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Upcoming Events, Workshops and Webinars
Visit the PORTAL at www.sparknh.org/portal to view upcoming events, workshops and webinars, and job postings available throughout the state!
Build Initiative Webinar: The Nuts and Bolts of Building Early Childhood Systems through State/Local Initiatives
March 17, 2014 at 2:00pm
This webinar will share the diverse approaches that states have taken, the infrastructure they have created at the state and local level, what is working and what is not, lessons learned along the way, and words of advise from leaders of state/local early childhood systems initiatives. To learn more, and to register, click here.
Links of Interest
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published this report that discusses existing federally funded programs that provide support for early learning or child care services. It also discusses the extent to which these programs are administered by multiple federal agencies, have similar goals, or provide the same services. (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center eNotes).
The Common Education Data Standards project is a national collaborative effort to develop voluntary, common data standards for a key set of education data elements to enable more consistent and comparable data to be used throughout all education levels and sectors, both within and across states. Version 4 of the CEDS is now available online and It includes new and updated early learning elements that were developed by early learning stakeholders from local school districts, state education agencies, national early childhood organizations, and the US DOE and DHHS. (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center eNotes).
The NGA Center for Best Practices shares this brief about articulating essential policy questions to inform the design of states' early childhood data systems. It proposes 7 steps to not only identify the key questions, but also the implications these questions have for data collection, data linkages, and the overall system.
The NGA Center for Best Practices also shares this brief on engaging early learning stakeholders and provides guidance on whom state leaders should consider including "in a collaborative decision-making process that guides the creation and execution of a defined scope of work." It also discusses the role that stakeholders need to play and the kind of information they need to carry out their responsibilities.
On February 12, 2014 the US DOE posted this invitation to comment on the State of Preschool Survey. This annual survey centralizes data about publicly provided early childhood education opportunities. Data are collected from state agencies responsible for providing early childhood education and made available for secondary analyses. Public comments are due on or before April 14, 2014. (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center eNotes).
The Early Head Start- Child Care Partnerships is an initiative to support states and communities in expanding high quality early learning to infants and toddlers through partnerships between Early Head Start and child care.
This report from the Journal of Human Resources answers the question of how much of the income-based gaps in cognitive ability and academic achievement could be closed by a two-year, center-based early childhood education intervention.
An associate professor, Ferol Mennen, at the USC School of Social Work has been granted $2.5 million from the Administration for Children and Families to test a promising approach to alleviate depression as a strategy to improve the lives of mothers and children enrolled in Early Head Start programs. Currently, depression affects more than half of all mothers in Early Head Start programs so Mennen plans to work with the Los Angeles-based Children's Institute to test a group therapy approach to treating depressive symptoms and improving parenting skills among mothers in Head Start.
Results from the Early Childhood Data Collaborative's 2013 Early Childhood Data Systems Survey show that most states can't answer basic questions about early childhood care and education. Timely and accurate access to early childhood data would help policymakers, early childhood education professionals and parents to make more informed decisions.
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has shared this article that explains the research behind the 'word gap,' and offers a simple solution that can help children build crucial language and vocabulary skills.
This NPR article shares the story of Izidor Ruckel, an author who wrote about his experience as an orphan in Romania. The first few years of life are critical times for child brain development, and much of what researchers know about parental bonding and the brain is from studies of children who spent time in Romanian orphanages during the 1980s and 1990s.
Governors from both parties are pitching early education and workforce development. This article from Stateline, The Daily News Service of The Pew Charitable Trusts, highlights several governor's pitched proposals or expansions of existing programs that would train students in workforce skills that are in demand.
Dr. Jack Shonkoff writes in this month's JAMA Pediatrics: "The time has now come for a different approach to early childhood investment that catalyzes innovation, seeks far greater impacts, and views best practices as a baseline, not a solution."
Ounce of Prevention and Educare Chicago has created tips on how to discern high quality early learning environments including a list of what you do and don't want to see in early learning environments.
The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) published this article, from Aspen Institute's blog, about Children's Savings Accounts (CSA). The article explains that "CSAs are long-term, matched savings accounts for children that are generally used for higher education, engaging low-income parents and their children in financial education and savings activities."
This brief from CLASP provides analysis of national trends for spending and participation in CCDBG and TANF child care in 2012 based on the most recent state data available from the US DHHS.
Child Trends published this report on Integrated Student Supports (ISS) that examines whether or not ISS are effective at improving educational outcomes.
This is a list of resources for parents and other caregivers about fostering kindness, empathy, resilience, perseverance, and focus in children. (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center eNotes).
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