Below are resources for early childhood professionals and those serving the early childhood community.

Education Inequity   Sarah Mead with Bellwether Education Partners writes in US News & World Report about how early the education disparity begins.

High-Quality Birth-to-Age-8 Early Care and Education document. Together, the suite of indicators embrace a whole-child focus.  While the documents have a North Carolina focus (in terms of existing programs and opportunities), each document walks through the literature on why the indicator matters – so, for example, how low birthweight is connected to longer term outcomes, including literacy and academic performance.

Early Childhood Education Investment  Governors Brian Sandoval and Jay Inslee sent a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and House Committee on Education and the Workforce on behalf of the National Governors Association (NGA) and the nation’s governors in support of early childhood education.

Kindergarten Transitions  New America’s Early & Elementary Education policy team published “Connecting the Steps: State Strategies to Ease the Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten” which highlights efforts in Colorado, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia to smooth the transition process and provides recommendations for other states to facilitate similar improvements such as bringing directors and principals together and using ESSA funds to finance transition activities.

IL- Rauner Signs Bill Preventing Expulsion of Preschool, Early Childhood Program Students  Rauner signed new legislation Monday that prohibits the expulsion of students from preschool education and early childhood programs that are funded through the Illinois State Board of Education. (ABC7 Chicago)

Class Size  A large meta-analysis published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis spanning from six decades worth of research suggests that child-teacher ratios of 7.5 to 1 or lower can be beneficial for cognitive and achievement outcomes in early childhood education programs.

State Early Childhood Data Systems  Ounce of Prevention Fund published “An Unofficial Guide to the Why and How of State Early Childhood Data Systems,” as part of its Ounce Policy Conversations series. The unofficial guide is meant to help early childhood policy leaders ensure that their state builds and leverages a unified early childhood data system.

Family Engagement Toolkit  This toolkit, developed by BUILD, was designed for all stakeholders in the lives of children. Divided into four components—equity and access, shared decision-making, two-way communication, and sustainability—its resources are targeted primarily at family engagement and reinforcing an authentic family-school partnership throughout the early elementary school years. You will not regret opening it up and taking the time to look at individual resources for families, principals, programs, and policy makers.

Big News out of Georgia: Pre-K Children Sustain Gains in First Grade  According to a new FPG report, students in Georgia’s Pre-K Program continue to exhibit positive outcomes across all domains of learning.

What Should We Be Teaching Young Children?  Four guiding principles can help educators prioritize learning for early learners, asserts Tania Lombrozo, a psychology professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Principles include capitalizing on sensitive times and thinking about the present.  (National Public Radio)