Where Idaho Stands

Dear Idaho AEYC Members,

 

We hope this letter finds you well and that you are finding time to enjoy our beautiful Idaho summer with friends and family.

Here at Idaho AEYC, we continue to be quite busy with several initiatives and projects. Some of you may have seen yesterday's wonderful front page story in the Idaho Statesman on preschool. If not, I encourage you to read it (view article).

While Idaho AEYC is not mentioned in the article, we have been one of the leaders in this coalition of early childhood advocates and business folks developing a proposal for state-funded early learning. For several months, Idaho AEYC has been working with the Head Start Association, Head Start Collaborative office, our State Child Care Administrator from the Department of Health and Welfare, State Department of Education Early Childhood and Interagency, Idaho Voices for Children, Idaho Kids Count and Idaho Business for Education to develop an "Idaho approach" for starting a statewide preschool program.

After several hours of researching other state plans, talking with stakeholders and decision makers, and having many, many hours of discussions, we believe we have come up with a good plan that:

 a) will be a great starting point to open the door for Idaho to begin investing in early learning;

b) ensures high-quality standards are included in all aspects; and

c) meets the concerns of state leaders about investing in early learning.

Idaho is currently one of six states that does not invest any dollars into state-funded early learning. This number has been dropping dramatically in just the past couple of years. As a state, we need to start somewhere and we believe this could be a great first step.

At this point, we are starting to meet with various stakeholders to get vital feedback on an overview of the plan. I will be reaching out to several Idaho AEYC members over the next few weeks/months to discuss. If you at any time have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.

As we prepare to roll out this plan next legislative session, it will be important that we are all ambassadors and advocates for it in our local communities, as well as statewide.

As always, it is a pleasure to be able to lead Idaho AEYC and work to promote high-quality early learning for our children and families throughout Idaho.

All the best,

 

Beth Oppenheimer

Executive Director

Idaho AEYC