Ernesto Saldaña Vice President of Partnerships and Local Engagement A Fair Start for California’s Children: 2014 Early Learning Proposals

A Presentation to Orange County Business Council Workforce Development Committee April 16, 2014

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Early Learning: A National Priority

“Research shows that one of the best investments we can make in a child’s life is high-quality early education .”

President Obama, 2014 State of the Union

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We Can’t Deny the Science

• The early years are the fastest period of brain development: 700 neural connections form per second • Toxic stress interrupts brain development • By 2 years old, there’s already a 6-month gap in language proficiency for low income children • By age 3, there’s a 30 million word gap • Affects academic success in 3 rd grade

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High-quality Early Childhood Education: A Smart and Prudent Investment

• Every $1 invested generates $7 in savings • Lower grade retention, special education placement, crime rates – California could save up to $1 billion with 13,000 fewer prisoners • Greater high school graduation, attendance rates and lifetime earnings

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Building a Continuum for Kids from Birth to Age 5

• Senate Bill 837: The Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2014 (Steinberg) • Senate Bill 1123: The Strong Families, Strong Children Act (Liu) • State Budget Process

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Pre-K for All: Higher Quality Programs

Providing a developmentally appropriate experience for 4 year olds

New TK Model Head Teacher Paraprofessional Class Size Teacher/Child Ratio Length of Day Quality Standards

Credentialed Teacher Permit 20 1:10 3 to 6 hours

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Pre-K for All: Five Year Phase-in Allows: 1)

districts, providers to expand access slowly

2) 3)

teachers, associate teachers time to obtain education, training gradual implementation in line with improving state budget projections

New TK Estimated Additional 4 Year Olds Served Estimated Additional TK Funding 2015-16

46,000 $280 million

2016-17

46,000 $280 million

2017-18

46,000 $280 million

2018-19

46,000 $280 million

2019-20

46,000 $280 million

Total

350,000 1.

$1.4 billion 1.

350,000 is based on a estimated 70% enrollment rate, which is similar to the experience of other states with preschool for all such as Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida

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Pre-K for All: New Opportunities for Teachers

• Compensation on par with K-12 colleagues • At end of the five year phase-in: o o Head teachers required to hold credential, 24 units in early childhood education Paraprofessionals to hold teacher’s permit, 24 units in early childhood education • Estimated 8,000 new teaching positions, 12,000 paraprofessional positions created

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Maintaining and Utilizing Our Mixed Delivery System

• Focusing on what’s best for children’s development • Maintaining parent choice and high-quality options for families – Quality options not just limited to district sites • New York and New Jersey

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SB 837 Supporters Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District Sheriff Scott Jones, Sacramento County Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Compton Unified School District State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Early Edge California Debbie Carter, TK teacher, Hidden Valley Lake Los Angeles Unified School District America’s Edge Mission Readiness Cloverdale Unified School District Zero to Three Next Generation Common Sense Media Superintendent Rob Hudson, Alpaugh Unified School District California School Boards Association Children Now Advancement Project Bay Area Council United Way California Capital Region United Way of Northern Santa Barbara County United Way of Silicon Valley United Way of Ventura County United Ways of California United Way of Santa Cruz County League of Women Voters of California Santa Clara County Office of Education First 5 Santa Clara County National Council of Jewish Women First 5 San Francisco Junior League of California State Public Affairs Committee Parent Institute Quality Institute (PIQE) California PTA Family Engagement Institute 10

SB 837 in the Media

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Editorial: Pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds makes sense

Friday, January 31, 2014

Our economic future depends on early investments in kids

By Ann O’Leary Thursday, February 13, 2014

Transitional kindergarten for all would lessen inequality

By Paul Miller Friday, January 27, 2014

Op-ed: California should give all kids the pre-K advantage

By David L. Kirp Friday, December 20, 2013

Editorial: Universal preschool would be a boon to California families, taxpayers 11

Proposition 98 Interactions with SB 837

• SB 837 would not take funds from existing education programs • SB 837 result: Increase in the Prop. 98 guarantee would be more than sufficient to fund the costs of the additional TK students served by school districts

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A Strong Start for Children and Families

• Birth to 5 continuum • Brain development and the importance of the first 3 years • Serving our most vulnerable infants and toddlers

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Research Shows: Early Learning and Parental Support Make a Difference

Early Head Start: • Children have larger vocabularies, higher scores of cognitive development • Children and parents have more positive interactions • Parents provide more support for learning

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California Investments Don’t Match What Research Tells Us

• Just 6% of eligible infants, toddlers served in publicly funded programs • Infants and Toddlers in Title 5 General Child Care dropped from 17,000 to 10,500 • Reimbursement rates frozen since 2006

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SB 1123: Strong Families, Strong Children Act

• Expanding access to high-quality early learning and parental support services • Choice of program delivery options • Increase quality standards, including teacher child ratios • Directs a portion of $350 million savings created by expanding TK to birth-3 programs • Gives providers flexibility, allows tailoring to local community needs • Eliminates the state preschool fee • Expands access to full day, full year state preschool

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SB 1123 Supporters Fight Crime Invest in Kids Mission Readiness Advancement Project America’s Edge Zero to Three Next Generation Common Sense Media Superintendent Robert Hudson, Alpaugh Unified School District Children Now First 5 Santa Clara County Kids Club Preschool in Antioch San Mateo County Local Childcare Planning Council Superintendent of San Mateo County Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce 17

California’s Unfinished Education Reforms

• No silver bullet • Common Core Standards, Local Control Funding Formula • Early learning: a fundamental piece of unfinished business

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Seizing the Moment and Giving Our Kids a Fair Start

• Early learning: a national priority • We can’t continue denying the science • Making a smart, prudent investment

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Questions?

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Get Involved!

1. Submit written comments

to bill authors: Senator Liu and Pro Tem Steinberg.

2. Check out our

Frequently Asked Questions

document www.earlyedgecalifornia.org/sb837faq . 3. Email the California Department of Education, co-sponsors of SB 837: [email protected]

.

4. Become a supporter.

Add your organizations’ name to growing list of supporters.

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THANK YOU!

Sign up for email updates at www.earlyedgecalifornia.org

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