The Early Education Initiative

Today, preschool and other services for young children are delivered through what is widely recognized as a non-system, with programs like child care, pre-kindergarten, special education services and Head Start operating in separate policy silos, each with differing objectives and different funding streams. This uneven and uncoordinated character of early childhood policy can impede access, quality, and return on investment to these programs. Indeed, stories of avoidable dysfunction-of low-income parents who are unaware that their child

If children are the future, then looking at a state's educational system is like peering into a crystal ball. California is a state teeming with young children -- 4.7 million under age 8, to be exact. One in every eight young American children lives in California. And many of these children come from minority ethnic and racial backgrounds and speak languages other than English. If Americans want to get a glimpse at our future as a "majority minority" country they don't have to look beyond California.

In April, the states and school districts began receiving the first installment of more than $48 billion in federal economic stimulus funds for education and child care appropriated under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). This unprecedented federal investment in education—from early childhood through college—is a tremendous opportunity for state and local investments to improve our nation's schools. The danger is that states and school districts may squander these funds on ill-conceived projects or use them simply to maintain… more

On April 1, 2009, the states began to receive education and child care funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, or "the stimulus").[1] Child care advocates in several states have urged policymakers to use some of the stimulus funds to launch or expand a statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for providers of early childhood education and care.

As a new congress and new administration take their places in Washington, early education is attracting more attention. The 111th Congress will have numerous opportunities to enact policies that improve access, quality, efficiency, and alignment in early education, including the forthcoming economic stimulus package and the scheduled reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative proposes