Headlines Archive

The Learning Compact Redefined: A Call to Action- A report of the Commission on the Whole Child

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) focuses on grades K-12. They are to be congratulated for coming together and releasing this report, which launches their initiative - focusing on the whole child. With synchronized philosophies, programs serving children from birth to 18 will make and sustain significant impact in the lives of all children.

- Sherry M. Cleary, Executive Director

Access the Entire Report

Preschool is School, Sometimes: Making Early Childhood Education Matter

In the first Education Next volume of 2007, the Hoover Institute released a study summary of the current state of early childhood education programs in the country. The article reviews current recommendations by expert researchers regarding public policies to improve high quality teaching for young children.

The summary highlights the critical importance of teachers in early childhood education settings stating that even the best curriculum will not be successful if it is not correctly implemented by teachers.

The author, Robert C. Pianta, advocates policies that focus on specific training strategies necessary to work with young children and alignment of early childhood education with K-12.

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Announcing Learning About The Learners: A New Publication From the NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute

The NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute is pleased to announce the release on December 12, 2006 of its latest publication, Learning About The Learners, prepared by Susan Blank, Cynthia Centeno, Barbara Coccodrilli Carlson and Maria Garcia and shared by Sherry M. Cleary, Executive Director for the Institute.

Learning About The Learners gives us a clear snapshot of the current landscape of professional development for early childhood educators in New York City, and more importantly, provides a compass to help us navigate towards a comprehensive model of professional development for our future.

Access the Entire Report

 

QNY is Accepting New Programs!

• Quality New York (QNY) is seeking a few additional programs to join on the path to quality improvement.
• Please visit their website to download an application and find contact information.
• QNY has a new brief, "Making the Case for Supporting NAEYC Accreditation" Read it to learn more about the importance of this process, how it helps prepare young children for success in school and how it assists programs in improving and sustaining quality.

October 2006:Alarming Report Shows Children Struggling with Hunger in New York City

The Food Bank for New York City recently released: Growing Up Hungry in New York City: An Analysis of Hunger Among Children. The report found 1.9 million children living in poverty in New York City, 50 percent higher than the national average.

Some other key findings:

• Between 2000 and 2005, child poverty increased 5 percent in New York City, 4 percent in New York State and 9 Percent in the United States
• In New York City, 23 percent of families with children under the age of 18 live below federal poverty line. That is 43 percent higher than New York State and 49 percent higher than the national average.
• Rising costs of basic necessities like food, housing and medical care are forcing families to spend a high percentage of their income fullfill them, sometimes going without.
• The average annual cost of child care for a four-year-old in New York State is $8,000, placing adequate and affordable care out of reach for many families.

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September 2006: New Disaster Planning Guide will be Used by Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies to Train Child Care Providers

The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) released a New Disaster Planning Guide which will be used to train child care providers on how to prepare for and recover from disasters. NACCRRA also published a brochure to help parents ensure that child care programs are prepared for emergencies. The distribution of these publication is the initial step in a unique effort to prepare child care programs for catastrophes.

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July 2006: NAEYC Accredits Five Early Childhood Associate Degree Programs in Different States

The following five programs recently received accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

• Davidson County Community College, Lexington, North Carolina
• Denmark Technical College, Denmark, South Carolina
• Mitchell Community College, Statesville, North Carolina
• Prince Georges Community College, Largo, Maryland
• Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst, North Carolina

The associate degree programs are the first group out of sixty programs in six states to be reviewed. Other states applying to NAEYC accreditation are: Arkansas, Illinois and Massachusetts.

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June 2006: Obesity in Early Childhood- More than 40% of Head Start Children in NYC are Overweight or Obese- A report from New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Administration for Children Services/ Head Start

The New York City Department of Health and the Administration for Children Services reviewed the medical records of more than 16,000 children attending Head Start and discovered that more than 40% of these children are overweight or obese. The study collected their measured heights and weights submitted through physical exams forms completed by the child's health care provider upon enrollment.

The report shows a growing obesity epidemic among New Yorkers that begins in early childhood and probably remains through adulthood. This can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer. The report also evidences that obesity affects both boys and girls almost equally as 49% of obese children were boys and 45% were girls. Regarding the children's ethnicity, Hispanic and African American children were more affected by obesity than White and Asian American youngsters (31% Hispanic, 25% African American, 12% White, 15% Asian American).

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reminded everyone that obesity occurs when children eat more calories than they use and issued the following recommendations:

• Children should spend at least 1 hour every day in a physical activity.
• Youngsters should not watch T.V. or play video games for more than one hour a day, they shouldn't watch T.V. before the age of 2 and they should not eat while watching T.V.
• Serve children smaller portions that are appropriate for their age TheTIPS for Using the Food Pyramid with Children is a document from the United States Department of Agriculture that can help with this and other issues.
• Children ages 1 to 6 should only drink: water, milk and 100% fruit juice. No soda or beverages with added sugar. Juice should be limited to 4 to 6 ounces per day (a little more than half a cup), milk should be 1% and dairy products for children ages 2 and up should be low fat.
• Preparing healthy meals at home and offering children fruits and vegetables every meal and snack is also recommended. Get recipes from the US Department of Agriculture.
• Children should not eat junk food, sweets and fast food more than once a week.

Read the Complete Report

Healthy Resource:
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is well aware of the growing obesity rates in youngsters so they have addressed this important topic in the May issue of their journal "Young Children". The publication contains a cluster of articles that encourage good nutrition and physical fitness in early care and education settings. Useful information like the Physical Activity Guidelines for children Birth to Five Years, Smart Snacks Ideas, Family, Center and Healthy Homework Physical Activities and Five Simple Steps to Better Health are included. Read the FREE articles

May 2006: Governor Approves an Additional $50 million for UPK in Budget 2006-2007

The winning Beginning NY campaign applauded the governor’s 50 million increase in Universal Pre kindergarten funding for 2006- 2007. This is the first addition UPK has received from the state in five years. The new funding is desperately needed to continue to serve children and increase enrollment.

Read the News Release

April 2006: Be An Advocate For Your Program- Contact your City Council Representative- Subtracted from Quality New York News, Volume 4, No 2, Spring 2006

Quality New York encourages everyone to strengthen connections with local officials. The Mayor's budget is being released in April and the City Council will be reviewing it shortly after. Both will come to an agreement by the end of June. If you speak out now you can influence their decisions!

Quality New York gives the following tips to successfully advocate for your program:

• Use your creativity to grab the attention of local officials.
• If you are accredited or working towards accreditation let everyone know what it means and how it helps improve the quality of child care programs.
• Send your elected officials your newsletters, brochures, similar publications and children's drawings to make them aware of your center.
• Encourage parents to contact local officials and tell them about your program.
• Build partnerships with organizations that can help you access funds or additional support for your center.
• Make specific requests about your funding needs and how it will benefit your center, the children and the community.

Access the Quality New York newsletter

Visit Child Care Inc for the latest updates on policy and advocacy work and sign up at www.winningbeginningny.org to be part of the state wide e-advocacy campaign to promote early learning in New York State.

February 2006: EIP Scholarships for the Individualized Training Program

The Individualized Training Program (ITP) can be used for any individual who works with children to get high quality technical assistance/training. If developed appropriately, it can provide subjects with great comprehension and can result in high quality care.

The ITP is a type of noncredit-bearing training that the Educational Incentive Program (EIP) will consider for scholarship purposes and must contain the following components:

• Self-assessment by the child care provider and pre and post observation by the trainer AND
• One-on-one training of the child care provider at the provider’s child care work site AND
• Program evaluation

Any organization wishing to offer an Individualized Training Program to child care providers, thereby allowing the provider a higher level of scholarship through EIP must comply with the following requirements:

• Use a validated assessment tool (for example: Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale- ECERS, Harms and Clifford). The participant will use it as a self-assessment tool and the trainer will use it as an observation tool before individualized training begins. This will become the basis of discussion and training to improve competence by the end of the Individualized Training Program. The trainer will do a final observation at the end of the program using the same tool to determine relative improvement. For providers who do not read or write English, the bi-lingual field trainer will be the only participant in the pre and post observation process. There can be no self-assessment (if ECERS is used.) The trainer must provide documentation that training on the use of the tool was received.
• Specified documentation must be submitted to EIP for pre-approval from each organization wanting to offer an Individualized Training Program that accepts EIP scholarships from its participants as a funding source.
• 20% of the total training hours may be used in group care settings . This training may happen during non-child care hours to assist with discussion of confidential information. A maximum of three ITP participants from the same room/group may be trained together. An individual may also use up to 20% of his/her time to obtain training in non-child care hours for the same purpose.

If you are interested in taking advantage of the ITP scholarships offered by the EIP, you can at visit the SUNY Training Strategies Group website and download the “EIP Individualized Training Program Pre-Approval Packet and Directions”

The EIP has also made available a Technical Assistance Paper for those organizations interested in the Individualized Training Program Development, Download It

For more information please contact Patricia Wilson or Colleen O'Grady at : 518-443-5940.

November 2005: ACS Presents:Rethinking Child Care: An Integrated Plan for Early Childhood Development in New York City

The Administration for Children Services presents a strategy to develop, improve and integrate the early child care and education programs in the city over the next two years. The new initiative is called “Rethinking Child Care: An Integrated Plan for Early Childhood Development in New York City.”

Read the Plan

October 2005: Mayor Bloomberg Presents Vision For Early Childhood Education

Mayor Mike Bloomberg presented his vision to expand and improve early child education in New York City over the next four years. The plan will integrate all of the City's early childhood education programs into a cohesive, high-quality and accountable system and double the number of Pre-K and childcare slots over the next four years. The Mayor was joined by Rosie O'Donnell, President of Rosie's For All Kids Foundation.

Full integration of the City's child care system is the single most important step New York City can take to foster the healthy development of all children, especially those children who are low-income and disadvantaged. Early education and child care services are now divided among three City agencies, a system that is difficult for parents to navigate. Full integration will significantly improve the application process for families and result in a parent friendly system. The Administration will implement the following initiatives:

• Work with Provider Community to Improve Services
• Use City Resources More Efficiently
• Develop and Implement Performance Standards to Ensure Quality Across the System
• Create a Parent Friendly Enrollment System and Easy Access to Information
• Reduce Red Tape for Childcare Providers
• Improve Transition from Child Care and Pre-K to Elementary School
• Expansion of the Number of Pre-K and Childcare Slots and Programs
  • Double the Number of Children Receiving High-Quality Pre-K and Child Care
  • Create Affordable Quality Daycare and Pre-K for City Employees
  • Support the Childcare Needs of Parents on or Transitioning off of Public Assistance
  • Extend Childcare Day to 6pm
  • Expand the ‘ParentCorp’ program

Childcare Experts on the Mayor's Plan
"This important initiative will change the lives of literally tens of thousands of our city's children, while reducing the burden on their working parents. The program will benefit our children in making them better prepared for school, and will benefit our city by making better educated and more productive citizens." - Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., Director, NYU Child Study Center

"Early childhood educators and parents have been waiting for a plan like this one. The breadth and depth of this proposal is amazing. Realizing the Mayor's vision will alter the landscape of early childhood education in the city as well as in the country." - Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Phd, Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families, Columbia University's Teachers College.

May 2005: NAEYC Governing Board Approves New Standards and Criteria

The new NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria were approved by the NAEYC Governing Board in April 2005. They will take effect in September 2006, replacing the current (“1998”) Accreditation Criteria. The new standards and criteria are a major step forward—for NAEYC Accreditation, the Association, the early childhood profession, and most of all, for the young children and families we serve. The new program standards and performance criteria build on the history of the Association, and on the vision proposed by the Reinvention Commission in 2002: NAEYC Accreditation—and NAEYC-accredited programs—can lead the way to higher quality.

View the newly approved standards and criteria

April 2005: NAEYC Accredits 10,000th Program for Young Children

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has accredited more than 10,000 child care, preschool and other programs for young children, an increase of 25 percent over the past two years. Since NAEYC created its accreditation system in 1985, NAEYC Accreditation has become a widely recognized sign of high quality in early childhood education programs. Today there are 10,130 NAEYC-accredited programs, serving more than 850,000 young children and their families.

In 2003 there were 8,000 early childhood programs accredited by NAEYC, and in 1995 there were 4,500. "The growing number of programs earning NAEYC Accreditation is a sign of many people working together to improve early learning opportunities for children," said Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D., Executive Director of NAEYC. "Families, early childhood educators, employers and others recognize that high-quality child care and preschool programs make a valuable difference for young children, and that NAEYC Accreditation is a crucial process for programs that want to improve."

NAEYC established its accreditation system 20 years ago to set professional standards for early childhood education, and to help families identify high-quality early childhood programs. The voluntary accreditation system is designed for programs for children from birth through five years, including child care centers, preschools, Head Start programs and kindergartens. The reinvented NAEYC Accreditation system—including new NAEYC early childhood program standards and revised accreditation performance criteria—will be formally announced at the next NAEYC Annual Conference, on December 7-10, 2005 in Washington, DC. The new system will be fully implemented in 2006.

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March 2005: CHILD CARE: A Vital Economic Sector For New York City

The New York State Child Care Coordinating Council (NYSCCCC) recently released “Investing in New York. An Economic Analysis of the Early Care and Education Sector”. This report is based on New York City specific information that focuses on the economic impact of the early care and education sector in New York City.

To most consumers, taxpayers, and political leaders, child care means a vital service for families and a meaningful experience for children. However, child care is also an important building block for the New York City (NYC) economy, enriching the city in many ways. The NYC child care industry supports businesses and workers, and contributes to economic activity through its own sectoral linkages. The numbers on the child care industry tell the story of the economic importance of the sector.

10,300 SMALL BUSINESSES: Child care is a significant small business sector in New York City. This sector includes not-for-profit and for-profit child care and preschool centers, Head Start, Universal Pre kindergarten (UPK) Programs and family child care providers.

$1.9 BILLION INDUSTRY : The early care and education sector generates $1.9 billion dollars annually in New York City. This includes $882.7 million dollars in parent fees, $956.3 million in government subsidies, and $85.7 million in industry supports paid by the government.

313,000 PARENTS: Child care is part of the social infrastructure that keeps New York City working. By caring for children, the child care sector enables 313,000 parents to work. These working parents are estimated to collectively earn more than

$15.4 billion dollars per year-dollars which are then spent in the NYC area on goods and services.

44,900 WORKERS:The child care sector is comparable in size to other important local industries such as hotels and lodging and newspapers and periodicals. Collectively, these employees can earn $1.03 billion per year, which in turn is spent in the NYC economy.

- Prepared by Child Care, Inc., as a companion to the New York State report “Investing in New York City. An Economical Analysis of the Early Care and Education Sector” prepared by the Cornell University Department of City and Regional planning for the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council.

February 2005: New York Public Day Care Workers Overwhelmingly Approve Contract

Two strikes, a march over the Brooklyn Bridge, and several large protests produced an end to this long-fought labor dispute. Nearly 4,000 public day care workers approved a 5 year agreement with the NYC Day Care Council and the City of New York. Agreement will give day care workers: A 14 % increase in salary by April 1, 2005 A $1,000.00 cash payment Increases to the health and welfare plan were included. New hires will receive a lower starting salary (that will change in 2 years), but the contract increases will place new hires at a wage level more than new hires from last year. Almost 7,000 members of Day Care Local 205 of District Council 1707, AFSCME, had been without a contract since December 31, 2000. District 1707 and Local 205 are currently in discussions with the New York State Senate and Assembly to receive assistance on retroactive pay where the city claimed budgetary woes.

- From District Council 1707 Press Release