Early Education Initiative

This story has been brought to you by the letter S and the numbers 15 and 40. (Or, as the Count might say in his adorable Transylvanian accent, "fivteen and forrrty-HA, HA, HA!") The S, as anyone who has ever watched television can deduce by now, stands for Sesame Street. The 40 is almost as easy: this year marks the 40th anniversary of sunny days, friendly neighbors and the fuzzy creatures who live on that street where the air is sweet. If you haven't watched recently… more

In April, the states and school districts began receiving the first installment of more than $48 billion in federal economic stimulus funds for education and child care appropriated under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). This unprecedented federal investment in education—from early childhood through college—is a tremendous opportunity for state and local investments to improve our nation's schools. The danger is that states and school districts may squander these funds on ill-conceived projects or use them simply to maintain… more

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Early education is the subject of unprecedented bipartisan interest from both Capitol Hill and the Obama administration. Advocates herald the lifetime savings of effective pre-k interventions, which have been calculated between $7 and $10 for every dollar invested. But what does “quality” mean in terms of closing the achievement gap? And what are the implications for policy?

Washington, D.C. -- Today, the New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative released an issue brief, "A Stimulus for Second-Generation QRIS," which outlines how states can build ratings systems that assess and improve quality in the nation's preschools, child care centers, and family-based care settings. This report comes at a critical time, as the states are beginning to receive stimulus funds, which could be used to support the creation or improvement of these rating systems.

On April 1, 2009, the states began to receive education and child care funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, or "the stimulus").[1] Child care advocates in several states have urged policymakers to use some of the stimulus funds to launch or expand a statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for providers of early childhood education and care.

One early-childhood constituency to watch will be prekindergarten programs, said Sara Mead, a senior research fellow with the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. While the bulk of stimulus dollars in education will flow through individual ...

We wanted to find out how parents can encourage their kids’ use of technology without losing control. So we called up two experts in the field. First, Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children’s Technology Review, and author of a recent study on young children’s tech habits, and Lisa Guernsey, senior policy analyst at New America Foundation, and author of the 2007 book Into the Minds of Babes. Link to audio

"This study is really good news for parents," says Lisa Guernsey, the author of "Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age 5." "It’s a study about how much parents matter in some ways. It’s basically telling us that TV used at these very young ages is not having a significant effect for good or for ill if it’s a relatively low amount of TV watching.

Director, Early Education Initiative

As Director of New America's Early Education Initiative, Ms. Guernsey focuses on how to create and scale up the best learning environments for children in their early years, from toddlerhood through third grade. In her research and writing, she works to elevate dialogue about early childhood education by analyzing new… more