Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Here is an interesting article from the Olympian, a newspaper in Olympia, Washington. This article talks about an interesting concept being started in Washington.
LINK
Focus on early learning is warranted
Researchers say that about 90 percent of human brain development occurs in the early years of life. In simple terminology, children are born to learn.
Despite the critical importance of early learning, state government has had a fragmented approach with children between birth and age 5.
The Department of Social and Health Services licenses child care homes and centers and administers the Head Start Program. The Department of Community Trade and Economic Development oversees the state’s early childhood education and assistance program. The state school superintendent governs child care and early learning programs, including special education for 3- and 4-year olds. She also oversees programs promoting family literacy and nutrition assistance for child care.
Is it any wonder that parents looking for early learning opportunities for their children run in circles?
Gov. Chris Gregoire saw the lunacy of the fragmentation. She introduced, and shepherded through the 2006 Legislature, House Bill 2964, which creates a new state agency — the Department of Early Learning. Gregoire signed the bill into law last week.
“We must prepare Washington children to succeed in a global economy, and with this new department, we are making it clear that education in Washington begins long before kindergarten,” Gregoire said. “Early learning is the new frontier in education, and Washington can lead the nation in quality child care and early learning programs.”
Gregoire said a consolidated agency will reduce bureaucracy, utilize funds more efficiently and serve as an effective resource for parents and teachers.
The real winner, hopefully, will be children who will be better prepared for academic learning when they enroll in kindergarten.
The consolidation into a single Cabinet-level agency with a director accountable directly to the governor is one of the key recommendations of the Early Learning Council established by the Legislature in 2005. The council’s charge was to focus on early learning programs and services for children from birth to 5 years of age and make recommendations to improve state services. The initial report last December called for the creation of the new state agency.
According to the financial analysis of HB 2964, the Department of Early Learning will have a budget of about $102 million and employ 185 individuals. That’s an increase of about $1.5 million for 2006-07 over existing early learning expenditures.
Lawmakers did not just hand over a blank check. The new agency must set measurement criteria, file a report with lawmakers every two years and undergo a performance audit by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee by 2010.
Those who testified before the legislative committees said Washington has fallen behind the rest of the country in the quality of its early care and learning programs. Gregoire said the philanthropic and business communities are ready to work in partnership with the state to better focus resources on helping all children and parents succeed. Proponents see the creation of the Department of Early Learning as a first step toward that end.
It’s a good proposal, not only because it consolidates services but because it brings greater accountability to early learning programs in this state. If preschoolers continue to fall behind and show up ill prepared for kindergarten, the agency director and governor can be held responsible.
Hmmm, interesting. This is an intriguing concept. Could something like this work in Minnesota? An agency like this could coordinate services now overseen by the Department of Health & Human Services, the Department of Education, and several other organizations. It could remove some duplication and bureaucracy as well as provide a State Department solely dedicated to early childhood education and services and being a central resource making information easier to find... What do you think? Do you see any advantages or disadvantages of an approach like this?
