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The Build Back Better Act has been the subject of much debate.  Passed by the House earlier this month, the proposed legislation contains over 100 pages related to early education.  Aspects of this bill hold the potential to transform America’s early education landscape.  Our friends at The Hunt Institute prepared a six-page Q&A summary called, “Childcare and Prekindergarten […]

The election is in full swing!  In November, Virginians will elect a new governor.  100 House of Delegate seats are also up for grabs. Both candidates, Terry McAuliffe (along with First Lady Pamela Northam,  Congressman Scott and Delegate Graves) and Glenn Youngkin visited The New E3 School in August to talk about the education crisis. […]

Recently released data showed that an alarming 52% of Virginia’s kindergarteners ended the school year needing additional help in literacy, math, self-regulation and social skills. The pandemic has hit our children, families, teachers and school hard.  Too many of our children are starting school behind.  They will have a tough time catching up. Key Data Points […]

When you spend time on our nature playground, you quickly realize that it is truly an outdoor classroom.  There are science, technology, reading, engineering, art and math activities happening all around. Every child is discovering, exploring, talking, playing and having fun!  There is learning going on everywhere! The gardening station is filled with soil and […]

A March 2021 report by Lynn Olsen and Brooke Lepage of Georgetown University’s FutureEd documents the incoherent, misaligned web of early learning assessments that are costly, challenging to administer and proven to be misused or neglected altogether by policy makers.  Tough Test – The Nation’s Troubled Early Learning Assessment Landscape.

As the American Rescue Plan (ARP) hits educational agencies and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), there is an opportunity in Virginia and in our country to rethink educational systems and help our students get back on track. More children from all socioeconomic backgrounds are behind as a result of the pandemic.  The most recent […]

  Dear Friends, We wanted make sure you saw the Good Morning America story about women dropping out of the workforce.  It features an economist talking about the dire need to address this demand and Virginia’s own Kim Hulcher with the Virginia Child Care Association (VCCA) speaking eloquently about the struggles of working parents, early educators and […]

We are excited for you to see this just released policy brief from Princeton & Brookings’ the Future of Children. The brief highlights strong partnerships between E3, UVA, The Virginia Department of Education and policymakers that led to the development and wide-scale implementation of the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program as a tool for teachers, parents, […]

Dear Friends, In 2005, the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, business, civic and philanthropic leaders created Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads (SBSHR), one of three regional early education initiatives in the state (Fairfax, South Hampton Roads and Williamsburg).  SBSHR moved the meter from 1 in 5 kids not ready for kindergarten to 1 in 10 by […]

Dear Advocates, The 2021 General Assembly wrapped up this week.  YOU made sure that our early learners, parents, teachers and programs were a top priority. Budget Recap $11.1m to increase the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) per pupil amount from $6,326 in FY21 to $7,655 in FY22 to improve quality $5m in FY22 to recruit and […]

This story is part of an EdSurge Research series about early childhood education.   The current child care system in the United States is broken, and everyone involved – the children, their parents and especially the workers supporting them – are suffering as a result, according to a new report from the Center for the Study […]

  Dear Advocates, As you know, Virginia’s readiness and learning gaps have widened during the health crisis.  Now is the time to give our children, parents, and early educators the resources they need to succeed. Legislators are negotiating the final budget today.  Take one minute to send a letter to budget conferees and tell them […]

Even before the outbreak of COVID-19 and resulting mass closures, high-quality child care was in short supply.  Between 2018 and 2019, half of states actually saw a decline in the number of child care centers. This is among the reasons why results from recent elections, in which voters turned out in droves to back pre-K […]

“For the past decade, Washington, D.C. schools have shone as a success story, with achievement for all students rising steadily in elementary and middle schools and more quickly than the national average.  But several years’ worth of that growth has been wiped out by the COVID learning slide, and racial disparities in achievement have widened […]

Let’s Celebrate the Achievements of African Americans in Virginia & the United States This month we honor and celebrate the contributions of African Americans in Virginia and our country. It is important that we explore and read books that help children understand diversity and equality. Take time to sit down and talk with your child […]