About the Early Education Initiative
Though it is now widely accepted that a child’s learning experiences through the third grade lay the groundwork for future academic success, the United States lacks an integrated and comprehensive approach for meeting the educational needs of children during those crucial years. Without a firm foundation developed from pre-kindergarten through grade 3, we undermine our ability to give young Americans the skills they will need to thrive in the competitive, high-tech economy of the 21st century.
The New America Foundation’s Early Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Foundation for Child Development, promotes an integrated set of education reforms focused on PK-3.
Innovative Policies
Much of the nation’s education policy debate has centered on testing, primarily of students in the third through eighth grades and, more recently, on high school reform. Yet considerable research demonstrates that to improve student performance, investments and reforms should begin in the period of pre-kindergarten to third grade (PK-3). Thus far, the effort to do so has been piecemeal at best. For example, only nine states require school districts to offer parents the option of sending their children to full-day kindergarten, which provides young children with extended learning time. States vary considerably in the quality of their standards for pre-school education, and, perhaps most importantly, K-12 systems often do not connect with pre-kindergarten programs to create a comprehensive and coordinated start to children’s learning.
New America’s Early Education Initiative promotes a comprehensive, coordinated education system beginning at age three. Our policy recommendations include: universal access to preschool, full-day kindergarten programs, and innovative strategies to align state and national early learning standards, support and expand a highly qualified PK- 3 workforce, and extend learning time options for young children.
Expanding access to early education and maximizing its impact should be national priorities. New America’s vision is that children from the age of three will have access to full-day programs, taught by qualified teachers with a specialty in early education. After pre-kindergarten, children will transition smoothly into a full-day kindergarten program also staffed by highly qualified teachers with early education training. Early learning experiences will be linked seamlessly to the first years in school. Through third grade, students will have a set of coordinated educational experiences that enable them to advance to the next level of skill and understanding.
Reframing the Debate
Passage of the No Child Left Behind Act has increased support among a variety of constituencies for federal policy solutions to address national education challenges. Unfortunately, in Washington, discussions of preschool and other early childhood experiences are often separate from the education debate. A myriad of funding streams and policy goals means that for children age three to eight, there is no consistent system of education. In an effort to bring these conversations together, the Early Education Initiative works to tear down policy silos and end the marginalization of children’s early experiences. By articulating a vision of a comprehensive, coordinated education system beginning at age three and proposing concrete legislative policy changes, we help advance the policy discussion. We frame PK-3 reform efforts in the larger global context, highlighting the fact that PK-3 builds a foundation of learning that will provide our children with the skills they need to succeed in a 21st century economy.
Outreach and Engagement
Our goal is to ignite a dialogue among policymakers, stakeholders, and the media and to build a strong constituency for a PK-3 policy agenda. Our Early Education Initiative engages national constituency groups, members of Congress and their staff, educators, and parents—among others—in an effort to craft new policy solutions that create a seamless system of high-quality early education experiences. The Initiative hosts high-profile public events and conferences and publishes cutting-edge policy briefs that highlight the importance of early education reform. New America’s PK-3 initiative cultivates key constituencies and new allies to expand the early education agenda. By elevating the early education conversation and developing a broad political constituency on PK-3 issues, New America is working toward supporting a coordinated early education system that helps close the achievement gap and ensure that all of our nation’s children are prepared for a global economy.
