To facilitate interaction among ideas presented in Moving Beyond False Choices for Early Childhood Educators, Series Editor Stacie G. Goffin offers opening comments. For readers new to the Series, her introduction explains the series’ intent. Laura Bornfreund was asked to review the series’ most recent five blogs and identify emerging themes along with their policy implications. She lifts up three issues […]
Laura Bornfreund
Laura Bornfreund is deputy director for New America's Early Education Initiative. Before joining New America, Ms. Bornfreund consulted for a number of education policy organizations including the Forum for Education & Democracy, Institute for Educational Leadership, and Common Core. She began her career as a 4th grade teacher. Ms. Bornfreund holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Central Florida.
Posted inEducation, K-12
Transforming the Early Childhood Workforce Will Take a Village
Policy and advocacy organizations have made a public commitment to work collaboratively to improve the early care and education workforce.
Posted inEducation, K-12
New Paper on the Need for Specialized Teacher Licenses in the Early Grades
Narrower licenses can allow for more specialization
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Every Student Succeeds Act and Early Learning
Much to my and others’ surprise, it looks like there will be a new Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The House passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) last week, the Senate passed it earlier today, and the President is expected to sign it tomorrow. After eight years, it is about time! For the past […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
A Hollow Victory: Senator Murray’s Early Education Amendment
Earlier this month, the Senate HELP committee began its markup of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act on a high note for early education. In his opening statement, HELP Chairman Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) declared full support for Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) Early Learning Alignment and Improvement Grants (ELAIG) Amendment, saying “ Senators Murray and […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
ESEA Compromise Includes a Few Steps Forward for Early Learning
Earlier this week, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) released their compromise to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). You can find a good summary of the bill at Education Week’s Politics K-12. There are provisions to like and plenty to not like, but generally, it rolls back federal oversight of […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Moving Young Learners Forward
Last month, Conor Williams and I wrote a series of posts on how young learners, PreK-3rd grade, could be better supported in a newly reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind. An ESEA reauthorization is eight years overdue. No Child Left Behind waivers are the temporary law of the land, […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Strengthening Early Learning in a New ESEA Part 2
This is the second post in a three-part series on strengthening early learning in a new ESEA. In my first post, I discussed a new opportunity to incorporate ways to strengthen early education, PreK-3rd grade, in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). In this post, I’ll explore a few ideas that would require big […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Strengthening Early Learning in a New ESEA
This is the first of three posts on early learning in a new Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Change is on the horizon for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a process which acquired some new urgency when the Republicans took control of the Senate in January. And “change” is really the only […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Key Questions on President’s 2016 Education Budget – PreK-12
President Obama released his fiscal year 2016 budget request to congress this week. The Education Policy Program at New America has reviewed the president’s budget and generated a list of key questions that policymakers, the media, stakeholder groups, and the public should ask about the proposals. These are divided into three categories. Those covering PreK-12 […]
