Early Childhood Commission Focuses on Quality Programs, Teaching to U.S. High Schools
Commission Begins Work This Week
Frankfort, KY — November 13, 2014 — The Southern Regional Education Board Early Childhood Commission convenes leaders this week from 16 states to study effective ways to improve preschoolers’ access to high-quality early learning. The Commission’s charge is to recommend policies that will give more young children a solid start when they enter school.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear chairs the Commission. Members include legislators, heads of state school agencies, leaders of national education organizations and early childhood education advocates.
Governor Beshear charged members with recommending policies that promote healthy development through the early years to build a sturdy foundation for success in school, employment and citizenship. The Commission’s focus is access to high-quality programs and the importance of highly skilled teachers to young children’s learning experiences
“Every child deserves a good start in life and in school,” said
Governor Beshear. “Early learning experiences have lifelong
effects on a child’s opportunities to succeed. The importance of
getting our youngest learners off to the best start possible
cannot be overstated.”
At its first meeting Thursday and Friday at the Kentucky
Governor’s Mansion in Frankfort, Commission members focus on two
topics: teacher quality
and program quality. Expert presenters
include Bob Pianta, dean of the University of Virginia Curry
School of Education, whose research focuses on building and
measuring effective teaching in classrooms from preschool through
high school; Debi Mathias, director of the Quality Rating and
Improvement Systems (QRIS) National Learning Network; and Abby
Thorman, early childhood consultant.
Commission members will consider the public policy implications
of improvements and recommend actions and state policies to
improve effectiveness so more students have access to
high-quality experiences.The Commission will meet through spring
2015 and present draft recommendations to the SREB Board next
summer.
“The Commission’s work will elevate best practices and policies
to help more young children arrive at school ready to learn,”
said SREB President Dave Spence. “We need to start very early in
children’s education to get them to high school graduation, ready
to move on to college and careers.”
“Achievement gaps during childhood are early warning signs for
potential to fall behind later in school and in life,” said SREB
Vice President Mark Emblidge, noting that children who do not
read proficiently by third grade are four times less likely to
graduate from high school on time. “Our communities need policies
that start our youngest and most at-risk children on the path
toward success as students, employees and citizens.
Governor Beshear has led a number of improvements to early
childhood education in Kentucky, beginning with the 2009 Task
Force on Early Childhood Development and Education. In 2011, he
created the Early Childhood Advisory Council and the Governor’s
Office of Early Childhood. During his administration, the
Commonwealth has adopted a comprehensive definition of
kindergarten readiness, begun using a common readiness screening
for every child entering kindergarten, expanded preschool
eligibility, and secured a Race to the Top Early Learning
Challenge grant to further transform early childhood systems.
Governor Beshear is serving a second one-year term as SREB
chairman. Last year, he also chaired SREB’s Career and
Technical Education Commission, which will report recommendations
late this year on statewide policies for academically demanding
pathway programs aligned with career opportunities in demand in
the SREB region.
Contact
Beth Day, Communications Director
(404) 879-5544
Mark Emblidge, Vice President, Special Projects
(804) 237-8909
SREB Commissions
In 2014 and 2015, the Southern Regional Education Board
convenes the SREB Commission on College Affordability in the
South, as well as the SREB Early Childhood Commission, which is
chaired by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear. These commissions
continue SREB’s long-standing role of bringing together state
leaders from across the region to focus on critical
education issues that span the K-20 spectrum. Reports
from two 2013-14 commissions are forthcoming late this year: the
SREB Commission on Community Colleges and the SREB Career
and Technical Education Commission.
The Southern Regional Education Board works with states to improve public education at every level, from pre-K through Ph.D. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB member states are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.