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NIEER National Institute for Early Education Research

Website: http://nieer.org/

NIEER E-Newsletter Volume 11; Issue 11

Relevant Professional Development:

In the Hot Topics Section, Growing Up Bilingual talks about the study of literacy outreach for low income Latino families. Families participating in the study read to their children resulting in ELL (English Language Learners) children reading by the time they reached kindergarten. As I continue to learn best practices and improve my professional development in supporting my ELL population it is important to stay current with the results of new studies. Also learn strategies on how to establish communication with non-English speaking parents.

Link: http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_512JCR.pdf

 Adding to my understanding of economists and neuroscientists supporting the early childhood field:

The e-newsletter contains a link to an article “Early Learning Costs are Worth It”, written by Tim Kleisner Chairman of Hersey Entertainment and member of Pennsylvania Early Learning Commission. Kleisner affirms that investing in early education is critical. He describes the hiring process for young people in the summer to work in Hersey Park. People are selected based on their abilities to be courteous, pleasant and work well in a team. The fact that these are learned behaviors Kleisner believe that it is crucial to invest in early care to build problem solving skills, team work, communication skills, as well as language and math skills (Kleisner, 2012). He argues that science affirms that if children lack these positive learning experience it will affect their brain development, social development and academics (Kleisner, 2012). Investing in programs to reach economically at risk children under five will improve their skills before fourth grade. Investing in children early in life influences learning and development programs, save money and most importantly influence children’s lives.

Link: http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/05/early_learning_costs_are_worth.html

Other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field

In the section, New on Preschool Matters…Today! An article examines the four states with the highest Pre- K enrollment. The four states are New York, California, Florida, and Texas. Although these states have the highest enrollment, quality is another issue. New York ranked best out of the four, meeting seven out of the ten NIEER Quality Standards. The other states met approximately three out of ten quality standards. The average NIEER Quality Standard Benchmark is at least eight out of ten.  As a kindergarten teacher in NY this sheds some light on the vast differences in school readiness skills among children exiting preschool and entering kindergarten. These issues made me think about the access to preschool programs in NY a little deeper, children may attend preschool but do not have access to preschools that offer quality early learning and development. This results in children not being equipped with the necessary skills to flourish in kindergarten and beyond.  What’s the point of children attending preschool without receiving services to develop their skills and abilities?  

Link: http://preschoolmatters.org/2012/05/15/fdrs-advice-to-pre-ks-big-four/

Resource:                                                                                                                   

http://nieer.org/publications/online-newsletters/volume-11-issue-11