NEWS:

Sandbox Party Convention was a Success!

Sandbox Convention 2010 | Great Start ECIC

Thanks to you – and more than 5,000 of your friends, fellow early childhood advocates and children who traveled from all across Michigan – the first-ever Sandbox Party convention was a huge success.

But our mission doesn’t end there. Michigan is currently in deep financial crisis and many early childhood programs and services are at risk. The responsibility of restoring Michigan will fall to a new governor and a new crop of legislators. We need to educate these new legislators about the positive economic impact of investing in early childhood.

Click here to find out how you can get involved.

Community Action Agency Earns National Accreditation for Four of Their Early Childhood Programs in Hillsdale County 

July, 2009 | View PDF of Article | NAEYC.org | CAA Online

In July 2009, Community Action Agency earned NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) Accreditation for Hillsdale, Pittsford, Reading, and Waldron.

Since 1985, NAEYC has offered a national, voluntary accreditation system to set professional standards for early childhood education programs, and to help families identify high-quality programs. Today, NAEYC Accreditation represents the mark of quality in early childhood education.

NAEYC accredited programs invest in early childhood education because they believe in the benefits to children and families.  Early childhood experiences—from birth to age 8—have an enormous impact on children’s lifelong learning and positively contribute to their health and development.  Early childhood education programs with the mark of quality benefit children with greater readiness for and success in school.   Parents choosing an early childhood education program can be overwhelmed by trying to find the highest-quality program for their child. NAEYC Accreditation is the mark of quality that families are looking for. NAEYC Accreditation gives families the chance to make the Right Choice for Kids.

To learn more about Accreditation go to www.NAEYC.org or call Child Care Network at 1-800-777-2861. 

To enroll your child in a NAEYC accredited preschool contact Community Action Agency at (517) 437-3346.

We Can't Sacrifice Early Childhood
Education (Editorial)

April 12, 2009 | Read Full Article | Denver Post

Faced with the deepening economic crisis, state leaders are being forced to make difficult choices about where to invest dwindling revenue.

Lieutenant governors are on the front lines of this debate. As leaders in state legislatures and in promoting economic development, we have a vested interest in policies that simultaneously save resources and create prosperity in the long run.

Despite these challenging and politically contentious times, lieutenant governors from both parties and from every region of the country are in agreement about at least one investment that states cannot afford to sacrifice -- early education.

Few investments these days offer a guaranteed return, but quality pre-kindergarten is one of them.

That is why we authored, and our colleagues in the National Lieutenant Governors Association just passed, a resolution supporting high-quality, voluntary pre-k for all children.

Pre-k is one of the most important and well-researched public education strategies of 21st century. Thanks to advances in neuroscience, we now know that the great majority of the brain's architecture is set by age five.

Moreover, Harvard University researchers have found that 50 percent of the achievement gap that is present in twelfth grade is already present by first grade. If our nation ever hopes to turn around high dropout and low graduation rates, we must base education policy on research and invest in proven programs. If we hope to strengthen our global economic competitiveness we must develop our human capital starting with the youngest learners.

Click here to read full article.