Obama pushes preschool programs as sequestration looms

The government would fund public preschool for any 4-year-old whose family income is 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level, according to Obama’s new proposal.

President Barack Obama’s ambitious plan to expand preschool programs comes as one out of every 13 students already in Head Start classrooms is at risk of being kicked out if lawmakers don’t sidestep a budget meltdown.

Obama was set to talk about enlarging early childhood education programs such as Head Start during a stop Feb. 14 in Georgia. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, meanwhile, was set to tell senators on Capitol Hill that the pending budget cuts could be devastating to current students.

Obama’s team is warning Congress—and lawmakers’ constituents—what is expected to happen if leaders fail to avert $85 billion in automatic budget cuts set to begin March 1. With the cuts looming, the administration has increased its pressure on lawmakers, and Obama’s State of the Union address Feb. 12 made clear he was not looking for compromise as he began his second term.…Read More

Early childhood skills pave way for later success

Parents can use free resources to help their children develop skills necessary for academic success.

Advancements in digital media are helping young children use technology to develop important social and emotional skills as they enter school, and a new PBS Kids resource aims to give children the resources they need to improve those skills.

Social and emotional skills form a large part of a child’s learning foundation, and children are not going to be successful with academic content if they aren’t able to do self-regulatory things such as focus on a task, get along with others, and sit still, said Roberta Schomburg, an early childhood education expert and associate dean and director of Carlow University’s School of Education.

Preschool teachers spend much time helping children develop those self-regulating skills, and families can engage children in out-of-school activities to help them develop those skills, which also include problem-solving, self-confidence, and risk-taking.…Read More

ACT to launch college and career testing for elementary school students

ACT officials say testing students early will give them more time to adjust coursework and prepare for potential career paths.

Standardized testing is under increasing scrutiny, as proponents tout its potential for bringing accountability to education while opponents deride it as misguided and exhausting. How much testing is too much? How early is too early?

Now, assessment provider ACT Inc. has announced plans to develop a “next generation” assessment system that would test students for college and career readiness as early as kindergarten and continue through high school.

The first module in the new system, designed for third graders, will pilot next year and launch officially in 2014.…Read More

Educational apps for early learners see huge jump

Educational apps have huge potential for today's students.

As mobile learning devices crop up in classrooms from coast to coast, the market for educational apps appears to be thriving, with educational apps for pre-schoolers and toddlers experiencing a huge jump over the past two years, according to a new report.

iLearn II: An Analysis of the Education Category of Apple’s App Store,” conducted by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, analyzed the “Education” category in Apple’s App Store in an effort to understand the educational apps market and possible emerging opportunities within that app category.

The report reveals that mobile app revenue is predicted to generate $38 billion by 2015, and Apple’s App Store has paid out more than $2.5 billion to developers. There are currently more than 500,000 apps available on iTunes and more than 300,000 available on Android, although this report examines only Apple’s App Store.…Read More

Report sets forth early learning recommendations

Education organizations have joined together to support alignment of preschool through third grade education.

A comprehensive alignment of preschool through third grade (P-3) education is critical in ensuring that children develop a solid foundation in literacy, math, and social-emotional skills, according to a new report that offers recommendations for high-quality P-3 initiatives.

“The Importance of Aligning Pre-K through 3rd Grade,” released by the Pre-K Coalition, which includes the American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association (NSBA), details best practices for improving early learning.

The report comes as the Obama administration has just awarded $500 million in Race to the Top funding to nine states to help make early learning programs more accessible and better capable of narrowing the achievement gap between those who start kindergarten without any formal schooling and those who do.…Read More