Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h4MCeAC26652; Thu, 22 May 2003 08:40:10 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 08:40:10 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <001901c3205e$939d4c80$35881a0a@famlit.net> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Jon Lee" <jlee@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:1564] Clips and Cross Posts X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4510 Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 3839 Lines: 77 Hello all! From: Earlychildhood.com NewsLink for May 21, 2003 Young Educators Face Overwhelming Odds http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0520rookie20.html Head Start info from: LAURA MECKLER Associated Press House GOP Proposes to Revamp Head Start WASHINGTON - House Republicans are proposing a revamp of Head Start to focus the nation's preschool program for the poor more directly on academics, but their legislation is less radical than what President Bush has proposed. The GOP bill, being introduced into the House Thursday, would emphasize academics in evaluating Head Start programs and would require more training for teachers in the program. It also offers a limited demonstration program in which certain states could combine their preschool spending with federal Head Start dollars to create one unified, state-run program, much like the Bush plan. But unlike the Bush plan, states would have to already have high standards in place to qualify for the program. At first, as few as a dozen states might qualify to take part, GOP aides said Wednesday. They would also have to maintain state spending on preschool. Further, the House bill would keep Head Start at the Department of Health and Human Services. Bush's plan, first proposed during his presidential campaign, would move it to the Education Department. The proposed move came under heavy fire from advocates for the poor who argued that HHS ensures that Head Start is about health, nutrition and social services as well as academics. House Republicans decided to keep it where it is. "Ultimately the success or failure of Head Start is a function of what is done at the local level and not which federal agency oversees the program," said David Schnittger, spokesman for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The House bill boosts federal funding to $6.87 billion per year. It now gets $6.5 billion per year. Administration officials could not be reached for comment on the House plan. Head Start, which serves nearly a million 3- and 4-year-olds each year, must be renewed this year, giving Congress and the president a chance to rewrite the program. The House GOP plan would try to focus Head Start on academics by emphasizing cognitive development, including language, pre-reading and pre-math, and would change the way centers are evaluated to better measure school readiness of the children they serve. "The current system is giving these children a head start, but it isn't giving them the best start possible," said Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., chief sponsor of the House plan. It would also put new requirements on teaching quality. Specifically, all new Head Start teachers would have to earn at least an associate's degree in early childhood education or a related field within three years, and half the Head Start teachers nationwide would have to have a bachelor's degree by 2008. Bush's proposal had no such requirements. Under the House plan, a limited number of states could apply for demonstration projects allowing them to combine their existing preschool programs with their federal Head Start money. But to qualify, aides said, states must have standards that are comparable to federal rules on every measure and must promise to maintain state spending on preschool. The Bush plan also would require states to maintain current spending levels on preschool programs and current enrollment in Head Start. It was unclear if the House plan would be more appealing to advocates who were intensely critical of the Bush version Take care! Jon Lee Senior Training Specialist Project Manager for Design and Development NIFL-Family Listserve moderator National Center for Family Literacy 325 West Main St, Suite 300 Louisville, KY 40202-4237 Phone: 502.584.1133 x175 Fax: 502.584.0172 jlee@famlit.org http://www.famlit.org
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