Sharing Web Resources

On the website, National Institute for Early Education Research, the section that seemed particularly relevant to my current professional development was on state programs. The website shows that in my state of Florida many state programs fall below standards. There are several early childhood programs that do not meet state standards and the children in these programs are barely passing or failing state tests in order for children to enter Kindergarten.

Enrollment growth in the early childhood programs here in the United States was very surprising to me. 23 states enrollment declined or remained the same in 2012. 17 states increased enrollment. I also learned that the total pre-K funding by states fell $548 million. State funding per child fell $442 to $3,841. I also learned that state funding per child declined in 27 of 40 states with programs.

The website adds to my understanding of how politicians support the early childhood field by informing me that NIEER is creating programs to increase the quality of VPK and pre-K programs.


Resource:
National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/

Childhood Poverty in Romania

The country that I picked to learn more about the issue of childhood poverty is Romania. 

Poverty among children in this country has dropped over 30% since 2003, but children are still at a high risk. I learned that 75%  of poor children still live in the rural areas of the country.

A poor family in Romania live in the rural areas and are likely to have 4 or more children. A wealthy family live in the urban areas and have 0 or 1 child and are highly educated.

I also learned that Romania has a great problem with children being born into poverty and being left behind by their families, because of this Romania has a great problem with their orphanages. 150,000 children now live in orphanages.

Romania joined the European Union in 2007 and has improve the country in many ways. Joining the EU has helped the counties situation with human trafficking and with child abuse and has improve child care for children.

Resources:
UNICEF, Country Profil, 2010.
http://www.unicef.org/romania/overview.html

Encyclopedia of the Nations, Romania Poverty and wealth, Information about Poverty and wealth in Romania, 2014.
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/

Sharing Web Resources

 

The organization I selected is:

National Institute For Early Education Research

http://nieer.org/

 

Vision

Mission Statement

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducts and communicates research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children. Such education enhances their physical, cognitive, and social development, and subsequent success in school and later life.
The Institute offers independent, research-based advice and technical assistance to policymakers, journalists, researchers, and educators.
The Institute's research program aims to:

• Provide a vision of early education excellence in terms that are usable by policy makers and understandable to the general public
• Monitor and evaluate national and state progress toward early educational excellence
• Develop and analyze model legislation, standards, regulations and other policies required to improve quality and increase access to good preschool programs
• Explain the costs, outcomes and economic benefits of alternative policies

The Institute works with state and national policy makers and other organizations to:

• Collect, archive and disseminate information on the status of early education access and quality, exemplary practices and policies, and public opinion
• Develop research and communication strategies to fill gaps in knowledge and to effectively apply scientific knowledge to early education policy
• Commission new research and analysis to be carried out by Institute staff, visiting scholars and researchers at other institutions
• Create a rapid response capacity to provide the media with an independent, research-based perspective on breaking news
• Stimulate national and state discussions of early education policy
• Partner with other organizations to develop a coherent national research agenda and to deliver and publicize vital information about early education

Past and current supporters of research performed by NIEER include: The Pew Charitable Trusts, Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Fund for New Jersey, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Prudential Foundation, The Schumann Fund for New Jersey, Smith Richardson Foundation, Tulsa Community Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI).  NIEER also leads the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO), one of 22 comprehensive centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to strengthen the capacity of State Education Agencies to lead sustained improvements in early learning opportunities and outcomes.
For more information about NIEER, contact:
Kirsty Clarke Brown, Policy and Communications Advisor
(732) 993-8051
kbrown@nieer.org
73 Easton Avenue

 

 

County profiles present snapshot of early childhood status

Kentucky Teacher

March 13, 2014

The Governor’s Office of Early Childhood (GOEC) released county-specific early childhood data profiles today aimed at highlighting barriers to school readiness. For the first time, these data profiles provide fuller data about every county in the state, thanks to results from a new kindergarten screener used in every school district last fall. The Early Childhood Profiles, produced by the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics (KCEWS), are compiled to help community leaders, Community Early Childhood Councils and school districts with data to assist in developing local strategies for helping every child in their community arrive at kindergarten ready to do kindergarten work.
“Better preparing children for school has positive long-term effects on school achievement,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “The Early Childhood Profile is a tool that can help communities assure that every child in the Commonwealth gets the best possible start in life.”

New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1879


 

 

Establishing Professional Contacts

I have not had very good luck in my attempt to establish communication with two professionals from another country. I have chosen the alternate assignment for Part 1.

Website: The Global Fund for Children: An organization which provides capital to communities worldwide to improve the lives of children.
http://www.globalfundforchildren.org/

For part 2, I chose the website: National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/
(newsletter) http://nbcdi.org/suooort/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/

I picked this website because I have been on their site before and it has really good information about Early Childhood Education.