Audioconference to Focus on Improving Early Education Systems
June 06, 2011
by Michael Karpman
The learning experiences available to children in their earliest years have a profound impact on their future academic and career success — and therefore on the cities in which they are raised. However, childcare and early learning programs have traditionally been disconnected from local K-12 school systems, leading to missed educational opportunities during this critical period.
On Thursday, June 23, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families (YEF Institute) will host a free, hour-long audioconference on “Aligning Early Learning and Elementary School Education.” Municipal officials and staff are invited to learn how two cities are connecting these systems to promote early childhood success and improve transitions to school. Speakers will include:
- The Honorable Pedro E. Segarra, Mayor, City of Hartford, Conn.
- The Honorable Hal Marx, Mayor, City of Petal, Miss.
- José Colón-Rivas, Executive Director, Office of Young Children, City of Hartford, Conn.
- Nadine Coleman, Director, Center for Families & Children, Petal School District
Registration for this audioconference is now closed. Please email us for more information about future audioconferences.
Why Educational Alignment?
Local officials increasingly recognize that a child’s education begins well before he or she enters the formal K-12 educational system.
Achievement gaps are manifested even before young children enter kindergarten — with disadvantaged children lagging behind on measures of school readiness — and these gaps tend to grow over time.
A KIDS COUNT special report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that in 2009, 83 percent of fourth-grade students from low-income families were not proficient in reading, according to their scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The report notes, “Failure to read proficiently is linked to higher rates of school dropout, which suppresses individual earning potential as well as the nation’s competitiveness and general productivity.”
Cities across the country have taken steps to close these achievement gaps by supporting early literacy initiatives and efforts to prepare young children for school.
To ensure that the benefits of high-quality early care and education are available to more children and do not fade over time, municipal leaders are now partnering with school districts and early learning programs to create more seamless transitions between and within their respective educational systems.
Their experiences show that developing a strong continuum of educational opportunities for children from birth to age 8 may entail expanded access to high-quality early education; alignment of standards; curricula and assessments; systems for sharing data; and joint professional development for teachers and early learning program staff, among other components.
Speakers on the June 23 audioconference will discuss why and how their cities have been involved in efforts to align early learning and elementary school systems.
The speakers will represent cities that are participating in the YEF Institute’s Educational Alignment for Young Children initiative, which is supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and an anonymous donor.
The initiative is designed to help municipal leaders increase the likelihood that children will be poised for educational success and reading at grade level by the time they reach the third grade.
How to Register
Registration for this audioconference is now closed. Please email us for more information about future audioconferences.
Details: Learn more about the Educational Alignment for Young Children initiative, or contact Tonja Rucker at (202) 626-3004 or rucker@nlc.org.