Regents Policy Statement on
Early
Education for Student Achievement
in a Global
Community
There is broad-based support for expanding and
improving early childhood education opportunities for all children. Students who have quality prekindergarten
and kindergarten educational experiences benefit in terms of reading
achievement in later grades. We also
know that students who fall behind in the early grades have great difficulty catching
up to their peers.
All of this makes it urgent for the
Regents and the educational system to take steps needed to ensure that all
students get a good start in school and are proficient in reading by grade
2. Research and data support this urgency
for restructuring early education. Brain
research shows the rapid rate of brain development from birth through age
10. Children’s reading skills in first
grade are reliable predictors of how they read by the end of grade 3. High percentages of young children are in
full-day care prior to kindergarten.
Research points to the economic benefits of investing in the early years
as opposed to the increased educational and societal costs associated with
students who fall behind.
High quality early childhood education
must ensure that children are prepared for their future. It is therefore the policy of the Board of
Regents that:
Early childhood education, for all children
from birth through grade four, is an integrated system that ensures each child
receives a healthy start and attains the knowledge and social/emotional skills
needed for successful learning.
Components of the system are programs that start early and are high
quality and developmentally appropriate; standards-based; staffed by highly qualified
teachers and administrators; and embracing of the multicultural and diverse
communities that they serve. It is a
system that promotes coordination of comprehensive services and successful
partnerships among families, community-based organizations and schools.
Eleven Components for Implementing
the Early Childhood Education Policy
The Regents policy
for strengthening early childhood education can be accomplished through
implementation of the following eleven components:
Component 1 – Services for
children birth through age 2
High quality prenatal care, health
services, and educational programs must be available to children prior to their
entering school to ensure that their needs are met. Effective school districts understand that healthier children
with high quality experiences are better prepared for school. School districts work within their
communities to ensure that families have access to needed services. However, expanded outreach and coordination
is needed statewide to ensure earlier intervention with children from families
at or below poverty level. The type of
outreach and services provided must also include effective communication to
families with children who are bilingual, have limited English proficiency or
have disabilities.
Action Needed:
w No
legislative or regulatory action needed at this time.
w Programmatic
action(s) to be included in the Implementation Plan.
Component 2 - Statewide
Prekindergarten
A statewide prekindergarten program
for three- and four-year-olds must be available in all school districts. New York State has effective prekindergarten
programs; however, programs are not available in all school districts. Implementation of the universal
prekindergarten program has demonstrated the importance of school district and
community-based collaborations. The
collaborations have been successful in improving coordinated services and
raising the quality of instruction across settings. Instructional programs must be designed to accommodate the
developmental needs of each child and ensure attainment of pre-academic and
social/emotional skills. Particular
attention must be paid to meeting the diverse needs of children with limited
English proficiency, from diverse cultures and with special learning needs. Increased attention to program quality,
explicit instruction and stable funding sources must occur to expand upon
initial implementation successes.
Action Needed:
w Legislative
outreach.
w Advocacy
for funding needed to expand prekindergarten programs in the 2006-070 7 school year.
w Amend
Section 3602-e of Education Law to include eligibility for three-year-olds by 2008.
Component 3 - Compulsory School
Age From Six to Five
Most young children attend some type
of care or educational program before they reach age five. Research shows unequivocally that earlier
access to high quality programs enhances successful academic preparedness and
takes advantage of rapid brain development in the early years. Currently, attendance in schools is not
required until age six. In a
standards-based environment, it is important that students receive purposeful
and explicit instruction, beginning in the early years. Attendance is equally important. Lowering the compulsory age to five would
both require districts to provide instruction and parents to ensure that children
regularly attend. Parents seeking
exemption from this requirement would be able to apply through a process
established by the Commissioner.
Action Needed:
w Legislative outreach.
w Amend Section 3202 of Education Law.
w Programmatic action(s) to be included in the Implementation
Plan.
Component 4 – Full-Day
Kindergarten
Research findings indicate that
children in full-day kindergarten programs make greater gains in reading and
math achievement scores than their peers who attend half-day programs or who
are not enrolled in kindergarten.
Full-day kindergarten provides more one-to-one instruction, less large
group learning and greater time on learning activities than half-day programs. Kindergarten remains a non-mandated program
in New York State, although the majority of public school districts provide
full-day programs. In conjunction with
lowering the compulsory school age to five, New York State needs to ensure that
children are enrolled in full-day kindergarten programs, in all school districts,
to strengthen educational beginnings.
Funding should include costs for start-up and increases to cover
instructional, operational and capital expenses.
w Amend
Section 3602 of Education Law to require districts to provide full-day
kindergarten programs.
w Advocacy
to propose increased funding for expanding half-day programs, hiring additional teachers, and building
additional classrooms.
Component 5 -
Strengthened Prekindergarten – Grade 4 Programs
The increased number of prekindergarten and full-day
kindergarten programs has impacted the current early childhood education
system. The starting point for learning
has shifted and instructional changes must also occur. The alignment among State standards, curriculum,
instruction and assessment must be consistent.
Scientifically-based research must be used to develop instructional
programs and classroom practice.
Including instruction in areas such as second language, technology and
cultural understanding must be examined to ensure that early education
adequately prepares students to become global participants.
Strengthened programs must include assessment protocols
that inform instruction and improve alignment between standards and
curriculum. Screening tools must be
revised to include components that accurately screen for health needs,
literacy, language, numeracy and competence in age-appropriate developmental
domains. A system for ongoing progress
monitoring and use of outcome assessments must be in place to inform and enable
teachers to differentiate classroom instruction.
The Department’s individual student tracking system
must also be expanded to include children ages three and four. Currently, statewide data on four-years-olds
is minimal and when available is provided by individual LEAs or programs. Specific data regarding placements in
community-based programs is needed as well.
Action Needed:
w No legislative or regulatory action needed at this time.
w Programmatic consideration(s) to be included in the
Implementation Plan.
Component 6 -
Integrated Programs and Services
Research provides strong evidence that
children with disabilities receive significant social, emotional, physical, and
cognitive benefits when they are integrated in instructional settings with
their non-disabled peers. Preliminary
results of VESID’s Preschool Longitudinal Study strongly suggest that the
academic and social achievement of young children with disabilities in
elementary school is more consistent with expectations for their non-disabled
peers when their special education programs and related services are provided
in less restrictive, integrated settings.
School districts must assure that the individualized education programs
(IEPs) of preschool students with disabilities are developed collaboratively
between early childhood and preschool special education staff to reflect
students’ expected achievement of the State’s learning standards. The need for well-planned integrated
programs increases in importance as our young children enter such programs with
wide ranges in languages and cultural backgrounds.
Action Needed:
w No
legislative or regulatory action needed.
w Programmatic
action(s) to be included in the Implementation Plan.
Component 7 –
Family Partnerships
Local
educational agencies, in strong collaboration with their University of the
State of New York (USNY) partners, businesses, health providers, and
community-based organizations, must ensure that information to parents and
caregivers is provided in their primary language and that prekindergarten–grade
4 programs develop strategies to foster high levels of parent/family
participation.
Curriculum-based
training for parents and caregivers must be developed and implemented to help
them become full partners in educating their children and to increase their
understanding of expectations of student performance and ways to support
them. In order to close the achievement
gap, parents and caregivers must be able to become active coaches in their
child’s education. School districts
must provide more productive opportunities for parents and caregivers to be
involved in supporting young students’ learning. Strengthened outreach to those living in non-traditional
settings (homeless shelters, hospitals, and correctional facilities) and from
wide ranges of cultures must be made.
w Ensure
alignment between the Board of Regents Family Partnerships and Early Childhood
Education policies.
w Programmatic
action(s) to be included in the Implementation Plan.
Component 8
– Interagency Collaboration
Many
agencies and organizations at the State and local levels impact the lives of
children from birth through grade 4. In
order to close the achievement gap, there must be more focused commitment from
each partner to use their resources to develop an understandable and effective
system of early care and education. A
recent statewide blueprint for a coherent system of early care and education
entitled New York Action Plan for Young Families and Children, developed
under the guidance of the Schuyler Center for Advocacy and Analysis and Child
Care Inc., and work undertaken by the Department of Health are excellent
examples of accomplishments in this area.
Expanded collaborative efforts are needed to embed essential elements of
quality early education programs (pre-academic skills, higher quality settings
and expanded services such as health, nutrition and housing) across all
settings.
Action Needed:
w Amend
Part 117 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.
w Programmatic
action(s) to be included in the Implementation Plan.
Component 9 - Professional
Preparation
Pre-service
In 1999, the
Regents adopted higher standards for teacher education programs, requiring more
research-based, hands-on preparation of teachers. Candidates began graduating from updated programs in May 2004, so
the full effects of the higher standards have not yet become evident.
Completion of an appropriate registered program can result in a college
recommendation for certification in early childhood education, (birth – grade
2). A key element of the higher standards is the requirement that candidates
complete at least 100 clock hours of field experience prior to student teaching
and two student teaching experiences of at least 20 days each at the
pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 and 2 levels. These experiences
involve cooperation between teacher education program and provider faculty
members. Another element of the higher standards is a focus on teaching the literacy
skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing to both native English
speakers and students who are English language learners, including methods of
reading enrichment and remediation. All early childhood teacher education
programs include basic language acquisition and literacy development
instruction, as well as an additional 6 semester hours of literacy education
focused at the early childhood level. Additionally, use of instructional and
assistive technology, methods of student assessment, and means to update
professional knowledge and skills are among the required topics. Through the
required accreditation of teacher education programs, the Department
continually assesses whether institutions of higher education are utilizing
scientific research in early childhood education to prepare highly effective
practitioners.
In-service
Teachers, teaching
assistants, administrators, support staff, and all those working with young
children, prekindergarten—grade 4, need ongoing opportunities for professional
growth. These ongoing opportunities are
required in Part 100 of the Commissioner’s Regulations as the professional
development requirement for holders of professional certificates. Expanded
collaborations among districts, USNY partners and community-based organizations
will result in more effective use of resources for in-service
opportunities. Increased access to the
New York State Virtual Learning System will help to ensure that
scientifically-based reading research strategies are used to enhance in-service
opportunities.
Action Needed:
w No legislative or regulatory action needed.
w Programmatic action(s) to be included in the Implementation
Plan.
Component 10 - Resources of
USNY
The
University of the State of New York (USNY) is a critical resource that is
available to support implementation of the revised early childhood education
policy. The USNY Summit in November
2005 focused on the capacity of USNY members to become actively engaged in
closing the achievement gap. USNY
resources are available to enrich the learning of those who are challenged by
disability, language, poverty, and other barriers to learning and
development. However, in order to
empower families, particularly those in high-need categories, to access
available programs and services, expanded community outreach must become a
priority. A few examples of USNY
programs and services that lay the foundation for learning are:
·
Public television
provides the pre-literacy experiences young children need in home-based as well
as center-based child care programs;
·
Libraries have
collections of literature and other forms of media that are used to introduce
and reinforce conceptual learning that stimulates emergent reading behaviors;
and
·
Museums offer hands-on
materials and experiences to enrich children’s literacy and numeracy skills
while building vocabulary, socialization, listening, problem-solving and
manipulative skills.
Action Needed:
w No
legislative or regulatory action needed.
w Programmatic
action(s) to be included in the Implementation Plan.
Component 11: Fiscal Support
A financial mechanism that supports stable funding
for prekindergarten and full-day kindergarten is essential. A stable approach to funding that recognizes
that prekindergarten and full-day kindergarten are integral parts of a
prekindergarten—grade 12 educational system is needed. For prekindergarten programs, every district
should receive funds, use the funds specifically for these programs and expand
collaborations with community-based organizations. For the 2006-07 school year, an immediate funding increase to
jumpstart the expansion of statewide prekindergarten programs must occur. In subsequent years, a State aid approach
must be developed to stabilize funding.
This approach should examine both the State and local expenditures, as
well as additional sources of funding.
For full-day
kindergarten, a three-year implementation process should be established. Funding should include costs for start-up
and increases to cover instructional, operational and capital expenses.
Action Needed:
w Budgetary
language to merge State-funded prekindergarten programs.
w Legislative
outreach.
w Amend Education Finance Law
to provide a funding formula that allows all school districts to offer
statewide prekindergarten.
Conclusion and Next Steps
Today’s young children will have new
opportunities and face new challenges in a rapidly evolving world. Technology, information, and world cultures
will be highly accessible and integrated differently. It is imperative that our youngest children are prepared and that
each child is considered too valuable to be shortchanged in any way. A strengthened early education system can
make a difference in the world of our children so that they can grow up to make
a difference in their future.
Attachment
A
Summary of Revisions Made Based on
Public
Forums and Recommendations Made by
the Board of Regents
Goal Statement
- Revised
wording to add through grade 4
- Added
wording to include social and emotional domains
Component 1:
-
Added wording
to emphasize “prenatal care”
-
Added wording
to ensure outreach to children who are bilingual or limited English proficient
Component 2:
-
Added wording
to ensure that prekindergarten programs meet the needs of bilingual or limited
English proficient children
Component 3:
-
Added wording
to allow a parental exemption option
Component 4:
-
No revisions
made
Component 5:
-
Added wording
to include “through grade 4”
-
Eliminated
previous wording “direct instruction;” replaced with “explicit and purposeful
instruction”
Component 6:
-
Changed
heading from “Integral Settings” to Integrated Program and Services to
underscore that special education is not a setting but rather a continuum of
educational services
Component 7:
-
Added wording
to expand needed outreach to stress the needs of families in non-traditional
settings and from wide ranges of cultures
Component 8:
-
No substantial
revisions
Component 9:
-
Combined with
Component 5
Component 10: (renumbered as 9)
-
Separated this
component into two segments (Pre-service and In-service) to acknowledge
differences in the two types of service delivery systems
-
Strengthened
wording for ensuring coordination with institutions of higher education
Component 11: (renumbered as 10)
-
Wording added to
clarify the potential of USNY
Component 12: (renumbered as 11)
-
Added wording
to ensure that funding examines local and State contributions
-
Added wording
to include start-up costs for districts moving to full-day kindergarten
