In New York, the Starpoint School District has taken advantage of a state-funded universal preschool program to help prepare children for kindergarten. Sean Croft, Starpoint's director of instruction, said the concern has been that over the last two years, 45% of kindergartners (80 children) started school without the skills they need to succeed.

Researchers are paying closer attention to early math skills, and they are finding that young children -- even preschoolers -- can learn and use math skills more than previously thought.

Doesn't it make more sense to deploy resources to help children while they are developing rather than invest much more to help solve problems of truancy, addiction and crime later on? That's a question that weighs on the mind of Lew Chamberlin, CEO of West Michigan Whitecaps and active member of First Steps.

Compensation and benefits have to improve for early care teachers, particularly those who teach children from low-income families. If not, says Mary L. Reed, president of the Bessie Tartt Wilson Children's Foundation in Massachusetts, the gap between the development of low-income children and those in the middle class will continue to grow.

With no laws requiring children attend preschool, some parents ask themselves if preschool would suit their child's needs. Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, says several decades of studies show the cognitive and social benefits of preschool programming. Preschool prepares children with skills, knowledge, disposition, etc. 

The CT Early Childhood Alliance has posted Sen. Dodd's Guide to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and how it impacts Connecticut. Child care is discussed on page 34. The guide can be found under Data and Reports, then click on Reports.

As Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius will be in charge of the federal government's biggest early childhood education programs -- Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Good news for early care and education advocates, the new secretary also has a strong record of support for early education in Kansas.

Irving Bradley Jr. beat the odds, growing up without a nurturing and dependable family unit. He beat the odds, but he did it with help -- he benefited from Head Start programs as a young child, good after-school programs through grade school and adult mentors. Now he is the Trenton, New Jersey Police Director. He recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify about intervention programs for at-risk children that drastically cut crime and save taxpayers money. High-quality early care and education programs can help give children a foundation for success in school and in life.  

In a letter to the Hartford Business Journal, David Nee, Executive Director of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, says that foundations are ready to invest in educational outcomes to improve educational outcomes for young children. But is the state ready to step up to match those dollars?

While many events in Connecticut celebrating the 105th birthday of the beloved Dr. Seuss were cancelled or postponed, in other parts of the country, children and their teachers were reading here and there and everywhere.