Good Start, Grow Smart Inter-American Symposium Understanding the State of the Art in Early Childhood Education and Care: The First Three Years of Life Organization of American States Washington, DC May 2007

Presentation Good Start, Grow Smart Programs Research Resources

Early Learning and No Child Left Behind Early childhood years are critical in developing the skills needed for later school success Focus on school readiness important to meeting high expectations in No Child Left Behind Gap already exists in key readiness skills at kindergarten entry

School Readiness Multi-Dimensional and Dimensions Interact Physical well-being and motor development Social and emotional development Approaches to learning Language development Cognition and general knowledge

Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS) Initiative *President’s early childhood initiative introduced April 2002 *Companion to No Child Left Behind *Improve early childhood programs to better prepare children to succeed in school “ The ages between birth and age 5 are the foundation upon which successful lives are built.” —Laura Bush

Good Start, Grow Smart Principles Inclusion - Include all populations of children and the various early care and education settings in advocacy efforts. Implementation - Ensure that early childhood research findings are easy to find, understand, and implement. Systemic approach - Align efforts among the parts of the early care and education system to produce sustainable changes and maximize limited resources. Child focused - Focus decisions on the child’s well being as the most important objective.

Good Start, Grow Smart Interagency Workgroup Develop common early childhood message across federal agencies & programs Collaborative federal effort to coordinate programs supporting children’s early learning Identify strategies for collaborating to support high quality, coordinated state & local early care and education systems

GSGS Accomplishments Strengthening Head Start Partnering with states to improve early learning Providing information to teachers, caregivers, and parents Interagency program coordination

Future of Good Start, Grow Smart Federal Interagency Structure for Collaboration and Coordination Web Portal Federal Interagency Work Group focusing on English Language Learners Federal Interagency Task Force focusing on Native American children

English Language Learners (ELL) Federal Interagency Initiative Ages Birth to Age 5 Mission Federal agencies, including a focus on children ages birth to 5, will collaborate and coordinate to provide high quality research-based information to enhance early care and education to prepare English Language Learners (ELL) to enter school ready to succeed when transitioning to the K-12 system. GOALS 1.Analyze current status of federal programs serving ELL children, (ages birth to 5), educators and families, to assist in providing coordinated high quality program services across federal agencies. 2.Analyze the current status of federal efforts in research on ELL children, ages birth to 5, to inform coordinated interagency research agendas. 3.Engage in partnerships to support children, families, programs and communities of ELL children, ages birth to 5.

Programs

Federal Investments in Early Childhood Direct programs Quality enhancement Technical Assistance Research Personnel preparation/professional development Other

Selected Federal Early Childhood Programs Including a Focus on Birth to Age 3 US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Head Start- Early Head Start (presentation on Friday) Child Care Bureau US Department of Education Office of Special Education

Child Care and Development Fund Serves Children < 13 whose parents are leaving welfare or low-income working families. In FY 2005: 1.78 million children (1.1 M < age 6) Annual Budget FY 2006: $5 billion –$10 million – research and evaluation –$12.5 million – technical assistance –4% minimum State set- aside for quality activities; including targeted funds for infant- toddler child care

282,733* infants and toddlers served (ages birth through 2 years of age) (2.3% of infant toddler pop. nationwide) Funding - $440.8 million (FY 2005) Eligibility: –infants and toddlers who are experiencing developmental delays, –those who have a diagnosed mental or physical condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay. –States may choose to serve children who are at risk of experiencing a substantial developmental delay if early intervention services are not provided. *2005 data Office of Special Education Programs

Research & Evaluation

Accountability Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) Program Evaluations, Studies, and Reports

National Institute for Literacy National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) –Formed in 2004 to conduct reviews of rigorous, scientific research regarding a) skills and abilities of children ages birth to 5 that predict later reading outcomes and b) interventions that are linked to later reading outcomes. –NELP findings will be published in a report and will serve as basis for tools and publications to serve policymakers, educators, caregivers and parents.

Resources

Publications can be downloaded at 26

Healthy Start, Good Start Buen Comienzo, Buen Futuro Publications can be ordered or downloaded on website

Thank you for participating Contact information: Norma Garza, Senior Advisor for Early Childhood Education U.S. Department of Education