We have the plan, now we need an investor

This morning, early learning leaders released a 10-year statewide Early Learning Plan to provide all kids the support they need to arrive at school ready to succeed.  The immediate question is “how do we fund it?”

We may have found a major investor.  The federal government is poised to create a new $1 billion Early Learning Challenge Fund for select states to develop birth-to-five programs that boost kindergarten readiness.  Our state is well-positioned to compete for these grants, but we need to take action in 2010 to secure a win.

In its latest report, LEV Foundation is proposing five actions for the 2010 Legislature to capitalize on the opportunity to compete for future Early Learning Challenge Fund grants.

1.  Protect early childhood education investments in these tough fiscal times;
2.  Continue developing the Quality Rating and Improvement System to ensure more kids participate in high-quality early learning programs;
3.  Include high-quality pre-Kindergarten in the state’s definition of Basic Education;
4.  Invest in birth to three programs, such as home visitation; and
5.  Accelerate the integration of early care and education data into the K-12 longitudinal database.

Here’s what you can do to improve Washington’s early care and education programs.

• Read LEV Foundation’s latest report on Early Childhood Education to learn about our opportunity to secure critical federal dollars.

• E-mail Gov. Gregoire about your support for early learning.

• Leave a comment on our blog about your thoughts on our latest report.