- What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?
- Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?
- What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?
- What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?
The most relevant section on NIEER's website to my current professional development is the "News and Events" section. I visit this section the most because it keeps me up to date on current events happening in the education field. It also includes the latest headlines about the advancements in early childhood education.
There was a recent news article, "District Playing it Safe, Cuts Pre-K Program", by Kathie Bassett from The Telegraph newspaper in Alton, Il., listed on NIEER's website. This article discusses the temporary cut of the pre-kindergarten program in the Roxana School District. "With funding no longer guaranteed by the state, the Roxana School District has opted for a fiscally conservative stance by at least temporarily cutting its pre-kindergarten program next year." The state of Illinois is now requiring that any school district with a pre-k program apply for a grant to receive the necessary funding to keep the program up and running. After this week of discussing how policy makers are going to invest in early childhood development such as pre-k programs, I was surprised to see that the opposite is actually happening. With all the talk about improving early childhood education and preparedness for school, the exact opposite is happening. Funds are being cut across the board and these programs are closing their doors to the future generations of our country. We need to see results that coincide with our leaders viewpoints, not that oppose it.
In the most recent e-newsletter from NIEER I received on March 21, 2011, the proposition by the U.S. House of Representatives to reduce Head Start funding by 22% is discussed. This proposition by the House has generated an outpouring of support from experts saying "This is no time to reduce funding." These supporters emphasize positive findings regarding Head Start's long-term impact. Also mentioned in the newsletter is a news piece from the New York Times discussing how early childhood education affects the future and a brief from the Hechinger Institute titled "Business Leaders and the New Educational Agenda: Investment in our Littlest Learners". With all of these articles about early childhood investment, it is clear that NIEER is keeping up to date with the current ideas of scientist, economist, and politicians.
By exploring NIERR's website, I was able to learn more about the fiscal crisis effecting Ohio and New York. I live in Ohio and am very aware of all the changes happening in the education field here at home but it was nice to compare our financial crisis to New Yorks and see how their education system is being affected.
Resources:
Bassett, K. (2011, March 22). District playing it safe, cuts pre-k program. The Telegraph.
National Institute for Early Education Research. www.nieer.org.
National Institute for Early Education Research. (March 21,2011). Head start is forced to play defense. National Institute for Early Education Research e-newsletter, 10(9). Retrieved from http:http://nieer.org/resources/newsletter/
I live in Illinois, and while the funding cuts were not as bad as the original proposals, they will be devastating to many schools and families. Beginning April 1, the income guidelines for childcare assistance will be changed, and an estimated 15,000 children will lose access to child care. In addition parent co-pays will be increased, in effect making it difficult to impossible for many other families to pay for child care so that the parents can work or go to school. However - the state of Illinois debt is the second largest in the nation (California's being the first), and cuts simply have to be made somewhere (or everywhere). Illinois currently owes pre-k programs millions of dollars in back payments - and I imagine many more will have to close their doors. There is an increasing push for quality Pre-K, but there are decreasing funds.
ReplyDeleteI guess after engaging in discussions in this course, I am not really surprised by the article on cutting funding, but it does discourage me. Why is it that every time there are budget cuts to be made, they start out with education in our youngest children? Your post is very informative. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that it talks about current events!! It is disappointing to hear about so many cuts happening to important programs! So many children won't benefit if pre-k is cut. I will be checking this web site out!!
ReplyDeleteCandace,
ReplyDeleteI read this same article about Illinois and I was a little taken back that more was not being done to try to save their PreK programs. I do think that some of the reason is because it is a small program that doesn't impact as many kids as it would have if they cut funding from the elementary school. I hope that they are able to find grants to help fund their programs so that these children get to have a jump start on their education.