The organization that I am following is the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). I visit the NAEYC site
weekly to learn news about any updates and changes in early childhood
education. One of the sections on the NAEYC site is Public Policy. Under this section, I wanted to find out more
on the information listed under the Children Champions Update.( NAEYC, n.d). When you click on
this topic that is listed on the left of the page, you will be able to see e regular
updates and action alerts on important issues being addressed by Congress and
the Administration. We have discussed many of these issues in our class.
There are many updates about early childhood education
listed on this page ranging from access to healthy foods for young children to
access for affordable childcare. One
of the newest updates is that the House of Representatives has passed the Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on 2 Dec 2015.
Every Student Succeeds Act
The bill recognizes and raises the
importance of early learning in our education system.The Every Student Succeeds
Act replaces No Child Left Behind and will help states, districts and schools
focus on what matters most which is helping students succeed. The Every Student
Succeeds Act includes some other programs that will support teachers and
students, including a $250 million
program that recognizes the importance of high-quality early childhood
education. ( Martin & Sargrad, 2015)The Senate will vote on the measure next week, and hopefully it will
be passed and sent to President Obama for his signature.
UPDATE 9 Dec 2015 : "The Senate on Wednesday approved a sweeping revision of the contentious No Child Left Behind law, sending to President Obama’s desk a proposal that ends an era of federal control in education policy after 14 years."
This is a quick link to the site where the updates are listed.
http://www.naeyc.org/policy/federal/updates
Anita
References
Children's Champions Updates | National Association for the
Education of Young Children | NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from
http://www.naeyc.org/policy/federal/updates
Martin, C., &
Sargrad, S. (2015, December 3). Leaving Behind No Child Left Behind. Retrieved
December 5, 2015, from
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/2015/12/03/every-student-succeeds-act-is-better-than-no-child-left-behind
Anita
ReplyDeleteThank you for this information. With No Child Left Behind era completed, it appears that forcing EVERY CHILD to BE AT LEVEL, no matter their individual needs and contributing factors, has failed. It is exciting to find that the focus is being directed to each child being successful, which may not look the SAME for ALL children. I will be keeping an eye and ear out as it relates to the senate votes on such an important educational topic.
ReplyDeleteDear Anita,
Thanks for sharing your web resource, what I like about no child left behind is the fact that at the core of the No Child Left Behind Act were a number of measures designed to drive broad gains in student achievement and to hold states and schools more accountable for student progress. They represented significant changes to the education landscape (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). I wish Africa would pass that act one day.
Early childhood education, particularly for disadvantaged children and their families, levels the playing field to provide equal opportunities for success. Every dollar invested in early childhood education returns ten cents on the dollar annually for the life of a child, a 10 percent per year return on investments. Furthermore, solid economic returns are possible providing investments come early and are comprehensive, cohesive, and sustained over time, because they shape the future and build equity (Aaron, 2011).
Reference
Aaron P., (2011) Early Childhood Education, Equity and Funding:League of Women Voters. Retrieved from http://lwv.org/content/early-childhood-education-equity-and-funding
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2011). Issues A-Z: No Child Left Behind. Education Week. Retrieved Month Day, Year from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/no-child-left-behind/
Stephanie.