Blog Assignment: Sharing Web Resources

• Provide the name and link for the organization you selected, and a brief description of the organization’s focus, 
• Identify one current issue/trend from the newsletter and/or from the website that caught your attention
• Share if there was anything else you learned from studying these resources related to the topic of this week

·         Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States

http://www.preknow.org/ 

(Newsletter: http://www.preknow.org/signupform.cfm ) This is an amazing site with endless resources.  I especially like the "Advocacy Toolkit" feature.  In the newsletter, I was also able to look-up my own state and its progress towards milestones for quality pre-k programs. 

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"North Carolina

North Carolina has been a model state for early education, particularly in expanding the availability, affordability, and quality of early childhood programs and integrating pre-k and comprehensive early education services in an innovative way."

ThThe site also provides information on what quality pre-k should look like. 

High-quality pre-kindergarten is the first step in education reform. A vast body of research demonstrates that early learning programs develop children’s cognitive, social-emotional and physical readiness for success in school. This solid foundation is proven to contribute to higher literacy and math attainment, lower grade retention, reduced remedial and special education needs and increased high school graduation rates.
When students have a high-quality pre-k experience, they are better prepared and motivated to achieve at higher levels, multiplying the impact of other reforms. The alternative – helping children catch up in later grades – is both more costly and less effective. The evidence is clear and compelling: Successful school improvement plans, like a child’s development, benefit most from investments made in the critical early years.

Pre-K: The First Step in Education Reform

In these tough economic times, policy makers need to prioritize investments in proven programs. For elected officials seeking to improve school performance, 50 years of evidence shows that high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten is among the best strategies for education reform. High-quality pre-k saves tax payers money; improves children's cognitive, social and emotional skills; decreases the need for grade retention and special education services and helps to close the achievement gap.