Advancing Quality PreK in All States

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Advancing Quality Pre-K in All States
National School Boards Association Sara
Watson The Pew Charitable Trusts swatson_at_pewtrust
s.org [phone]
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• Speaking of child outcomes meet Owen Hernandez

Owen is a loveable four year old bursting with a
drive to learn. Attending a dual language pre-k
in Texas was his first school experience.
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• At the beginning of the year, Owen could not
  write his name and his representational drawings
  were difficult to identify. During circle time he
  talked to the teacher as if he was the only child
  there.  He stood up and explored the classroom. 
  While walking in a line to the cafeteria, he
  wandered off into the yard.

A grocery store
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Later, he could use drawings to represent places
and things. Pre-k helped improve his English
and Spanish and taught him how to learn in a
school setting.
Post-Assessment What did you see at the fire
station?
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Advancing Quality Pre-K for All

• In 2001, Pew Charitable Trusts started its
  initiative Advancing Quality Pre-Kindergarten
  for All, to encourage quality early learning
  opportunities for all 3- and 4-year-olds
• Public education campaigns in over half the
  states
• 2004 14 states increased funding by 200
  million
• 2005 26 states
  600 million
• 2006 31 states
  450 million
• Among legislatures which increased funding
  for pre-k in 2006,
• 15 have Democratic majorities, 10 have
  Republican majorities and 6 have split
  legislatures

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Legislative Action on Pre-K Budgets FY 2006-2007
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Exciting Progress in 2006

• Tennessee - increased high quality pilot by 57
• Texas included children of military families
• California no to ballot initiative but then
  100 M new money
• New York 4 years ago, governor tried to
  eliminate program. Now 50 M of increased
  funding
• Massachusetts legislature passed pre-k for all
  4s unanimously, but vetoed by governor. Theyll
  be back.
• Louisiana yes Louisiana increased funding by
  1.5 M

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Percentage of Four-Year-Olds Attending Pre-K
2004-2005
Source National Institute for Early Education
Research
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• Pre-K for All
• In place Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma
• As a goal Illinois, New York, Tennessee, West
  Virginia
• Use school funding formula Maine, Oklahoma,
  Wisconsin, Vermont, District of Columbia, West
  Virginia
• Targeted Programs
• 26 states have child-based eligibility
  requirements
• 3 states have district-based eligibility
  requirements
• Most common requirement is income-based
• Other risk factors low birth weight, English
  Language Learner, single parent, teen parents, in
  state custody, disability
• Use school funding formula Colorado, Michigan,
  Maryland, Nebraska (2007), Texas
• Source Pre-K Now

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Revenue Sources for State Pre-K Programs 2006
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Quality Standards (NIEER)

• Standard No. of states 2004-2005
• (out of 38 with state prek)
• Staff-child ratio 110 37
• Max class size 20 35
• Teacher has specialized training in pre-k 35
• At least 15 hours/year in-service training 33
• Site visits for monitoring 30
• Comprehensive early learning standards 27
• Vision, hearing and at least 1 support
  service 27
• Teacher has BA 25
• At least one meal 23
• Asst teacher has CDA or equivalent 12

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(No Transcript)
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What the Trusts initiative offers to states in
the network

• Infrastructure of organizations
• Technical assistance and financial support
• Help with communications and messages
• Peer network
• Research including state data
• Help in engaging key constituencies (business,
  law enforcement, K-12, seniors, physicians,
  media)

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National grantee partners supporting the states

• Committee for Economic Development (www.ced.org)
• Education Law Center (www.startingat3.org)
• Education Writers Association (www.ewa.org)
• Fight Crime Invest in Kids (www.fightcrime.org)
• Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media
  (www.tc.columbia.edu/hechinger)
• National Association of Elementary School
  Principals (www.naesp.org)
• National Conference of State Legislatures
  (www.ncsl.org)
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  (www.nieer.org)
• National School Boards Association (www.nsba.org)
• Pre-K Now (www.preknow.org)

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Context for your work in the states

• Delighted youre interested in pre-k
• School boards essential to convey importance of
  pre-k for education AND to help ensure good
  implementation
• Each state has existing pre-k campaign and
  leaders to work with each national grantee
• Strive for a unified message, collaborating
  sometimes in public, sometimes behind the scenes
• Commitment to diverse delivery systems, but all
  must meet high standards to ensure children get a
  quality education
• Not taking from one childrens system to support
  another
• Pew funds to NSBA support informing decision
  makers, not direct advocacy
• Welcome aboard!