As I’ve recently written

The usual case for early education is already well established in American public discourse. Research shows that low-income children fall behind their wealthier peers’ language development almost from birth. By age three, the children from the poorest American families have heard an average of 30 million fewer words than children from the wealthiest families. These gaps only grow in the years before elementary school.

Fortunately, early education programs can help. The dollars we spend on pre-K and quality care for infants and toddlers can save us lots of money and energy down the line. If we get kids on track by kindergarten, we spend less on later gap-closing efforts — and those kids are more likely to grow up healthy, wealthy, and wise. Research suggests that they’ll generate more tax revenue through their increased incomes, cost less in public assistance dollars, and generally be better citizens. (The Upjohn Institute’s Tim Bartik is among the best resources for the research behind these programs’ returns on public investment.)

Done right, early education programs work just about as intuitively as they sound. But building a broader system that can deliver on those promises is no simple thing: pre-K’s not like some sort of cream you apply to achievement gaps and, whoosh, they’re gone in two days!

Here’s why: those early word gaps can’t just be closed by rattling off a number of words. Quality matters. Rich, robust language use builds vocabulary and literacy. But pre-K programs’ capacity to deliver that sort of language varies considerably. This should be relatively intuitive: these programs work by exposing children with low linguistic development to the speech of highly-literate adults. So a program’s effectiveness fluctuates along with the literacy levels of its teachers.

“We know the child’s word-gap risk increases his/her lifelong academic, social and income disparities,” e-mailed Elizabeth A. Gilbert, director of the University of Massachusetts’ Learn at Work Early Childhood Educator Program. “The low-literacy early childhood educator’s word gap is one of the results of such disparity.”

No surprise, then, that staffing is the biggest challenge preventing new early education proposals from becoming high-quality early education programs. Whenever a political candidate announces a new pre-K program, your first question should be: who will teach in these classrooms?

It’s not enough to be great with kids, or have loads of charisma. Early educators need to build emotional connections with children, yes, and that can help students develop social skills and perseverance. But they also need to help students develop linguistically. This requires proficient literacy and the careful usage of scaffolded vocabulary. It requires strong conversation and meaningful interactions that are about more than just signs and gestures.

“States require that our public school teachers test and pass literacy tests prior to hire and teacher-certification,” wrote Gilbert. “States never require adult literacy screening of early educators as part of: 1) hiring protocols, 2) teacher-licensure requirements, 3) Quality Rating Information Systems standards, or 4) early education professional development.”

People in the early education world are aware of the problem. In response, many suggest that early education programs should require educators to have more formal training. But these are usually low-rigor credentials, such as: a Child Development Associates (CDA), an Associate of Arts (A.A.), or even a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). Those additional letters carry no magic. They’re irrelevant, unless they actually impart higher literacy and language to the teachers who get them. Credentials are only proxies for the level of skill development they require. If they don’t translate into improvements in instruction that actually improve student achievement, they’re the policy equivalent of soda: just empty calories.

And yet, lots of policy thinking has been going that way for some time. The 2007 reforms to Head Start required that at least half of its teachers obtain a B.A. by 2013. In response, the number of Head Start teachers with that credential has been steadily rising. A 2015 National Academy of Sciences committee report on the early education workforce recommended moving all early educators towards a B.A. requirement, even though it acknowledged that “empirical evidence about the effects of a bachelor’s degree is inconclusive”

Think, for a moment, what this sort of policy is supposed to achieve. It’s aimed at improving student achievement by raising instructional quality by means of increasing the literacy levels and technical competence of the Head Start workforce. But again, the value of “having a B.A.” isn’t constant for pre-K classrooms. Given that the average hourly wage of Head Start instructors with an A.A. was $12.20 in 2012 (those with just a high school diploma made an average of just $10.40 per hour), it’s likely that many of these B.A.s come from the weaker end of the higher education landscape (see also).

Indeed, the National Academy of Sciences report cites research suggesting that “more than half of the faculty in early childhood programs across 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education were employed part time…In addition, faculty with prior experience working directly with children in early childhood settings are found less often in 4-year than in 2-year institutions.”

Programs like this are unlikely to provide comprehensive support and training to move early educators very far along in their skills and knowledge. Money isn’t everything in higher education, of course, but it tells part of the story, and we should be wary of seeing low-cost B.A. degrees as an important piece in improving the early education workforce’s abilities.

There are other big obstacles sure to be glossed over in the presidential early education rhetoric: how will new early education programs be funded? Will they be linked to — or operated in — schools? High-quality early education can start closing gaps, but weak elementary school instruction can undo that work — how will candidates ensure that the public school system builds on the gains? How will programs serve the growing number of dual language learners in U.S. schools?

But the workforce question is definitely the biggest, and candidates (as would-be policymakers) have options for addressing it. Here, in rough order of efficiency, are several: 1) raising early educators’ salaries to attract candidates with stronger literacy skills to the profession, 2) raising the standards for entry into early educator preparation programs (be they B.A., A.A., or other), and/or 3) improving the quality of early educator preparation programs. Really effective proposals will need to do all three.

Big American elections are always, at base, about the future. They’re an opportunity for candidates and voters to engage in (sometimes) civil debates over what sort of a country we’d like to become. New early education proposals fit nicely into that basic framework — they promise that investing early in children will help us avoid later uncomfortable problems with controversial solutions. Who could oppose giving better opportunities to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers?

Not me. Not most Americans. But if candidates want to convert early education’s promise into something more than political positioning, their pre-K proposals need to start with a plan for professionalizing the early education workforce.

This article was published in partnership with The74Million.org. 

Conor P. Williams is a senior researcher in New America’s Education Policy Program and founder of its Dual Language Learners National Work Group. Williams is a former first-grade teacher who holds a Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University, a Master of Science for Teachers from Pace University, and a B.A. in government and Spanish from Bowdoin College. He has two young children and an extremely patient wife.

The bill is sponsored by Early Edge California, an educational advocacy group that is working to ensure that children have early experiences to be successful learners by the end of third grade. The agencies are hoping that the broad coalition will be an impetus to win the governor’s support.

“AB 47 will keep the promise to preschoolers,” said Deborah Kong, president of Early Edge California. “Far too many of our vulnerable children are starting behind and staying behind simply because they don’t have access to a preschool program. AB 47 helps us right this wrong.”

Support also comes from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who issued a statement saying, “Preschool programs are a wise investment for our society. Research shows that these programs help lower the achievement gap and the high school drop-out rate, while also reducing crime and teenage pregnancies.”

The President’s Council of Economic Advisers showed in a study that every dollar invested in high-quality early education can save more than $8 in the form of students being held back, dropping out or getting involved in crime.

Known as the Preschool for All Act of 2015, AB 47 was proposed by Assembly Member Kevin McCarty and would ensure that all eligible 4-year-old children who aren’t currently enrolled preschool or transitional kindergarten will have access to the California State Preschool Program by June 30, 2018. Funding is contingent upon appropriations in the annual budget. The Assembly voted 69 to 4 and the Senate approved it 28 to 11, with Republicans joining in support.

McCarty, a Democrat who represents parts of Sacramento, said, “Thanks to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Legislature, and to this broad coalition of supporters who helped me push this bill to the Governor’s desk. I am proud to author a bill that invests in quality early childhood education and puts California’s future first.”

LA Unified is listed as a supporter along with the Los Angeles Urban League, Los Angeles Universal Preschool, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Jewish Community Relations Council and United Way of California. School districts including Alamada, Butte, Santa Barbara, Compton, Santa Clara and Sacramento are also in support.

Click here for a full list of supporters.

In response to the growing body of evidence of the importance of preschool, a coalition of academics, lawmakers, community leaders and business leaders has created the Right Start Commission, whose goal is to help California find a blueprint for providing universal early education to the state’s youth.

The commission, formed by the non-profit Common Sense Kids Action, includes Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, Apple Vice President of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson, retired Congressman George Miller and Common Sense Media founder and CEO Jim Steyer.

“Every child deserves a fair start in life, and the only way we can ensure that happens is to provide all kids with the care, support and quality learning experiences they need to be successful from day one,” Steyer said in a press release. “We know that improving early childhood education is one of the best investments we can make. Yet, across the nation millions of American kids are denied this critical opportunity year after year. With the Right Start Commission, Common Sense Kids Action will kick off an effort to reimagine early childhood services in California and create a model for the nation to ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed.”

A recent report by the National Institute for Early Education Research found that California lags behind most other states in the quality of its early education programs and serves only 18 percent of the state’s four-year-old children.

The commission said it will offer recommendations that will help make California a leader in early education.

“I think California is the right state to start that,” Miller told The Associated Press. “This commission will help provide a roadmap.”

The forming of the coalition comes amid an increased focus on early education at LA Unified and in California. Just as the California legislature is debating a bill that would guarantee preschool to every low-income child, LA Unified is considering cutting its School Readiness Language Development Program, which provides preschool to 10,000 low-income students.

But before the school year is out — or technically, just after, as the last day of class for LA Unifed is June 4 — the union is staging one more big event, calling on members to “pack the board” at the June 9 school board meeting.

UTLA is asking members to demand the board rescind it plan to layoff 609 school employees while cutting some programs. The plan was enacted earlier this year in the face of a possible budget deficit, but before Gov. Brown’s revised May budget has pegged an estimated extra $600 million-plus for the district.

UTLA wants as many members as possible to file in to the meeting, asking them to arrive at 7 a.m. to line up outside district headquarters for the 1 p.m. meeting.

Early ed in the spotlight

Speaking of the possible cuts to LA Unified programs, one on the chopping block is the School Readiness Language Development Program. The issue has brought early ed into the spotlight lately around the district as the same time there is new focus on it around the state. Some lawmakers and state leaders are calling the legislature to fund early ed at a much higher level, while Children Now president Ted Lempert recently called Brown’s budget for early education “stunningly minimal.”

Robin McCulloch, who runs the preschool program for San Diego Unified, said the state needs to readjust the income level required to qualify, telling KPBS that many needy families are disqualified from free preschool.

Check out the interview below.

LAUSD names Teachers of the Year

LA Unified has announced that 22 educators will be honored as 2015-16 Teachers of the Year at a luncheon in September.

“I congratulate our 2015-16 Teachers of the Year,” LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines said in a statement. “They are the dedicated and compassionate instructors in the classroom who help our students achieve educational excellence. They awaken, brighten and influence the lives of young people and help shape the minds of the future.”

These are the 18 women and 4 men the district is honoring:

• Esther Calderón, a dual language kindergarten teacher at Carlos Santana Arts Academy, has been teaching for 18 years.
• Jennifer Childers, a science and leadership teacher at Sepulveda Middle School & Gifted Magnet has been teaching for 18 years.
• Melanie Du Bose, an English and filmmaking teacher at East Los Angeles Performing Arts Magnet, has been teaching for 15 years.
• Martha Garibay, a first-grade teacher at Fifty-Second Street Elementary School, has been teaching for 14 years.
• Daniel Jocz, a social studies teacher at Downtown Magnet High School, has been teaching for 11 years.
• Lisa Kochakji, a first-grade teacher at Stagg Street Elementary School, has been teaching for 17 years.
• Roxana M. L’Heureux, a third-grade teacher at Carlos Santana Arts Academy, has been teaching for eight years.
• Alberto Lopez, a sixth-grade teacher at Orchard Academies #2C Global Studies & Technology Academy, has been teaching for 17 years.
• Altair Maine, an Advanced Placement physics and Advanced Placement science teacher, at North Hollywood High School, has been teaching for 15 years.
• Tania Martinez, a dual language kindergarten teacher at Carlos Santana Arts Academy, has been teaching for 15 years.
• Maria Medina-Perez, an algebra teacher at South Gate High School, has been teaching for 14 years.
• May-Lynn Geronimo Montano, a fourth-grade teacher at Miramonte Elementary, has been teaching for 17 years.
• Darryl Newhouse teaches Advanced Placement calculus, pre-calculus, Algebra II, robotics and Intro to Engineering Design, at Foshay Learning Center. He has been teaching for 23 years.
• Claudine Phillips, a second-grade teacher at Roscomare Road Elementary School, has been teaching for 18 years.
• Ada Marisol Reyes, a fifth-grade teacher at Carlos Santana Arts Academy, has been teaching for 11 years.
• Maria D. Sanchez, a second/third grade teacher at Western Avenue Elementary School, has been teaching for 12 years.
• Heather Ashley Sandoval-Feng, a social science teacher at Harris Newmark Continuation High School, has been teaching for nine years.
• Chandra D. Sheppard, an English Language Arts and math teacher at Budlong Avenue School, has been teaching for 14 years.
• Carol Sun, an English Language Arts, English Language development and math resource teacher at Harvard Elementary School. She has been teaching for nine years.
• Chanelle Thomas, a fourth-grade teacher at Denker Avenue Elementary School, has been teaching for 20 years.
• Michelle Elaine Youngblood Jarman teaches English Language and literature, study techniques and works with the yearbook, at Eagle Rock Junior/Senior High School. She has been teaching for 19 years.
• Christine Zhou teaches secondary mathematics at Social Justice Leadership Academy. She has been teaching for eight years.

The annual report, The State of Preschool 2014, was prepared by the National Institute for Early Education Research and focuses on 10 quality preschool standards in state-funded programs in 40 states and the District of Columbia (10 states do no fund pre-K programs).

California met four of the 10 standards, making it one of only five states to have met less than 50 percent of the standards. Among the problems cited was not having class sizes limited to 20 or under, not screening children for vision and hearing problems and not requiring teachers to have a bachelor’s degree. Five states met all 10 standards, and 17 met eight or more.

Overall, the report found a wide disparity among states and among districts within states in the level of quality preschool programs.

“It matters even more what zip code you live in,” said Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.

The report did find some overall good news, with funding for preschool and enrollment on the rise in the country.

“State funding for pre-K increased by nearly $120 million in 2013-2014, adjusted for inflation. This is the second year in a row that state pre-K has seen a real funding increase, though programs have yet to fully recover from the impacts of half a billion dollars in cuts in 2011-2012,” the report stated. “Enrollment growth also resumed in 2013-2014, albeit modestly.”

The report comes as early education is being hotly debated around the state and at LA Unified. Just as the California legislature is debating a bill that would guarantee preschool to every low-income child, LAUSD is considering cutting its School Readiness Language Development Program, which provides preschool to 10,000 low-income students.

The Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2014, introduced by Darrel Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and co-sponsored by Torlakson and Early Edge California, will expand access to transitional kindergarten programs to all four year old children, no matter when their birthday. Currently, children with birthdays early in the year are excluded.

“It’s impossible to overstate how important these early years are to a child’s future success in school,” Torlakson said in a press release. “Transitional kindergarten—particularly a full-year, full-day program—can make all the difference, especially for families who may be struggling to give their young children these valuable learning opportunities.”

According to the proposal, 46,000 four-year-olds would be added each year for the first five years of the program, which will cost a total of $990 million by 2019-20.

The move to expand early education comes as Governor Jerry Brown announced new spending increases on public education, the result of the state’s first real surplus in years. Details of Brown’s budget for the next fiscal year emerged yesterday.

Previous Posts: High-Quality Pre-K Top Priority for Americans, New Poll Shows; California Awaits Obama’s Pre-K Funding Specifics