Justin King: All Publications, Events and Press

Today the New America Foundation Announced the Winner of its “Improving the Lives of Children" Essay Contest

Communications — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:50:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. -- Today the New America Foundation announced the winner of its inaugural "Improving the Lives of Children" essay contest during a ceremony at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School. Banneker senior Yolanda Long, 18, received a $1,000 award for college. David Gray, director of the Workforce and Family Program at New America, and Victor Reinoso, DC's deputy mayor for education, presented the award. According to Mr. Gray, "The goal of the 'Improving the Lives of Children' essay contest and the award ceremony is to draw attention to the needs of children and to the next generation of… more

Child Well-Being Index in Washington Post | For Children, a Better Beginning

Communications — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:32:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Washington Post | For Children, a Better Beginning

In a wide-ranging look at how children have fared in their first decade of life, a study to be released today offers a promising picture of American childhood: Sixth-graders feel safer at school.* Reading and math scores are up for 9-year-olds. More preschoolers are vaccinated. Fewer are poisoned by lead.

The analysis, which created a composite index of more than 25 key national indicators, reports an almost 10 percent boost in children's well-being from 1994 to 2006. This overall improvement comes in spite of two significant negative trends: increased rates of childhood obesity and low-birth-weight babies.

"There are some really encouraging signs of progress," said Ruby Takanishi, president of the nonprofit Foundation for Child Development, which funded the research. "I think it's important as a country . . . to see that there are things that parents can do, that government can do, that institutions can do, to make measurable differences for children." . . .

*The New America Foundation Workforce and Family Program convened an event for the release of the study by FCD. More information is linked here.

David Gray and Justin King in The Christian Science Monitor

Communications — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:11:00 -0400

New America in the News:

We completely agree with the July 10 article, "America becomes a more 'adult-centered' nation." Not only are couples showing less interest in children but so are policymakers. The Urban Institute recently released a report detailing that from 1960 to 2006, federal spending on children's programs declined from 20.1 to 15.4 percent of domestic spending. Federal spending on children's programs is projected to decline from 2.6 to 2.1 percent of gross domestic product in the next 10 years.

Family economic well-being and educational outcomes have essentially flat-lined. Child health is in a steep decline because of the epidemic of overweight children. The increased prevalence of single parent households continues to negatively affect children's social relationships. Children also face deep and persistent disparities in their quality of life depending on race and ethnicity. America should become more child-centered. The quality of life of American children should be a top priority for presidential candidates, policymakers, and parents.

David Gray and Justin King
New America Foundation
Washington

Please visit The Christian Science Monitor website for that edition's full Letters to the Editor section.

Why Not More Focus on Children?

Workforce and Family — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:52:00 -0400

The 2008 presidential primary season is shaping up as one unprecedented in American history. Fund-raising reports from the first two quarters of 2007 demonstrate the breakneck pace with which this latest presidential season has begun. Fund-raisers aren’t alone in setting a new pace, as state after state has moved up the date of its Presidential primary in a bid for increased influence.

What has not changed is the focus of the early primary politicking. In the past few weeks, would-be presidential candidates have been forced to answer questions on the employment status of Don Imus, whether they hunt rabbits or… more

House Overwhelmingly Approves Student Loan Interest Rate Cut

Education Policy — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:13:00 -0500

Yesterday, Democrats in the House of Representatives made good on their promise to pass a 50% cut in student loan interest rates. As we predicted, the plan passed the House easily. But the margin still was eye-popping --356 to 71.

Part of what helped the Democrats attract so many Republicans to their plan was the limited and phased-in nature of the cut. Democrats limited their interest rate cut to subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduates only. They also moved to phase-in the cut over five years. … more

Some Buzz and the Basics For Higher Ed Watch

Education Policy — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 23:19:00 -0500

The polls are closed and we didn't make the cut. Sixteen education-related blogs made Jay Matthew's Top 10 list and we weren't one of them (although, we're still new). While it's tempting to criticize Matthew's fuzzy math, we understand the difficulty of his task, and the right thing to do is to recognize the excellent work done by all the people that contribute to those blogs. Especially, we'd like to say congratulations to our friends Andy and Alexander. They may not always get along, but we've worked with both in… more

The Lender of Venice?

Education Policy — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 11:00:00 -0500

Representative George Miller and House Democrats have made their first formal announcement describing their plan to cut student loan interest rates in half. Here's the kicker: it looks like all those stories about the deficit mess impacting the Democrats' agenda are spot on. How so? The House Democrats are not going to break a campaign promise so soon after an election. They're just going to spread out their promise a little bit, like over the next five years. And they're going to limit it… more

Happy Thanksgiving from Higher Ed Watch!

Education Policy — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 14:32:00 -0500

In his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, President Bush noted that, "Our citizens are privileged to live in the world's freest country, where the hope of the American dream is within the reach of every person." That's a moving sentiment, and we look forward to the day when it becomes true via an improved education system. President Bush also pardoned two turkeys this morning ("Flyer" and "Fryer" will live to see another day), but we plan on eating ours--and that means taking a quick hiatus from Higher Ed Watch until next week. … more

Meet the New Senate Education Appropriator

Education Policy — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:11:00 -0500

It’s time for another installment of our ongoing series of profiles of new Capitol Hill Chairmen. Today, we move to United States Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). Since the Senate has changed hands more frequently than the House, Senator Harkin has some experience in the chair he’s about to occupy. We'll get to that. But first, a bit about the good Senator.

Senator Harkin is in his 4th Senate term, after first being elected to the House of Representatives… more

Meet the New House Money Man

Education Policy — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 03:28:00 -0500

Next up in our series of profiles of key players in the upcoming Congressional session is the man who as much as any other will determine Pell Grant funding, Representative David Obey (D-WI). Obey will be the new Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee when Congress begins its new session in mid-January. As Chairman, he will be in a special position to affect education funding. We'll explain that special position, but first, a bit about the Congressman.

Obey represents Wisconsin’s fightin’ 7th district and… more

Teacher Quality in Grades PK-3: Challenges and Options

Education Policy — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 01:00:00 -0400

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) The PK-3 Workforce is Subject to an Array of Entry Standards. Public school teachers in grades K-3 must meet the quality standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Pre-kindergarten (PK) teachers in Title I-funded programs also are regulated by NCLB. But Head Start teachers have their own separate entry standards. In some state PK programs, all teachers must possess a bachelor’s degree and have engaged in additional early childhood or PK-3 training. In others, only a Child Development Associate certificate is required.

2) There are Approximately 1.5 Million Teachers in the PK-3 Workforce. New America… more

Closing the Achievement Gap

Communications — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 14:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/25/2006 - 11:00am

Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia presented a half-hour speech to over a hundred guests at the New America Foundation on Tuesday, July 25, 2006. Kaine described his views on the importance of early childhood education, which studies show can reduce the number of unprepared students entering kindergarten each year and reduce the number of elementary school children who fail to advance to the next grade at the end of the school year. Kaine noted that, in Virginia, 10,000 children in grades K-3 repeat a grade each year, and the state spends four times as much on remediation for repeaters as it does on early education and preventative services. Kaine’s top goal as Governor is to phase-in universal access to pre-school. Kaine outlined a process that Virginia is pursuing which is consistent with recommendations advanced by the New America Foundation.

After his introductory remarks, Michael Dannenberg, Director of New America's Education Policy Program, moderated a panel discussion that included early education experts Dr. William Gormley of Georgetown University, Dr. Michael Lopez of the National Center for Latino Child and Family Research, and Justin King, Senior Policy Analyst at the New America Foundation. Their discussion covered issues ranging from funding sources to the value of universalizing early education. New America’s Justin King gave an overview of the recently released Issue Brief entitled, “Closing the Achievement Gap Through Expanded Access to Quality Early Education in Grades PK-3.” Dr. Gormley commented on lessons that Virginia and other states might draw from his extensive research of Oklahoma’s universal pre-kindergarten program. Dr. Lopez commented on the recommendations presented in New America’s latest Issue Brief and the challenges facing programs attempting to serve Latino children and their families.

Closing the Achievement Gap

Education Policy — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:01:00 -0400

A significant, albeit still insufficient, expansion of access to publicly supported early education programs for children ages 3 to 5 has occurred over the last decade. This trend bodes well for children at risk of academic failure, but is endangered by uneven, halting, and at times inadequate attention to program quality in grades prekindergarten through three.

Expanded access to pre-kindergarten in recent years is primarily the result of individual state legislative, state agency, state executive, and state referendum efforts. States have pursued these efforts at different times, unequal rates, and with no coordinating effort from the federal government. (Much of… more