Governor's Commission on Early Learning

Following is information regarding the formation of the Governor's Commission on Early Learning:

In a letter from the Governor's office, dated July 17, 1998, Leslie Frank of the Governor's office, states,

The source of funding [for the Commission on Early Learning] is the Child Care Development Fund, which is federal money that comes to the state to improve access to child care and to support initiatives to improve the quality of child care.

The project budget for the fiscal year 1999 is $300,000

The following is the Commission's goals for the first year:

• Bring together a diverse group of persons expert in early learning for collaboration.
• Gather information on early learning "best practices" around the nation.
• Develop a plan for increasing awareness of any participation in early childhood learning opportunities for citizens of Washington State.
• Determine the state's role in early education, assess current programs affecting children from birth to age five, identify gaps in those programs and recommend remedies.

The following is the "charge" given the Commission on Early Learning by the Governor:

• The Governor's Commission on Early Learning is charged with ensuring that every child in Washington goes to school prepared to succeed. [1]
• The Commission will focus on ways to identify gaps in programs for children and parents and focus on raising the public's awareness of issues surrounding early learning in children.
• The Commission will have four main areas of responsibility:

§ Determine the appropriate role for state government in early education.

§ Assess current state programs affecting children from birth to age five.

§ Identify gaps in current programs.

§ Recommend remedies.

§ The Commission is designed to identify a set of specific activities that parents and child care providers can do with their children to help prepare them for kindergarten.

§ The group will develop a public information campaign to communicate information about early learning to the Washington public through television, radio and print media.

§ Members of the Commission will sponsor a Children's Summit and other public events to give parents and care givers a chance to come together to share information about early learning and other relevant topics.

§ The group also will identify a legislative and budget agenda that could be included in the governor's budget and policy proposals for the 1999-2001 biennium."

Placing the Commission on Early Learning in context, the charge of the Governor states:

New scientific evidence now demonstrates that a child's capacity for learning, for later success in school and for greater employment opportunities are critically influenced by their experiences from birth to kindergarten. The state affects the lives of young children in many ways:

§ Each year, 77,000 infants are born in Washington.

§ Washington has nearly 400,000 children under the age of five.

§ Nearly 230,000 children under the age of six (about 60 percent) have both or only-parents in the work force.

§ Nearly 160,000 children are in licensed child care settings.

§ State or federal dollars subsidize care for 30,000 children

§ Federal Head Start and state Early Childhood Education and Assistance (ECEAP) programs serve nearly 20,000.

§ Nearly 10,000 children are enrolled in public school special education preschool programs.

§ Approximately 40,000 children are enrolled in private or community college cooperative preschools.

§ The rate of immunization of young children is 74 percent

§ Nearly 80,000 children under the age of five (20 percent) live in households at or below the poverty level.

Three things become very obvious:

1. The commission is not based on a solid foundation of scientifically validated research.

2. The commission is to address "best practices" not what is known to be true.

3. The commission is charged with determining what the role of the government WILL BE (as opposed to...if there should be a role for the government) in early childhood learning.

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[1] This is "readiness to learn" under the Goals 2000 goals. [Back]

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