The events of 2020 made the importance of investing in early education more obvious than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the fact that child care providers are an essential component of our state’s economy. In addition, increased awareness of our nation’s severe racial disparities has boosted interest in combating...
Early Care and Education
Research has shown that the first five years play an enormous role in a child’s ongoing development and future success. Since most kids are in a child care or preschool setting while their parents are at work, it’s critical that we invest in a high-quality early education system that provides the experiences kids need for healthy development.
How Can We Strengthen Wisconsin Families? Support Family Child Care Providers
This guest blog was written by our UW Public Humanities Fellow, Kate MacCrimmon. She has been at Kids Forward over the past academic year. Kate offers a unique perspective as both a former Family Child Care provider and doctoral candidate researching the subject. This is the first in a two part series connecting provider voices to...
Equity in Early Learning: Continuing Assessments on Race and Ethnicity in Wisconsin Shares, YoungStar and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten
In the Spring of 2020, Kids Forward published its first report that specifically examined racial equity in Wisconsin’s Early Care and Education (ECE) system. Unsurprisingly, the resulting data showed significant disparities in access to high-quality childcare as determined by YoungStar rating. Fortunately, we did not see this same...
The Governor’s Proposed Budget for K-12 Education Increases Support for Public Schools and Promotes Racial Equity
Governor Evers has proposed a budget that significantly increases aid for Wisconsin’s public schools, targets additional resources at identified needs, promotes racial equity, and limits the amount of public money that goes to private schools. The budget includes a $1.6 billion increase in total state support for public K-12 schools...
In Governor’s Budget, Tax Cuts Go Mostly to People with Lowest Incomes
Governor Evers’ proposed budget includes changes that would reshape Wisconsin’s tax code to give less of an advantage to wealthy and powerful interests, by reining in wasteful tax breaks for the rich and redirecting some of the benefits to the middle class and people with low incomes. State tax policies can be a powerful tool for...
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