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Welcome to Fairfax Futures
Where Smart Businesses Invest in School Readiness
Greetings!
Try a Google search on "brain research" and you will come up
with nearly 36 million hits - certainly more than you could digest in a sitting.
Our May 19 Business Partners' Roundtable
Breakfast provided an alternative that highlighted what brain research tells
us about thinking and learning. An important finding is that the development of critical thinking
skills in early childhood is the most cost effective educational investment and
yields the greatest return.
You can read a short synopsis at right, or a more detailed report on our web site. A related article below points to nine key findings about brain development and recommendations for policy makers.
Also in this issue, a new report about workplace flexibility
- it was just one of the factors considered in the article on best states for working moms (and presumably dads, too).
As employees think about enrolling their children in preschool, some may think that academics should be the top priority. The article Preschool - Academics or Play? makes clear that
learning does not supplant play in quality programs.
Sincerely,
Vera Steiner Blore
Executive Director |
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Preschool for All or Some?
A
diverse panel will debate the merits of universal preschool at the Thomas B.
Fordham Institute in Washington,
D.C. on Thursday,
June 4, 3 - 4:30 p.m. Among the participants will be Chester Finn, Fordham
Institute; Steve Barnett, National Institute for Early Education Research; Neal
McCluskey, Cato Institute; and Sara Mead, New America Foundation. Richard
Colvin of Columbia
University will moderate.
More information and registration details are available online. |
 Sparking Brain Power
Connecting Neurons, Concepts, and People takes nine key findings from the emerging science on brain development - from the
explosive growth in the prenatal period to the production of neurons even in adulthood - and uses them as the basis for six policy
recommendations for programs for young children. This two-page fact sheet is
part of the Preschool Policy Facts series available online from the National
Institute for Early Education Research. |
A Little Flexibility,
Please
Flexible work options for hourly employees are an important management
tool that can enhance recruitment, retention, engagement, cost control,
productivity and financial performance according to a new study. Innovative Workplace Flexibility Options for Hourly Workers includes a look at the
child care workforce, for whom flexible work options represent an important
strategy to help recruit and retain dedicated professionals. |
 Where Working Parents
Thrive
SmartMoney magazine's 10 Best Places to Be a Working Mom selected
top states based on national rankings for child care quality, the percentage of
women in professional or managerial jobs, the availability of child-related tax
benefits and workplace flexibility. Read the article online to see which states
made the cut.
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Prescription for a Healthier America
Among the 10 recommendations offered by the Commission on a Healthier America is that the U.S. ensure that all children have
access to high-quality early child care, education and other services. The
commission notes that brain, cognitive and behavioral development early in life
are strongly linked to health later in life.
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Preschool Enrollment Gains
The State of Preschool 2008 finds
enrollment in prekindergarten has increased in 33 of 38 states that provide
funding. Virginia
ranks 24th nationally, with just 13 percent of 4-year-olds enrolled in
state-funded programs. Who does better? Oklahoma
has 90 percent of 4-year-olds in public education programs, while seven states
- Florida, Georgia,
Vermont, Texas,
West Virginia, Wisconsin
and New York
- enroll more than half of 4-year-olds in some type of public preschool
program. |
 Play with a Purpose
Often parents believe they must choose between academics and
play when selecting a preschool program for their young children. Rarely is the
choice that simple because quality programs are based on an understanding that
young children learn best through hands-on activities planned by knowledgeable
teachers. Preschool - Academics or Play? explains how good programs incorporate
play with a purpose. |
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Business Partners'
Roundtable Breakfast
A captivated audience of business and chamber leaders,
elected officials and foundation supporters listened as Dr. Derek Cabrera and
Donna Klein discussed the critical thinking skills required for business in the
21st century and why investing in the talent pipeline needs to begin at birth.
 Donna Klein and Kimberly Young, Capital OneDonna Klein, president and founder of Corporate Voices for Working Families, outlined the principles behind the report Why America Needs High Quality Early Care and Education issued by Corporate Voices and the
Business Roundtable. The report calls for serious federal and state commitments
to high-quality early care and education for all children, zero through five.
She said the business case for quality early education includes a high return
on investment and benefits to employers such as reduced absenteeism and
increased productivity among parent-employees.
 Craig Pascal, PNC, left, Vera Steiner Blore, Fairfax Futures, and Derek Cabrera
Cabrera, president and founder of ThinkWorks, said
that critical thinking skills will be in even greater demand as a result of
globalization. Educators must prepare the future workforce for jobs that don't
yet exist. To do this, Cabrera advocated an educational approach that balances
content and process, helps children develop their critical thinking skills
beginning at a young age, and enables them to learn to solve open-ended
problems in school and later, in the workforce.
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