Public Policy
I. Investing in infrastructure for early childhood programs serving children birth to five
II. Boosting the quality of existing pre-kindergarten programs.
III. Investing in workforce quality through professional development and increased compensation
IV. Supporting parent development and training and engagement in children’s education
V. Improving children’s access to healthcare and reducing health disparities
VII. Supporting provision that increase children’s access to nutritious healthy meals
Introduction
For almost 40 years, the National Black Child Development Institute has been steadfast in its mission to improve and protect the lives of children. Along with the affiliate network we have worked to improve child welfare services, make universal early care and education a reality, build family support services, press for educational reform and provide vital information on children’s health.
NBCDI’s 2009-2010 agenda focuses on Early Childhood Education, increasing workforce quality, supporting parent development and training, improving children’s access to healthcare and nutritious and healthy meals and modifying provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act.
I. Investing in infrastructure for early childhood programs serving children birth to five
The growing attention paid to early childhood programs due to an increased understanding of their benefits for young children, has resulted in calls to substantially increase the capacity of programs to serve more children, especially those who are low-income.
NBCDI believes in the power of early childhood programs to increase the life chances of low-income children by setting them on a path toward school readiness through the development of both their social-emotional and cognitive skills and abilities. However, expanding the number of slots available in programs should not take precedence over increasing the quality of existing programs. Investments in early learning systems’ infrastructure will lead to valuable returns.
The Early Learning Challenge Fund, part of President Obama’s FY10 budget, achieves the goal of investing in infrastructure. We believe that children will be given the best opportunity to thrive in the short and long term future by giving states the resources to develop:
- common early learning and program standards
- methods of monitoring quality and supporting quality improvements
- avenues for early educator professional development
- data systems, outreach strategies to parents
- coordination of health screenings and referrals
We encourage advocacy work to support policy efforts at the state and local level that improve infrastructure in accordance with the goals of the Early Learning Challenge Fund to in turn improve program quality. Pursuing such goals in advance of expanding access to programs will result in better educational outcomes for children.
II. Boosting the quality of existing pre-kindergarten programs.
Young children receive early childhood education through a diverse array of program types, from child care to public schools, Head Start to community-based organizations. However, the diversity of settings should not mean a diversity of quality. Program quality is strongly linked to school readiness, and all children, but especially low-income children and children of color who may experience extra challenges to school success, deserve high-quality early learning experiences.
But what does “high quality” mean? NBCDI encourages programs and existing state early learning councils, as well as those that will form or develop as a result of Early Learning Challenge Grants, to enhance the caliber of pre-k programs by developing specific and detailed requirements regarding the following characteristics of high-quality programs:
- Program standards, including low teacher-student ratio, high quality and quantity of materials for children, materials that reflect the diversity of students and the community, a safe and well-maintained indoor and outdoor physical environment, physical and mental health and safety standards, nutrition services, developmental screening and referrals, and standards of teacher education and professional development
- Commensurate compensation for program staff, teachers and administrators, which attracts and retains highly qualified individuals
- Early learning standards aligned with K-3 standards
- Rigorous curriculum that links learning on all academic and developmental domains
- Daily structure which provides for teacher-directed and student-directed activities, whole group, small group, and individual activities, and ample time for play
- Formal and informal, ongoing and systematic assessment of children’s learning and development, which is used to inform teaching and program decisions
- Developmentally, linguistically and culturally appropriate, respectful, and effective teaching practices
- Inclusion of students with special needs, and support to parents and teachers to help children achieve their potential
- Teacher-student interactions which are respectful, supportive, nurturing and challenge students to engage in higher-order thinking
- Collaborative relationships with family, ample parent-teacher communication, parent involvement in school and decision-making
- Relationships with community institutions, members and resources
- Strong leadership and management
- Integration of technology in the classroom
- Program self-evaluation and self-improvement
III. Investing in workforce quality through professional development and increased compensation
Teacher quality is indicative of the quality of education students will receive. In early childhood education, teachers must bring unique knowledge and skills to the table, including a deep understanding of child development and an ability to discern young children’s interests and harness them to develop engaging learning experiences in the midst of a dynamic, constantly moving classroom. In addition, in the history of early childhood education there has been a commitment to cultural and racial diversity in the workforce. While education, credentials, and participation in professional development opportunities have been linked to increased teacher quality, achieving these hasn’t necessarily been linked to increased compensation. Lower compensation rates, and often times the absence of benefits, have made it difficult for early childhood programs to attract and retain highly qualified teachers. And many teachers who do wish to advance their skills and knowledge, by moving from Associates degree-granting institutions to Baccalaureate degree-granting institutions for example, may find it difficult to transfer credits without previously constructed articulation agreements between the institutions or programs. Indeed, given many teachers’ low salaries, higher-education programs may be out of reach for those who want them.
NBCDI believes that:
- Congress should fund Title VIII of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, competitive grants to create State Advisory Councils on professional preparation and ongoing development. These councils would work to develop professional standards for programs in the states, assist with articulation agreements, develop career pathways, increase compensation, and improve financial assistance to educators.
- Congress should also increase funding for Title II of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, Teacher Quality Partnership grants to improve preparation and ongoing programs of professional development and to assist in efforts and measures that help retain high quality teachers.
- If Congress does not fund Title VIII or increase funding for Title II, NBCDI believes states and the federal government should still invest in teacher quality by finding means to create articulation agreements, incentives for teachers to participate in professional development, and developing standards of pay commensurate with experience and educational attainment. In particular, states should necessitate the creation of articulation agreements between two-year and four- year degree-granting institutions, and between programs of professional development and degree-granting institutions, and create scholarships or other means of financial assistance to help educators continue their learning.
- Funds that the federal government provides for quality ratings systems and other infrastructure improvements should allocate a portion of these resources to increase the salaries of early childhood educators.
- States and the federal government should do more outreach to make potential early childhood teachers aware of loan cancellation programs for those who do choose to teach, and especially those who choose to teach in low-income schools.
Discussion of improving teacher quality, however, must go beyond policies supporting the attainment of specific levels of education, and focus on the skills and mindsets that contribute to higher quality educational experiences and outcomes for children.
- High quality professional development opportunities should be made available to all early childhood educators, regardless of the presence or absence of specific degrees, credentials or years of experiences.
- These opportunities should be varied to include not only university coursework, but also workshops, one-on-one mentoring or coaching, observations with feedback, pre- and in-service trainings, and any other activities which meet the needs of teachers.
- Ideally, these opportunities should bring together educators serving in different settings, so that all receive comparable professional development experiences.
- Administrators and others who oversee programs or also work with young children should be encouraged or required to participate in early childhood professional development, with a special emphasis on learning child development.
- Recruitment and retention initiatives should place a special emphasis on recruiting a staff that reflects the diversity of the country in all schools.
Finally, NBCDI firmly believes that early childhood educators deserve adequate and equitable working conditions. In addition to commensurate pay, teachers should be provided with benefits packages, and sufficient support and resources in their schools.
IV. Supporting parent development and training and engagement in children’s education
The aims of parent development and training programs for parents of low-income children should be twofold: 1) To increase parents’ knowledge of child development while building their self-confidence and empowering them to become their children’s advocates; and 2) To help parents develop goal-directed behavior and make concrete plans for education and work so they can gain stability needed to successfully raise their families. Current models funded by the federal government, and those recently proposed, focus on developing parents as advocates and participants in their children’s education, but focus substantially less on personal development. For black and low income families, this approach may not fully meet their needs, especially those transferring from welfare to work.
NBCDI supports the creation of programs that meet the diverse and expansive needs of low-income parents and families. In particular, NBCDI supports the creation and full-funding of Promise Neighborhoods, proposed by President Obama and modeled on the Harlem Children’s Zone. Promise Neighborhoods would seek to transform economically devastated neighborhoods into thriving communities by creating a multifaceted web of community-based programs that would address the needs of children and adults to eventually end the cycle of poverty. NBCDI believe that any such program must define success based on its ability to address the many interrelated issues affecting such neighborhoods: not only the quality of education, health and support services available to children and families, but also the presence of services for adults, including adult literacy, job training and placement, health and mental health, counseling and language programs. HCZ’s Baby College model could be replicated in Promise Neighborhoods, extended and expanded to work with parents of children of all ages, with the dual goals of growing parents’ understanding of child development, parenting skills, and education advocacy, while also improving their own quality of life through education and employment.
NBCDI also supports policy initiatives (such as President Obama’s proposed Home Visitation program) which would deliver support services to low-income parents with young children. Such programs would seek to:
- Improve parenting skills and improve children’s outcomes in health, development, school readiness, success, and language and literacy skills
- Have a personal development component to assist parents in furthering their education, self-sufficiency, and economic stability
- Include in such programs of other care-givers in children’s lives, often consisting of family members, friends, and neighbors. These individuals should also receive support and training to improve children’s outcomes.
NBCDI supports policy that creates and expands programs like the Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRC) whose goal is to increase student achievement through the implementation of successful parent involvement policies, programs and activities, which strengthen partnerships among parents, teachers, principals and administrators.
V. Improving children’s access to healthcare and reducing health disparities
Racial and ethnic disparities in children’s health and health care are pervasive and deeply troubling. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latino and African America children account for 57% of all uninsured children in America, and for 69% of poor uninsured children. The African American infant mortality rate is higher than the white, non-Hispanic infant mortality rate, and among those African American children who live, they are more likely be low-birthweight, preterm, suffer from asthma, untreated dental caries, lead poisoning and obesity than white, non-Hispanic children, and less likely than white, non-Hispanic infants to receive the recommended vaccines, preventative dental care, and to visit an office-based physician. More than half of children lacking health insurance did not have a “well-child” check up in the past year, and were less likely than insured children to obtain mental care, dental care, and a vision screening.
Ensuring that all children, especially low-income children and children of color who are more likely to experience a poor quality of health, receive health care coverage appropriate to their developmental and special needs is of utmost importance. Health care reform must include aspects of Medicaid and CHIP that alleviate disparities in health and care, making quality of care equitable among children of all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups. We must begin by giving comprehensive physical and mental health care coverage to pregnant mothers, who need to be healthy in order to deliver healthy babies. Then, continuous comprehensive coverage should be given to all children, without regard to pre-existing conditions.
- Children who are currently covered by Medicaid and SCHIP should not see quantity and quality of coverage change.
- All children should have a medical and dental home, where routine health checks, preventative and sick care are provided, and have access to mental health and specialist care.
- Current requirements for early and periodic screening and treatment should be preserved.
- Coverage must ensure children with disabilities not only receive appropriate care but also have their particular needs met, such as lifetime limits on durable medical equipment.
- Children and families in need should have access to translation and transportation services.
- There should be limited or no cost sharing.
- Enrollment procedures should be simplified and automatic enrollment options should be utilized, enrolling children who are found eligible due to participation in Medicaid, SCHIP, SNAP, the National School Lunch Program, WIC or other need-based programs
- Waiting periods should be eliminated
NBCDI also supports policy that is specifically targeted to increase service quality and access to special subpopulations of children:
- Documented and undocumented immigrant children
- Those who have experienced a disparate quality of health or health care
Ideas such as Healthcare Empowerment Zones should be funded and established in communities with the greatest disparities for children.
VI. Modifying the provisions in No Child Left Behind to increase its positive impact on Black children
NBCDI believes that ending the achievement gap between white students and students of color is of national importance. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) attempts to close this gap by requiring schools to administer yearly-administered standardized tests and, those which receive federal Title I funding, to show gains in achievement via increasing test scores. Title I schools which do not show Adequate Yearly Progress are sanctioned and those which do not make AYP within 5 years are forced to shut down and restructure. Like many have said, NCLB requires that students who start the race at a disadvantage, both behind their wealthier peers and with fewer resources, are expected to end the race at the same level.
NBCDI believe that every child deserves to attend a high quality school that takes accountability for student achievement. However, we believe that some aspects of NCLB deserve reconsideration especially during the upcoming period of reauthorization.
- Title I must be fully funded in order to serve all eligible children and to build the capacity of schools to compensate for the extra challenges low-income students face. Title I funds must supplement, not supplant existing funding to schools. Districts with the same percentage of poverty should receive the same funding per student.
- The comparability provision of Title I funding must be augmented to ensure that the distribution of high-quality teachers within a school district is equitable
- An essential element of building the capacity of schools is building the capacity of teachers. Professional development programs for educators would assist teachers in meeting the needs of their students and pushing them to increase their academic growth. Teachers and students must be given the supports and resources to enable success.
- NCLB should move from high stakes to a growth model of achievement
- Rather than relying on one imperfect mode of assessing students, standardized tests, states and school districts must be allowed to create multiple measures of accountability. Using a number of different indicators would give states a comprehensive picture of students’ and school’s performance.
- Current models of accountability penalize schools for not making AYP. Instead, schools not making AYP should be supported with appropriate and proven interventions (and adequate time to implement them) that empower schools to improve the outcomes of students.
- Parent involvement provisions should be strengthened and incentives created for states, school districts and schools to fully implement them, include parents of children birth through adolescence in schools and community based settings, create accountability measures, and train teachers and administrators in effective communication with families
- States and LEAs should be encouraged to use more Title I funds for early childhood education programs
- Pilot dual-language programs for elementary school students should be authorized in NCLB and targeted for schools with Title I funding
- While, in general, NBCDI is in favor of choice for parents within the public school sector (including charter and magnet schools), we oppose choice and voucher programs that take dollars out of the public school system.
- Scientifically-researched studies indicate that children of color do better with culturally competent approaches to learning. Federal dollars should be granted to states that offer an approach to curriculum, standards and assessment that values the role of culture and heritage in children’s lives.
VII. Supporting provision that increase children’s access to nutritious healthy meals
More than 25% of black households with children are food insecure. The rising cost of food in the U.S. puts an additional strain on low-income families who may already struggle to afford rent, transportation, health care and child care costs. Families who are food insecure may experience hunger on a daily basis, and food consumed may be extremely poor in nutrients. The need for all children to live without the pains of hunger is paramount. President Obama recognizes this and has proposed ending childhood hunger by 2015.
To do this, we need the support of Congress to reauthorize, expand and fully fund child nutrition programs, restructure eligibility requirements, allow for new methods of enrollment, increase the nutritional quality of meals provided to children in such programs, and increase reimbursement rates for providers. Meals provided to children before, during, and after school, in child care, and throughout the summer are essential to meeting their health, cognitive, and behavioral needs. Academic achievement and healthy development suffer when a child is malnourished.
NBCDI believes that eligibility requirements must be restructured and enrollment procedures simplified to increase participation in nutrition programs. Eligibility must be expanded so that children are served in schools and in child care, whether they live in higher-concentration or lower-concentration poverty areas, and whether their family income indicates they are poor or near-poor. The process of certifying eligibility for enrollment should be simplified, so that, for example, children who are enrolled in Medicaid, SCHIP, SNAP, or TANF are automatically enrolled in child nutrition programs, or through another comparable method.
Moreover, NBCDI believes participation in school breakfast and lunch programs will rise through broadening eligibility requirements and simplifying enrollment, especially if efforts are made to offer free meals to all students in schools serving large numbers of low-income children. Similar measures should be taken for after school and summer nutrition programs, increasing access to healthy food and meals at times when children may have limited access to them due to family financial constraints. Furthermore, children in child care should see expanded access to nutritional service as well through the Child and Adult Care Food Program. After school, summer and child care nutrition programs should all offer a third meal to children, rather than a snack, and the reimbursement rate for all child nutrition programs should increase to promote providers participation in the program and their ability to serve fresh fruits, vegetables and highly nutritious food to children.
Food assistance programs are critical to reducing food insecurity, but they are not enough. A holistic approach to ending child hunger must include tackling persistent poverty by creating jobs and supporting a living wage for workers to end not only the hunger of children but also the hunger of parents, and the obesity epidemic of low-income communities.
