Advancing Quality Preschool for All
Pre-Legislative Conference
Sunday, March 21, 2004
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
Washington, DC
As part of its project sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts, CCSSO hosted a daylong forum on early education entitled Advancing Quality Preschool for All. This was a pre-conference forum that took place in conjunction with the Council's Legislative Conference.
Chief state school officers, their deputies, federal liaison representatives, early childhood specialists and public information officers were invited to hear from key experts and policy makers on the efficacy and urgency of preschool for assuring school success and meeting the expectations of NCLB.
For more information please contact Jinhee Lee at jinheel@ccsso.org.
General Conference Information
Agenda (pdf)
Summary Notes (pdf)
Background Papers - These papers provide background information on conference sessions. The four paper topics are listed below:
No Child Left Behind - Challenges and Opportunities for Preschool (pdf)
Media - Making the Message Sing (pdf)
Coverage of NIEER's State of Preschool (pdf)
Cadre of Champions - A Year in Review (pdf)
Speaker Profiles (pdf)
Session Information
Welcome Remarks
G. Thomas Houlihan, Executive Director, CCSSO
Elizabeth Burmaster, Wisconsin Superintendent
Tom Houlihan welcomed the audience to Advancing Quality Preschool for All. He described the Pew Charitable Trust's commitment to early education and thanked them for making this meeting possible. Superintendet Burmaster stated that "powerless children need powerful friends" and encouraged the members in the room to continue to serve as advocates for children.
See Superintendent Burmaster's recent weekly message on preschool
See Superintendent Burmaster's presentation at the Orlando National Governors Association (NGA) Forum on Preschool
Opening Address—A History of Urgency
Introduction - Susan Gendron, Maine Commissioner
Betsy Rogers, 2003 National Teacher of the Year
Dr. Rogers shared her unique experiences as she traveled across the country as the National Teacher of the Year. She shared her personal history of her development as a person and as a professional teacher with a teaching "practice." Dr. Rogers has been an elementary school teacher in Leeds, Alabama and described her concern for the equity of resources available for children particularly in low-income schools.
No Child Left Behind—Challenges and Opportunities for Preschool
Introduction - Susan Zelman, Ohio Superintendent
Dorothy Strickland, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education, Rutgers University
Dr. Strickland's presentation focused on the Reading First and Early Reading First components of No Child Left Behind. She described the findings of the National Reading Panel report that guides reading programs for kindergarten through third grade and the National Early Literacy Panel report that addresses early literacy and family literacy issues.
See Dr. Zelman's presentation at the NGA Forum on Preschool
See Dr. Strickland's presentation
Media Panel—Making the Message Sing
Gene Maeroff, Senior Fellow, Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media
John Merrow, Executive Producer/Host and President, Learning Matters Inc.
Kirk Smith, Co-founder, Smith-Mumford
Gene Maeroff, senior fellow at the Hechinger Institute, moderated an interactive discussion between the panel and the audience on the topic of the role of the media in preschool advocacy. Kirk Smith shared his experiences working on New York's Winning Beginning campaign, and John Merrow provided his views through his expertise in radio, television, and producer of documentaries including the Promise of Preschool.
Lunch Session—State of Preschool
W. Steven Barnett, Director, National Institute of Early Education Research
Dr. Barnett's presented his findings in the recent report released by the National Institute for Early Education Resesarch (NIEER) entitled the State of Preschool: 2003 State Preschool Yearbook. The report found that preschool programs are failing children. A greater investment in resources and higher quality standards would improve preschool programs.
Building a Cadre of Champions—Panel-to Panel Discussion
Lindy Buch (moderator), NAECS/SDEs President
Cecil Picard, Louisiana Superintendent
Marilyn Howard, Idaho Superintendent
Tom Watkins, Michigan Superintendent
Sandra Garrett, Oklahoma Superintendent
Dr. Buch posed several questions to the chief state school officers who have led the Council on issues related to preschool. The chiefs spoke on the influences that shaped their views on preK, barriers to preK in their states, and partners who support preK.
See summary notes of the NGA Forum on Preschool
See Tom Watkins' presentation at the NGA Forum on Preschool
Moderated Q&A and Closing Remarks
John Merrow
Dr. Merrow concluded the day with his summary thoughts. He advised the audience to "think big" because there are opportunities to reconceptualize preK in non-traditional ways. He compared preK to the US interstate highway system. When the highways were built, they were constructed with the highest qualtiy standards to meet the needs of both Lexis and Kia. In the same way, preK should be developed with the highest standards in order to serve all children.
