Early Care & Education Task Force
Voices for Children of San Antonio convenes the Early
Care & Education Task Force for monthly meetings under
the leadership of co-chairs Jensie Madden, retired child
care center director and active member of SAAEYC and the
League of Women Voters, and Andria Macias-Castillo of
United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.The group
works to identify and articulate policy issues that can
improve outcomes in early childhood experiences. They
also organize and engage in pro-active advocacy at the
local and state level.
Related Links
San Antonio Association for the Education of Young
Children
http://www.saaeyc.org/
Smart Start of San Antonio
http://www.smartstartsa.org/
Early On – School Readiness Initiative
http://www.klrn.org/earlyon/
Texas Early Care and Education Coalition
http://www.tecec.org/pages.php/Home.html
Related Reports and articles
The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40:
Summary, Conclusions, and Frequently Asked Questions
The High/Scope Perry Preschool study is a scientific
experiment that has identified both the short- and
long-term effects of a highquality preschool education
program for young children living in poverty. From 1962
through 1967.
http://www.peelearlyyears.com/pdf/Research/INTERNATIONAL%20Early%20Years/Perry%20Project.pdf
BUILDING A 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY
THE CASE FOR INVESTING IN EARLY EDUCATION REFORM
Never before has the connection between our economic
growth and our education system been so critical. In the
antiquated industrial economy of the past, a country
that could efficiently manufacture and produce material
goods succeeded. In today’s new knowledge-based economy,
a nation’s success is contingent on its citizens’ human
capital.
http://www.fcd-us.org/PDFs/CaseforPK-3Paper.pdf
Child Care as Economic Development Database Resource
The Linking Economic Development and Child Care Research
Project aims to better identify the economic linkages of
child care from a regional economy perspective. This
site provides a quantitative database of economic
demographic and policy data for all 50 states and a
qualitative database of all state and local studies
(completed and in-progress). The site also includes
research reports, copies of state studies, advice on
economic analysis, and profiles of new approaches to
child care policy.
http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/viewpage_e.asp?ID=Child_Care
Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions
There is increasing recognition that the first few years
of a child’s life are a particularly sensitive period in
the process of development, laying a foundation in
childhood and beyond for cognitive functioning;
behavioral, social, and self-regulatory capacities; and
physical health. Yet many children face various
stressors during these years that can impair their
healthy development. Early childhood intervention
programs are designed to mitigate the factors that place
children at risk of poor outcomes.
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/2005/RAND_RB9145.pdf
Leaving Too Many Children Behind: A Demographer’s View
on the Neglect of America’s Youngest Children
Harold L. Hodgkinson, Institute for Educational
Leadership, 4/1/2003
Long before children knock on the kindergarten
door—during the crucial period from birth to age five
when humans learn more than during any other five-year
period—forces have already been put in place that
encourage some children to “shine” and fulfill their
potential in school and life while other forces stunt
the growth and development of children who have just as
much potential. The cost to the nation in terms of
talent unfulfilled and lives of promise wasted is
enormous.
http://ielorg.fatcow.com/pubs/manychildren.pdf
Invest in the Very Young
James J. Heckman 2000
“Current policies regarding education and job training
are based on fundamental misconceptions about the way
socially useful skills embodied in persons are produced.
By focusing on cognitive skills as measured by
achievement or IQ tests, they exclude the critical
importance of social skills, self-discipline and a
variety of non-cognitive skills that are known to
determine success in life. Furthermore, this
preoccupation with cognition and academic ‘smarts’ as
measured by test scores to the exclusion of social
adaptability and motivation causes a serious bias in the
evaluation of many human capital interventions.
http://www.ounceofprevention.org/downloads/publications/Heckman.pdf
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