The Conversation explains how commensality, the act of sharing of food with others, is not just beneficial for children but for adults too.
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"For so long, Dr. Folbre and others sounding the alarm about child care in the United States were shunted to the side of policy conversations. It was left to parents (typically mothers) to figure out who would look after their children so they could get to work. If the United States treated other elements of infrastructure that are critical to the economy the way it does child care, you could imagine the chaos: Car owners would be left building bridges out of duct tape and scrap iron to get to the office, begging close relatives to come by each morning to hold a traffic light up at the corner. That’s changing. The Biden administration and its allies are pushing the notion that caring for children — and the sick and the elderly — is just as crucial to a functioning economy as any road, electric grid or building. It’s human infrastructure, they argue, echoing a line of thought long articulated by feminist economists (and often ignored)." |
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There’s been much discussion about Pres. Biden’s proposals for our nation’s youngest, but did you know there are also some bold ideas for making higher education more affordable? New America breaks it down.
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Ohio State News covers a recent Crane Center study by Drs. Rebecca Dore, Kelly Purtell and Laura Justice which found that screen time during the pandemic was as high as 6 hours per day for some kindergarteners. Dr. Dore, lead author of the study, said, "Some of that time spent using media was positive: watching educational videos and connecting with friends and family. But the amount of time they spent is something we should be aware of.”
An Early Learning Nation blog post recaps a Crane Center/OSU study (authored by Drs. Rebecca Dore, Jessica Logan, Tzu-Jung Lin, Kelly Purtell and Laura Justice) which found that with proper adult support and engagement, children’s media use can have positive effects on language and literacy skills.
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State-funded pre-K systems were already experiencing declining enrollment pre-pandemic, which continue to worsen as parents decide to skip pre-K, according to NIEER’s State of Preschool 2020. The 74 Million has more on the report and why state and district leaders are setting aside federal relief dollars to increase pre-K access this fall.
Colorado is planning to use its second round of federal stimulus dollars to not only assist the child care industry in its recovery, but also to help the state launch universal pre-K for 4-year-olds in 2023. Chalkbeat Colorado explains how the $12 million dollars allocated for workforce expansion over the next two years intends to, in part, support the 2023 universal pre-K initiative for 4-year-olds. The funds are intended to get almost 3,000 new certified early childhood teachers into the field by offering educational incentives.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two early education-related bills into law last week. One bill would create the Division of Early Learning within the state’s Department of Education to improve accountability amongst the state’s voluntary pre-K providers. The second bill would require stricter teacher training standards in reading and establish a statewide monitoring system on student progress, motivated by recent declines in student literacy.
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Join the Learning Policy Institute, New America, and the Education Policy Initiative on June 3rd from 1-2 pm for a webinar focusing on long-term federal policy solutions to build a comprehensive, equitable, and integrated early learning system. Register here.
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This Cincinnati Enquirer opinion piece names child care as one of the most significant issues to be addressed in Ohio’s next budget. As the pandemic has thrust the importance of child care into the spotlight, the author urges Ohio lawmakers to make high-quality, affordable child care a reality for more families.
Another op-ed published in the Columbus Dispatch and penned by a pediatrician implores Ohioans to contact their elected officials about ending childhood hunger, a problem exacerbated by the pandemic.
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) explains how school-age child care has been overlooked throughout the pandemic and even before. School-age child care is a critical workforce to support for millions of parents, 1.2 million of whom left the workforce between February 2019 and the fall of 2020. While child care providers did adapt to the pandemic by allowing remote and hybrid K-12 learning accommodations, the authors make it clear this isn’t just a pandemic issue. They call for strengthening child care infrastructure through public investment so that parents (especially mothers) can remain or return to the workforce.
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According to analyses conducted by an assessment provider and recapped by Education Week, “student learning loss” is a misnomer, of sorts. Students have made learning progress throughout the pandemic, though perhaps at lower than predicted levels. According to a sample of 3.8 million students in grades 1-8, their average math and reading percentiles ranks were 6 and 2 percent lower than predicted levels, respectively. The Education Week article highlights important considerations – such as the variability these averages can conceal; the disproportionate toll taken on students who are Black, Hispanic, and Native American, or who have disabilities, or are learning English; and the greater impact being observed in math compared to reading.
On a related note, research on students (globally) measured the impact of having access to items like desks, quiet places to study and computers or tablets on student achievement. While the results aren’t surprising, it’s a good reminder “that home resources such as desks and a quiet place to study should be a part of any conversation about what children need at home to succeed academically.” And here’s another great take on the broad conditions necessary for student success, as it relates to basic air and building quality and safety. Chalkbeat highlights how Pres. Biden’s infrastructure plan may be a good opportunity for necessary upgrades.
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This edition written by: Jamie Davies O'Leary, Associate Director of Policy and Caitlin Lennon, Communications & Policy Specialist |
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