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What other state and local pre-school initiatives are underway to ensure a good beginning for all children?
Investment in a child’s early years is not only the right thing to do, but it yields significantly higher returns than educational investments at any other point in life.
Recognizing the high returns on early childhood education, more and more states and localities are focusing on how to help provide an equal start in life for all children.
- Virginia’s neighbors to the south, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, have all launched extensive early childhood education efforts, as have a number of states in the Northeast, the Midwest and the West.
- Virginia has approximately 500,000 children under five years old, or 7% of its total population. Local, state and federal spending on education in Virginia has been 32 times greater for children ages 6 to 18 versus during the first five years of age and 24 times greater during the college years versus during the first five years. However, early childhood education is becoming a priority at the state and local levels, as reflected by the following initiatives and programs.
- In the spring of 2005, Governor Mark R. Warner appointed public and private leaders to the Virginia Early Learning Council (VELC) to determine and recommend ways to improve early childhood education and care in Virginia.
- On December 12, 2005, and based on the VELC’s report, Governor Warner a) established the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation to raise public and private funding for the Early Childhood State Plan, an outgrowth of Virginia’s Early Childhood Initiative, and allocated $8.6 million in Virginia’s 2006 budget for such, and b) launched a website for “Smart Beginnings,” an early childhood care and education program for children from birth to three years old.
- On January 16, 2006, Governor Timothy M. Kaine established the Start Strong Council to oversee and guide the development and implementation of the Start Strong early childhood education programs for four-year-olds.
- Other public and private early childhood education and development initiatives and programs at the federal, state, regional and local levels include
- Head Start, which now includes Early Head Start, is a federally sponsored learning readiness program which is administered by the Richmond Public Schools for at-risk/poverty level children and children with disabilities from birth to five years old.
- The statewide Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) was established in Richmond in 1995 for at-risk four-year-olds to provide a quality, comprehensive child development program for preschool children and families in need.
- Early Reading First (ERF) is a federal literacy program added in 2002 by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in order to address the growing concern about children who begin kindergarten without the necessary foundation to fully benefit from formal school instruction. ERF is a nationwide effort providing funds to local literacy programs, such as The Literacy Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University, which received a $3.2 million grant from ERF.
- All New Students Will Emerge Readers (A.N.S.W.E.R.) began in the 1998-99 school year and is funded through the Virginia Early Reading Initiative. A.N.S.W.E.R. also offers services to many first grade students who did not meet the cut score on PALS.
- Parent & Student Resource Center helps parents develop essential skills and abilities to enhance the growth and development of their children and is administered by the Richmond Public Schools.
- Voices for Virginia’s Children (VVC) serves as the state advocate for children and youth in the four areas of early care and education, health care, family economic success, and foster care and adoption. VVC also sponsors two other state programs: the Early Child Development Coalition and First Things First.
- There are two key partners in current regional early child care and education efforts: Voices for Virginia’s Children and Success By 6 at United Way. These key partners jointly lead the Early Child Development Coalition (ECDC), sometimes referred to as the Greater Richmond Early Child Development Coalition. ECDC is recognized as the Local Early Childhood Planning Council by the City of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield and Henrico and represents a broad array of organizations who are involved in early childhood issues at the state and local levels.
- The City of Richmond’s political, business and philanthropic leadership are increasingly targeting investments in younger, preschool children as the best and most cost-effective remedy for poor performance in school.
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©2006, 2008 Partnership for Families Northside
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Children are born ready to learn. The brain is the only organ that is not fully
formed at birth. During the first three years, trillions of connections between
brain cells are being made.
Find out more about the skills your child
needs to become an eager learner.
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