Read the full story on EdSource Today.

See a summary of the poll results.

 

 Read the full story on EdSource Today. 

Public housing authorities pilot education programs

Alani Jimenez, 3, works on an art project with her mom, Jennie, during a class at their public housing complex in Fresno. Credit: EdSource

In an effort to improve literacy rates among children from low-income families, public housing authorities across the state are piloting programs that help parents prepare their children for school and increase their access to books.

 

From building libraries on public housing grounds to providing parenting classes, housing authorities from Sacramento to Oceanside are providing more academic support for their youngest residents. 

 

"We're not just about bricks and mortar, a roof over a head," said Preston Prince, executive director of the Fresno Housing Authority and president of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. "To be successful, children need additional help and the environment of where a child lives has a pretty major impact on how they do in school."

 

Read the full story on EdSource Today. 

More non-profits teaching parents to read with children

Preschoolers in San Francisco listen to a story read by Michele Callwood of Raising A Reader, a non-profit focused on early literacy. Credit: EdSource

Uriel Torres, 4, wasn't sitting quietly as his tutor read him a book about Clifford, that irascible big red dog. He wasn't sitting at all. He leaned forward out of his high chair, almost laying his little body out on the kitchen table, to get a closer look at the illustrations.

 

A growing number of non-profits, including the one providing a tutor to Uriel free of charge, is hoping to harness the natural curiosity of young children and use it to encourage their parents to read them more books in preparation for starting kindergarten. 

 

Read the full story on EdSource Today.

California programs focused on parents awarded $2.7 million

Several California non-profits focused on teaching families to advocate for better educational opportunities were awarded large grants from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on April 16.

Programs based in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Redwood City won a combined total of $2.7 million in new grant funding to increase parent engagement in families with young children. The annually awarded grants distributed $13.7 million among 30 organizations across the country.

Learn more about the two Los Angeles grantees on KPCC's site.

N.C. preschool program led to better health 42 years later

In 1972, researchers in North Carolina started following two groups of babies from poor families. In the first group, the children were given full-time day care up to age 5 that included most of their daily meals, talking, games and other stimulating activities. The other group, aside from baby formula, got nothing. The scientists were testing whether the special treatment would lead to better cognitive abilities in the long run.

 

Forty-two years later, the researchers found something that they had not expected to see: The group that got care was far healthier, with sharply lower rates of high blood pressure and obesity, and higher levels of so-called good cholesterol.

Read the full story on The New York Times.

Foster families share support and housing, with elders in Oregon	LAO recommends restructuring of California child care system	Maine one step closer to universal preschool
About 15 percent of seniors in the U.S. live below the poverty line and many struggle to find affordable housing. But a unique community in Oregon is offering low-income seniors reduced rents, in exchange for their time. There are 27 apartments at Bridge Meadows for low-income seniors who agree to volunteer about 10 hours a week with the adoptive families, in exchange for reduced rents. Watch the full story on PBS Newshour.	A new report by the California Legislative Analyst's Office is suggesting significant changes to the state's child care and early education systems.   "In short, the system is complex, bifurcated, confusing and inconsistent," states the report, which was released on April 4. "We recommend undertaking a fundamental restructuring."        Read the full story on EdSource Today.	A roll of the dice at one of Maine's two casinos would have a big payoff for pre-kindergarten children under a bill that passed by a wide margin (102 to 45) in the Maine House. The measure would use casino revenues to expand early childhood education to schools that don't currently offer such programs. The bill was supported by both parties and now moves to the Maine Senate.    Read the full story on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network site.

Each month we share a photo to give you a sneak peek into upcoming EdSource Today reports. Destiny Guitterez and her daughter Avery Sanchez are one of thousands of families who receive regular visits from a nurse during the first year of a child's life. Next month, we take a look at how home visiting has evolved over the years in California and examine the effect it could have on the future academic success of the children involved.

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