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A panel of experts testified on the importance of early childhood education and addressed some challenging questions: What is the proper role for early childhood education in the public system? How might federal policies foster alignment between early childhood and K-12 systems? And, if ESEA is to be reauthorized this year, how can a cash-strapped Congress incorporate funding for pre-kindergarten and other early learning programs into the Act without draining money from K-12 programs?

 

These were tough questions, and some possible approaches emerged as themes over the course of the hearing. Robert Pianta, professor of education at the University of Virginia, set the tone early when he said that a new ESEA should create alignment and quality in early childhood programs. As he explained, reauthorization should “set in motion policies that create a new portal into the education system.” Alignment, quality, and re-framing public education to create this “new portal”– that begins at birth or age 3 and extends to 12^th grade—were all key touchstones during the hearing.

 

Other panelists included Barry Griswell, early childhood advocate and retired CEO of Principal Financial Group; Larry Schweinhart, president of High/Scope Educational Research Foundation (and co-author of the well-known Perry Preschool Study); and Henrietta Zalkind, executive director of the Down East Partnership for Children.

 

Members of the HELP committee were curious about how to create a framework to align different services. “There is a cultural collision between early education and schools, and that cultural collision is coming from adults, not kids,” Larry Schwinhart responded. Panelists suggested creating curricula that extend from preschool into elementary school; creating joint professional development opportunities between Head Start and elementary school teachers; and using quality rating systems to help collect data and align programs.

 

Conversation at the hearing—the 10^th held so far this year on ESEA—was lively, yet a sense of frustration seemed to motivate many of the HELP committee members. As Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) asserted, it is easy to champion early childhood education, but “We have not yet bitten the bullet on this situation.” Though the reasons for federal investment in pre-K are clear—and growing stronger as more and more research shows the benefits of early childhood education— incorporating pre-K into federal policies for the K-12 system is a daunting step that could reap great rewards for the education system, but may also prove to be difficult and costly. Yesterday, members of the Senate HELP Committee seemed eager to make the changes that would incorporate early childhood into ESEA—but will Congress “bite the bullet” this time around?