June/July 2006

Message from the Executive Director

Going the Distance: Keeping and Expanding the Commitment to High Quality Early Education

by Charity Eleson

A little over two years ago, the Council was able to take advantage of an exciting funding opportunity through the Joyce Foundation to work on improving the access to and quality of early education With the launch of Early Education Matters in 2004, we looked forward to working on a substantial new initiative to improve early education experiences and opportunities for all of the state's 4-year-olds. The project included policy advocacy; providing school districts with planning grants and technical assistance for planning community approaches to 4-year-old kindergarten; public awareness; and, through our grant partners, research and training. (Watch for the "Early Education Matters: Lessons Learned" project report coming out in early July.)

Now that the grant period is coming to an end, we have spent the last several months examining what our next steps will be, and have decided to expand the scope of our focus on early education to include not only 4-year-old kindergarten, but also early care and education programming for children birth through 5. While the number of 4-year-olds served in 4-year-old kindergartens using community approaches has doubled since the inception of Early Education Matters-pointing to the success of our own initiative and the good work that the Department of Public Instruction has done in this area-we have had growing concerns about the quality of early education and care programming for children birth through 5.

According to the most recent U.S. Census data, 66 percent of all children in Wisconsin under the age of 6 have parents who "all" work outside of the home. In Census speak, that means in two-parent families both parents work, and in single-parent families the sole parent works. Wisconsin's rate is higher than the national average of 59 percent; only seven other states have higher rates than Wisconsin. But more than a rating, the fact that two-thirds of the youngest children in the state are in the care of someone other than their parents while their parents are at work speaks volumes to the importance of the quality of the care that they're receiving. We also know how critical high quality early care and education programming is in closing the achievement gap and addressing the needs of children with economic disadvantages. (See Martha Cranley's article in this issue on Mind the Gap.)

Children are in many different settings while their parents are at work. The choice that parents make is often based on what they can afford, the availability of space in programs, and what may work out best for the family, given work schedules and transportation arrangements. Programming, teacher qualifications, parental involvement and group or class size can vary widely. Those elements, in turn, contribute to the quality of the program.

We are starting to learn more about the practices and program elements that are responsible for producing the remarkable results in early education cited in studies of programs like Perry Preschool and the Chicago Child Parent Centers. (See Ellen Galinsky's report published this year at: http://familiesandwork.org/eproducts/ced.pdf ) But parents cannot be assured that those practices are in place in their children's program because, as yet, we have no comprehensive set of agreed upon expectations and standards in Wisconsin that guide high quality program development in licensed centers, preschools and 4K. Some Wisconsin programs are of very high quality and others are not. This is true in spite of the fact that we know how critically important these years are for children's development.

WCCF has begun to work with a coalition of statewide and regional groups committed to improving the quality of early education and care programs for all children in the state. We believe there should be "no wrong door" for children, and that regardless of the early care and education setting children are in, parents should be able to expect standards, resources and guidelines in place that ensure programs are of the highest quality and that these programs can help children develop, thrive and succeed in K-12 settings and beyond.

Dave Edie has recently joined the Council staff as our early education policy analyst and will be chiefly involved in this work. Dave brings a wealth of experience to the Council, with over 30 years of background in early education and care as a teacher, state administrator and researcher. I know he will help us develop strong collaborations with other organizations and a robust policy agenda that will provide the best outcomes for young children. We are fortunate to have him on board. You can reach him at dedie@wccf.org.

Jill Jacklitz, our public education and outreach director, is also working on this effort. Jill will be working with others in the coalition to do outreach and engage a broad base of parents, teachers, child care and school administrators, business and others to work with us to call for changes that will lead to the high quality early care and education system that our youngest children need. You can reach Jill at jilljacklitz@wccf.org.

We hope you'll join us in this important work. On July 10, we'll be launching a website at www.readysetgrowwi.org where you can go to find out more about how you can take action to ensure Wisconsin's kids have the resources they need to be ready to succeed.