EC / K-12 NEWS

• Early Childhood Organizing Project in Pre-K Advocacy Day
• Organizing victory for N. CA early childhood educators
• "No Child Left Behind" reauthorization info
• CFT participates in Ed Source "Convening" October 19
• "No public education by corporation," by George Martinez
• New research supports investing in effective pre-K
• "No Time to Quit," by Miles Myers
• CFT Position Paper on Charter Schools (pdf)
• What CFT members can do about the state budget crisis

CFT members from around the state with Preschool California President Catherine Atkin on April 22 during Pre-K Advocacy Day in Sacramento.

CFT Turns Out in Force at Preschool Advocacy Day in Sacramento

Today, all around California there are long waiting lists for early childhood education programs and only half of eligible, low-income, preschool-age children receive a publicly subsidized Pre-K start.

There is wide recognition that California needs to expand access to high quality early childhood education programs. With last year’s increase of $55 million to continue establishment of the Pre-Kindergarten and Family Literacy preschool program -- including full-day wrap-around child care services – we seemed to be on the right track. There were high hopes that further new investments would be made.

But what a difference a few months can make. Now with the state budget in difficult shape -- facing multi-billion deficits -- the Governor has proposed to go in the opposite direction and cut nearly $200 million in preschool and child care funding. If implemented this would mean a loss of thousands and thousands of spaces for the children of low-income working families.

So, on April 22, 2008, CFT President Marty Hittelman, EC/K-12 Council President Sue Westbrook, and over a dozen CFT members joined with 300 advocates in Sacramento to make the case to our elected representatives that each child has a right to high quality early care and education and to explain how effective Pre-K is an essential investment in our state's future -- one of the soundest educational and financial investments the public can make.

Members from Locals 61, 3267, 4529 and 6361, and staff from our Early Childhood Education Organizing Project, spent hours visiting with state legislators. Our message was simple and clear: don’t balance the budget on the backs of our children and the workers who care for them, and make ensuring access to quality preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds a top priority.

After attending the day’s activities and reflecting on her meeting with Assemblymember Mark Leno, Joy Wi of Local 6361 at South of Market Childcare summed up her experience saying: “Pre-K Advocacy Day was a wonderful experience.”

Even with the state’s challenging budget outlook, educating our young children is an investment in our state’s future that should not be minimized. The facts supporting this are on our side. From a growing body of research -- including RAND’s California Preschool Study -- we now know that high quality early education for preschool-aged children can help lay a foundation for children’s development into productive, contributing members of society.

Also, amid concerns and mounting evidence that California’s achievement gaps often start when kids first enter kindergarten classrooms, this is our chance to give today’s preschool age children a boost and ensure they start kindergarten with an equal opportunity to learn. We encourage our decision-makers in Sacramento to take care in how they balance our state’s budget and not forsake key investments or eat our seed corn in the process.

The bottom line: effective early care and education programs helps working families today and pays long-term dividends by helping California meet its future economic and workforce development needs.

Preschool California president Catherine Atkin summed up the day for many of us when she said: "We hope our legislators heard our message loud and clear: Preschool builds the foundation for success in school, and is an important first step in education reform.”

CFT ECE member Rosa Maria Garcia visits with Dr. David Long, California Secretary of Education (right). On left, CFT ECE member Elaine Francisco particpates in a Parent/Teacher panel and talks about collaborating with parents to advocate for effective ECE.