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News about a bill that will significantly expand early childhood educators' access to higher education and compensation.

Congress Passes the Higher Education Act

August 5, 2008

The House and the Senate, by a large bipartisan majority, have approved the reauthorization of H.R. 4173, the Higher Education Act, and the President is expected to sign the bill.

The bill includes provisions that will significantly expand early childhood educators’ access to higher education and compensation when they attain post-secondary degrees. The bill also provides grants to states to create comprehensive professional development systems.

Early childhood workforce provisions developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children that are in the final bill:

  • Significantly expand student loan forgiveness programs to include teachers earning a Bachelor’s degree who will work in licensed or regulated child care, Head Start, Early Head Start, and state prekindergarten programs.
  • Allow early childhood education programs to be included in the teacher quality partnership grants program, which focuses on improved teacher preparation, recruitment, and retention. If early childhood is included, grant funds can also be used for compensation of early childhood educators who attain an Associate or Bachelor’s degree.
  • Authorize grants to states to create state early childhood education professional development and career task forces that will address teacher’s competencies and credentials, better compensation to attract and keep teachers, quality assurances for training and professional development, and articulation agreements to allow early childhood education professionals to transition easily between degrees.

These provisions could not be more timely with a growing trend at both the federal and state level toward increasing degrees and other professional requirements for early childhood educators in Head Start and prekindergarten programs. Given that early childhood teachers earn extremely low salaries, it is a challenge for them to continue to work in the field without help meeting their loan payments.

The bill also expands access to Pell grants, by allowing nontraditional students the majority of whom are older women to use these grants to take courses during the summer. This is a critical change for students attempting to balance post-secondary learning with work and family care. In addition, the bill includes initiatives to increase the participation of women and minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math and provides fellowships for female and minority doctoral students who commit to teach after graduation.

© 2000-2008 National Women's Law Center

Forum studies improving education for black children schools

BY GINA DAMRON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • July 20, 2008

Bettering relationships between students and teachers, increasing parental involvement, improving nutrition and instilling in students a sense of accomplishment are just a few ways education can be improved for black students, according to educators attending a forum at Wayne State University Saturday.

"Our children are genius," Dr. Carol Brunson Day, president and chief executive officer of the National Black Child Development Institute in Washington, said at the event, hosted by the Institute for the Study of the African American Child.

"And it is our responsibility to make it possible for that genius to unfold," she said.

The mission of ISAAC, founded by WSU professor Janice Hale, is to understand the factors that contribute to the academic achievement gap for black students and then find strategies to close the gap.

Hale said it's important for parents and teachers to be aware of the social and cultural interests of students.

"If you don't enter their culture," she said, "you can't talk to them."

Yolanda Bloodsaw, assistant principal at Geisler Middle School in Walled Lake, said her school is one of the most diverse in the district, both racially and economically. She said improving relationships among students and teachers would likely improve academic achievement.

Sharon Bryant-Phillips, a Spanish teacher at Detroit's West Side Academy, said everybody is accountable for a student's success: the students themselves, parents, teachers, administrators and the community. She said the government needs to make changes or, "We're going to have the same concerns 20 years from now," she said.

Dr. Ivory Toldson, an assistant professor at Howard University in Washington and a panelist, presented a report that examined multiple factors that affect black children's education and learning abilities.

Toldson found that black students who ate more junk food did worse in school. Toldson also found that students did better when they had better relationships with their teachers.

Dr. Carol Lee, professor of education at Northwestern University and president-elect of the American Educational Research Association, likened teaching to parenting.

"The question of, 'Can black children learn?' is an absurd question," she said. "One does not need a special bag of tricks to teach black children."

Contact GINA DAMRON at 248-351-3293 or gdamron@freepress.com.

BCDI: Seattle

On May 10th, NBCDI’s affiliate in Seattle, WA co-sponsored their Spring conference with the Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Education at the African American Academy in Seattle, WA.  Dr. Carol Brunson Day, NBCDI’s President, was the Luncheon keynote speaker.  Other workshop topics were:

  • “Universal Pre-K: The Seattle Approach”
  • “Reclaiming our History as We Retell the Stories”
  • “Interrupting the Flow of Youth into the Criminal Justice System”
  • “Getting Kicked out of Preschool!???”
  • “Academic English: Unlocking Codes of Power”
  • “Transitions from 5th-6th Grade and 8th-9th Grade: To be Popular or Smart?”

BCDI-Seattle also honored Bunny Wilburn, Founding member of the affiliate 35 years ago. Click here to view pictures of the day’s events.

BCDI: Seattle BCDI: Seattle BCDI: Seattle
From the left: Germaine Covington, former BCDI-Seattle President, Carol Brunson Day, President NBCDI, and Dwayne Evans, BCDI-Seattle President
From the left: Carol Brunson Day and Bunny Wilburn
  

 

2008-2009 National Head Start Fellowships Application deadline has been extended

Applications for the 2008-09 National Head Start Fellowships Program has been extended to Friday, May 16, 2008. Information on the National Head Start Fellowships Program is also available at the Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) at http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Professional%20Development/Individual%20Development/Head%20Start%20Fellowship%20Program/prodev_pub_00055_022207_1.html.

The Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awards up to 10 Fellowships each year.  Candidates are sought who demonstrate experience with Head Start, substantial content area expertise, and high levels of personal and professional achievement.  OHS is particularly interested in candidates experienced in training and technical assistance, program monitoring and quality assurance, and family and community partnerships. However, placements for next year have not yet been determined and candidates with other areas of expertise should also feel free to apply!

The National Head Start Fellowships Program runs from October 2008 through September 2009.  Fellows are expected to contribute their skills and perspectives from the field to support the accomplishment of national program initiatives designed to improve the quality of services to children and families served by Head Start programs nationwide.  In addition to work assignments, the Fellows take part in professional education and leadership development programs aimed at enhancing their leadership skills.

Established in 1995, the National Head Start Fellowships Program offers the opportunity to gain first-hand experience and a national perspective on the Office of Head Start and other Federal programs serving children and families.  In this way, the Fellowships program is developing a cadre of leaders who have the experience and skills to make substantial contributions in behalf of the children and families of today and tomorrow.

NBCDI's President Carol Brunson Day, Ph.D. honored at the 2008 Parents as Teachers Conference
On April 1, 2008, NBCDI’s President Carol Brunson Day, Ph.D. received the 2008 Parents as Teachers Child and Family Advocacy Award at the Parents as Teachers conference in St. Louis, Missouri . Dr. Day was honored for her exceptional service and steadfast commitment in advocating for children and families. Members of the BCDI St. Louis affiliate chapter were in attendance including Gwen Pennington, Alan Green, Bernice Garner, Ciby Kimbrough, Valerie Banks, Nancy Reams, and Christine Reams. Click here for the St. Louis American's coverage of the awards ceremony.

NBCDI will participate in a briefing on the “Providing Resources to Improve Dual-Language Education Act”

The National Black Child Development Institute is partnering with the National Council of La Raza in conjunction with Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA) for a briefing on the “Providing Resources to Improve Dual-Language Education Act” (PRIDE Act) (H.R. 3842). The briefing will take place on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. in Room 121 of the Cannon House Office Building. Click here to view the invitation.

NBCDI President Responds to a New Policy Brief from the Foundation for Child Development

NBCDI’s President Carol Brunson Day, Ph.D. was one of four respondents at a Press Conference held January 10, 2008 by New York’s Foundation for Child Development, marking the release of a new policy brief, Implementing Policies to Reduce the Likelihood of Preschool Expulsion by Walter S. Gilliam, Ph.D. The original policy brief, Prekindergarteners Left Behind: Expulsion Rates in State Prekindergarten Systems published in May 2005 cited findings that showed that African American children were twice more likely than other children to be expelled from preschool. The study also found that of the African American children expelled, ninety-one percent (91%) were males.  

Click here to view Dr. Day’s press statement about the report. To listen to the audio recording of the press conference, call 1-888-203-1112 (access code 1244349).

NBCDI helps craft the DC Council's Pre-K Expansion Measure

NBCDI has been an advocate promoting a measure that would extend pre-kindergarten programs in DC to an additional 2,000 three- and four- year olds in the city. The measure was introduced last month by DC Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D). Pre-K for All DC, a collaborative initiative of NBCDI, helped Gray craft the Pre-K for All DC Amendment Act. NBCDI President Carol Brunson Day was quoted in a Washington Post article about the bill. Click here to view the article.  

NBCDI partners with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) to offer RIF's Care to Read campaign in two Affiliate cities

NBCDI has partnered with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) to offer professional development to early childhood educators to build their capacity and resources to develop and enhance early literacy skills of African American children. RIF, the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit literacy organization, along with support from the U.S. Department of Education, Macy’s, Univision, Radio One, and Koahnic Broadcast Corporation have launched a nationwide campaign to help improve children’s literacy in the African-American, Hispanic, and native American communities. The campaign stresses the importance of developing the language skills of young children to help better prepare them for success in school and life. As a part of this campaign, RIF has proposed a long-term partnership with NBCDI to begin this fall with a pilot phase involving offering RIF’s Care to Read early literacy training program in two cities under the auspices of NBCDI affiliates in Nashville, TN in Albany, NY. On October 5 and 6, NBCDI's affiliate chapters BCDI Albany and BCDI Nashville participated in the early literacy training. Click here to read an article about the training in Albany.

Click here for more information about RIF's Multicultural Literacy Campaign.

NBCDI President serves as a panelist for the Center for American Progress' event The Push for Quality Pre-School Education

On July 25, 2007, NBCDI President Carol Brunson Day, Ph.D. was a featured panelist at the Center for American Progress' presentation The Push for Quality Pre-school Education. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) and Bob Casey (PA) were the Keynote Speakers and presented the highlights of their recently introduced pre-kindergarten bills. A Q&A session with the senators followed, as well as a panel session with experts from the field.

Other expert panelists included Harriet Ditcher, Deputy Secretary, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Departments of Public Welfare and Education and Libby Doggett, Executive Director, Pre-K Now.

Click here to read Carol Brunson Day's remarks.