NAEYC CHILDREN'S CHAMPIONS UPDATE
August 15, 2011
*Congressional Leaders Name Committee That Will Deal with Deficit Reduction Choices
*Governor’s Proclamation on Early Childhood Encourages NAEYC ECADA Accreditation for Associate Degree Programs for Early Childhood Teachers
*New NAEYC Resource Page on Child Nutrition and Obesity Prevention
*National Council of La Raza Releases Report on Dual Language Learners
FEDERAL SUPER-COMMITTEE NAMED TO DEAL WITH REMAINDER OF DEFICIT DEAL - ADVOCATES STILL ON ALERT
As you know from our update on August 2, part of the deficit reduction/debt limit deal was left to a “super committee” of 12 members of Congress, appointed by the House and Senate Republican and Democratic leadership. This Super Committee/Committee of 12 will propose how to make another $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years. They must make those recommendations by November 23 and then Congress will conduct an up/down vote without amendments on the recommendations. If the recommendations are not adopted by December 23 or if the Committee cannot get a majority for its recommendations, then there will be automatic cuts (the term is “sequestration”) of $55 billion from non-defense programs.The actual cuts do not take place until January 1, 2013, a full year after the trigger is pulled. The super committee members were appointed this week. Senate Members: Murray (co-chair) – (D-WA), Kerry (D-MA), Baucus (D-MT), Kyl (R-AZ), Portman (R-OH), Toomey (R-PA); House Members: Hensarling (co-chair) – (R-TX), Upton (R-MI), Camp (R-MI), Becerra (D-CA), Clyburn (D-SC), Van Hollen (D-MD).
Stay tuned for advocacy action. Over the last few weeks of summer, some members of Congress are holding town hall meetings and other events in your state/district. We encourage people to attend these events and raise the importance of public investment in programs that help low- and moderate- income families thrive and our economy grow, such as child care, Head Start, and education.
GOVERNOR PERDUE’S (NORTH CAROLINA) PROCLAMATION ON EARLY CHILDHOOD ENCOURAGES ASSOCIATE DEGREE ACCREDITATION BY NAEYC’S ECADA
As part of a proclamation on high quality early childhood education, Governor Perdue includes the importance of high-quality prekindergarten teachers and encourages the state’s higher education institutions to develop articulation agreements between two and four year degree programs. For community colleges that participate in those agreements, the proclamation encourages them to become “accredited within three years by the Early Childhood Associates Degree Accreditation Program of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.” Over 100 teacher preparation programs have been accredited by ECADA and more are in the process. To find those in your states that have received ECADA accreditation, click here.
NEW NAEYC COMPILATION OF CHILD NUTRITION AND OBESITY PREVENTION RESOURCES
Childhood nutrition, physical development and obesity are serious health and development issues. NAEYC has standards for nutrition and health in our early childhood program accreditation system and we work with coalitions on child nutrition program quality and funding. In 2010, NAEYC was pleased to receive a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to elevate the issue of childhood obesity prevention and to work with our network of experts, as well as state and local Affiliates to provide resources to advocates and early childhood programs as they undertake this work. We have put together a compilation of a variety of resources that we hope will prove useful both at the program level and in planning childhood obesity prevention policy efforts. To view this compilation, click here.
SERVING LATINO CHILDREN WELL - NEW NCLR REPORT
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) has released a new report, "Preschool Education: Delivering on the Promise for Latino Children," that highlights opportunities to improve the educational outcomes of Latino children beginning at an early age, a critical time for setting up children's academic success. It examines the barriers to quality and access that limit the particiation of Latino children and families in preschool and offers recommendations for state and federal policymakers on how to design high-quality early learning programs that serve all children, including Latino and English language learners (ELLs). To get a copy of the report, click here.
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