The annual Kids Count Data Book shows the state is moving in the wrong direction on too many key indicators predicting a successful future. Bright spots? Some.
Child care in Michigan
Stories about what happens to kids with care before kindergarten begins.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Child care isn’t just a parental issue. It’s a concern for employers, too.
Children need quality care while their parents work. Michigan needs their parents working. We need to do better for both.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Getting ‘rigor’ right in preschool, or avoiding rigor mortis in 4-year-olds
With all the emphasis on “return on investment” in early childhood education, let’s not forget that play, and just play, is the real way children build a foundation for the schooling to come.
Posted inChildren & Families
Michigan’s low investment in child care costs state and poor children alike
Michigan has one of the most restrictive policies in the nation on giving low-income families access to subsidized child care. Yet research shows investing in high-quality care can put more parents back to work and improves the odds for vulnerable children
Posted inTalent & Education
Putting a value on young minds
In a year when state legislators are disinclined to spend, a stunning report shows that Michigan can invest now in proven early childhood programs, or spend a great deal more later.
Posted inTalent & Education
New 2-1-1 phone program connects parents in need with local preschool enrollment offices this August
(Bridge illustration/A.J. Jonews) If you have a 4-year-old child and live in a household with low or moderate income, you are one call away from a great opportunity for your family. Michigan’s preschool program, Great Start Readiness, is a proven way to provide key social and learning skills that can greatly help young children […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: Preschool funding boost praised, but there’s work to do for Michigan’s 0-3’s
By Mina Hong/Michigan’s Children and Scott Menzel/MAISA FAST START: Michigan’ new investment in preschool classes for 4-year-olds is vital, write Mina Hong and Scott Menzel, but the state still has work to do on programs for infants and toddlers. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) The Legislature recently approved an historic expansion of the […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: It’s past time to extend ‘exquisite beauty’ of early learning to all of our children
By Bob Sornson/Early Learning Foundation (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) Across our nation there is a growing debate. How much should we spend to support early childhood programs? How should we spend it? Why should we spend our money on other people’s kids? The debate is often poorly informed, but at least we […]
Posted inPhil's Column
‘Sanity caucus’ shepherds preschool reform, dollars through capital gridlock
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. I’ve had a few days now to mull over the goings-on at last week’s annual Mackinac Island Policy Conference. Much of the talk on the enormous porch of the magnificent Grand Hotel was how our political system seems incapable of dealing with big subjects on […]
Posted inTalent & Education
On horizon for preschools: More public-private partnerships
MACKINAC ISLAND — Legislators had barely made it to Mackinac Island after passing an historic increase in funding for early childhood education before discussion turned to what happens next. A panel today predicted more public-private partnerships in pre-K for 4-year-olds and investment in brain development at even earlier ages could be on the horizon if […]
