It’s been a dizzying flurry in Washington- some good, some not so good. I thought this brief article from NIEER Online News might help:

“Sequestration cutting early education slots.
A prolonged federal government shutdown closing Head Start center doors and hurting families. 
A “state of emergency” in state-funded pre-K as enrollment stagnated and funding fell.

It hasn’t been easy to be optimistic about early childhood education in 2013, but increased national attention to the importance of early education gives us something to be thankful for as the year draws to an end.

President Obama called for Preschool for All in his high-profile State of the Union address, Hillary Clinton is promoting early childhood development work.  Most recently, the Strong Start for America’s Children Act was introduced by U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Richard Hanna (R-NY), co-chair of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus, and others. Political campaigns across the country highlighted the importance of investing in quality early childhood education.

Take time this holiday season to thank the people you know who are involved in promoting quality early childhood education, and discuss this important policy issue with anyone who can make a difference (everyone).”

Wisconsin has representatives on the Congressional Budget Conference Committee that will make key decisions on the next budget: Co-chair Rep. Paul Ryan and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. The new Strong Start bill would provide a major boost to Wisconsin’s early childhood services, and early learning and development is getting a lot of attention and support. Now we will see if the least productive Congress ever will act on it.

Dave Edie