By Kirstin Q. Siemering, DrPH, RD
Here on the Improving Population Health blog, we recognize the important role that education plays in health outcomes. Earlier this year, David Kindig encouraged business sector investments in early childhood education as a means for improving the health of tomorrow’s workforce. And back in September, our “Eye On Pop Health” series focused on higher education, paying special attention to the need for community college reform.
This month, we’re celebrating the end of one impressive early learning initiative and the start of another. The Pew Center on the States’ ambitious, 10-year Pre-K Now campaign will end on December 31, 2011. The campaign’s goal, which was to advance high quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three- and four-year old, hit many milestones as it worked toward transforming U.S. education from a K-12 system to a Pre-K-12 system. And last Friday, Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to announce $500 million in grants to nine state winners of the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge to spur improvement in early childhood education programs.
These investments hit particularly close to home for me, as the mother of one of over 1,800 children participating in Madison’s inaugural Pre-K (known as “4K” in Wisconsin) program this school year.
As a state, Wisconsin has a unique history with respect to pre-k. It is the only state in the nation that specified education for 4-year-olds in the original, 1848 state Constitution. While there are many different ways to implement pre-k programs, about 30% of Wisconsin school districts offering pre-k use a multi-sector, collaborative “community approach” that reflects this blog’s population health ideals. Pew’s Pre-K Now campaign recognized the community approach in this seven minute video that showcased efforts in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Instead of creating a new system from scratch, the community approach builds early childhood education programs by cultivating partnerships among existing providers, both public and private. With numerous and diverse early learning systems well-established in Madison, much effort was needed to cultivate buy-in for a universal approach among entities that have historically been more competitive than cooperative. The Madison 4K planning committee led conversations on mission and vision, curriculum and assessment, parent partnerships, communication structures, professional development, and other key areas to gather support for the fledgling coordinated program.
An essential element to Wisconsin’s 4K success has been the five regional “Collaboration Coaches” who are employed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The Collaboration Coaches work at the local level, providing information, support, and technical assistance to community leaders from a diverse array of agencies and organizations to help strengthen the state’s Birth to Six systems (which includes but is not limited to 4K).
In last Friday’s announcement, Secretary Sebelius said, “A strong educational system is critical not just for our children but also for our nation’s economic future. The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge takes a holistic approach to early education, promotes innovation, and focuses on what it takes to help put young children on the path of learning, opportunity, and success.” In Wisconsin, 4K is part of the state’s school funding formula, but the 2011-13 state budget eliminated $1.6 billion from education. Although no district so far has dropped 4K, many are currently looking for ways to cut costs (e.g., saving on transportation by moving from 4 half days to 2-3 whole days). Nobody yet knows what affect the budget cuts will have on 4K in the 2012-13 school year.
Having a strong educational foundation should be a right, not a privilege. Let’s do everything we can to build on the momentum that’s been started in this area and seek out ways to overcome any challenges that might slow or derail this important work. It’s not only our children that are at stake – it’s our future.
Many thanks to two of Wisconsin’s 4K leaders who offered information and insight for this post:
Jill Haglund -- Early Childhood Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Ann Ramminger, MS -- Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners, Southern Region Collaboration Coach
Kirstin Q. Siemering, DrPH, RD is a Researcher with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
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