Learning and a very welcoming community of early learning professionals who were anxious to have us succeed. I remember thinking that if I could just find an office, buy some equipment, hire some staff and stop working out of my home office, then we could really take off.

The collaborative nature of the funders I met and the people working in the field helped the staff and me work towards our goal of seeing every child enter school prepared to succeed. Beginning with the Affinity Group for funders of Early Learning and our statewide Advisory Council, the Foundation understood early on that working with many partners was the only way we would succeed.

I am proud of our partners and our accomplishments, EC2, Getting School Ready!, Child Profile, Kids Matter, the Clark County Early Learning Fund,

In six years, so much has changed. Instead of being the newcomer, the Foundation is now welcoming others who have entered the field of Early Learning. I am excited about our new partners Thrive by Five Washington, the Department for Early Learning and look forward to our work together.

This past year we have seen the development of Washington Learns, an umbrella organization established by our governor to address the issues of our educational system from birth through college. This body has just released a draft of recommendations that will be finalized in November, 2006. It is a complete description of the vision Governor Gregoire and leaders in the community and state have for Washington State's educational system. Whether your children are 18 months or 18 years, it is a "must read" for parents and educators and the public.

So many good things have happened in Early Learning these past six years and I know that the momentum will continue. I hope that you will check this site regularly and add your comments. We can all learn together.

Jeanne

Foundation for Early Learning - News

2006-10-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

Check back soon for a weekly update from Jeanne Anderson, Executive Director.