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Though education advocates are expressing frustration at an overall lack of progress during this legislative session, there’s one area where people are feeling cautiously optimistic. A bill focusing on early childhood education could help tackle the state’s stubborn achievement gap, and may better position Connecticut for future federal funding.
Experts agree. High quality early care and education programs benefit young children and can have long-lasting positive impact on academic outcomes. Currently, multiple state agencies administer Connecticut’s patchwork of programs for preschool age kids.
Some advocates had hoped to create a new Early Childhood Education Department, but Senator Beth Bye says with this year’s huge budget deficit, it was not the time.
"That was not a direction our governor was wanting to go in, which is consolidations. And so we worked together and came up with this plan… Very collaborative, cross agency and really laying the framework for a single coordinated system of early childhood education."
Under the bill, programs like Head Start, School Readiness, Family Resource Centers will all work together in one place and come up with recommendations on how to streamline early care.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Education has announced a new round of federal Race to the Top grants aimed specifically at getting states to develop comprehensive early learning systems. Again, Senator Bye:
"To have passed this bill in the legislature and to have a governor who is committed to Early childhood education right when the federal administration announces ½ billion dollars in competitive grants in early childhood education, it's really great timing."
Connecticut failed in two previous attempts for Race to the Top funds. Applications for the latest Early Learning Challenge Grant will be released his summer. Winners will be announced by the end of the year.
