GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

When the Obama administration announces winners of the second Race to the Top competition later today, New York will not be on the list.

That’s according to the Associated Press, which reports that nine states are sharing the $500 million in funding for early childhood programs. Those states are California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, a source at the U.S. Department of Education told the AP.

Being shut out means New York will not get federal funding to build a “kindergarten readiness measurement tool” — or a test that all children would take when they enter school. The state had been eligible to receive as much as $100 million.

The nine winners are culled from 35 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, that applied for the federal funds this fall. (more…)

The charter school chain that is expanding to 4-year-olds next year.

State law previously restricted charter schools from admitting pre-kindergarten students; they could go only from kindergarten through 12th grade.

But now Eva Moskowitz, founder of the Harlem Success Academy chain of four charter schools, has found a way to open the schools up to pre-kindergarteners. Success Academy recently petitioned the SUNY Board of Trustees to allow “developmental kindergarten,” which is for 4-year-olds — and won.

The change could pave the way for other charter schools to work with children from an earlier age. Charter schools in other cities enroll 4-year-0lds, mixing traditional aspects of early childhood like play time with the rigorous math and reading focus of many charter schools.

Success Academy spokeswoman Jenny Sedlis told me that Harlem Success Academy 2 plans to enroll 4-year-olds next year. They will take “developmental” kindergarten their first year, and then move onto traditional kindergarten. “We are huge supporters of pre-K and early childhood education and we’re interested in looking at innovative ways to bring excellent programs to more at-risk children,” Sedlis wrote in an e-mail.

CORRECTION: Originally this post said the Board of Regents had to approve Harlem Success’s request. It was actually the SUNY Board of Trustees, which authorizes charter schools.

Today’s New York Times reported that Obama could oversee “the largest new federal initiative for young children since Head Start began in 1965″ if he makes good on his pledge of $10 billion for early childhood education, leaving proponents of such programs “atremble” in anticipation of his administration’s support.

More than 20,000 youngsters participated in the first Head Start programs in New York City in the summer of 1965, the Times reported that year. The full article is after the jump. (more…)

Talking about Barack Obama’s hopes for expanding early childhood education (school for 3- and 4-year-olds) Sam Dillon reports in the Times this morning that, despite efforts to make pre-kindergarten available, New York State’s efforts are “far from complete.” How far? Pretty far. There are two areas to pay attention to: access (how many 4-year-olds are actually enrolled in programs) and quality (are the programs doing real teaching or simply baby-sitting?).

Let’s start with access. New York City advocates told me last year that they estimate demand for pre-kindergarten in the city at about 75,000 4-year-olds. Yet the number of 4-year-olds who are taking part so far this year is 54,000. That represents a steady increase from years past, the Department of Education’s director of early childhood education, Recy B. Dunn, just told me in a telephone interview. But it’s still far away from universal — and it’s also below the number of seats the state agreed to pay for this year, 60,000, a package that would cost just over $230 million, Dunn said. The picture statewide is arguably bleaker. Winnie Hu of the Times reported last year that only 38% of 4-year-olds in the state participated in programs. (more…)

Ernest Logan, principals union president

The principals’ union is joining the groups raising concerns about the city’s plan to make cuts to 21 day care centers for struggling families run by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services. ACS officials have said that no children currently being served by the city-financed day care will lose their spots. But the plan would phase out some day care services next year, by forcing children who are eligible for Department of Education kindergarten programs (because they are at least 5 years old) to attend that kindergarten, rather than ACS preschool.

The union argues that forcing families to switch the place where their children are cared for would have bad consequences, especially for parents with more than one child who find it easier to have all of their children at one location. Among possible consequences, the union named “the likelihood that [families] would move onto the unemployment and public assistance rolls.” Rather than closing the ACS-run centers to these children, the union suggests a plan that would preserve them but would force the Department of Education to share some of its costs.

In other pre-K news: Councilman Bill de Blasio is also protesting the proposed cuts tomorrow at City Hall, and Sara Mead has an excellent round-up of how early childhood programs across the country are faring in the bad economy, and why the fact that they are struggling is bad news. (more…)