General News
Dr. Jane Richardson Taylor never set out to be a preschool director. After two decades as a middle- and high-school administrator, her career was well-established, but a decision to take a year off to spend more time with her high-school-aged daughter, Sara, put her on a different path. When her […]
Longwood alumna endows early childhood development center with million-dollar gift
Providing poor children with high-quality early childhood education – from birth through age 5 – results in adults who are healthier, earning higher incomes and less involved in crime, according to a new study that followed participants for 35 years. The study showed a positive impact especially on boys and […]
Early childhood education pays big dividends, study says
Research in child development over decades as well as modern neurosurgeon clearly show that young children learn best when they are active. That means they get to put their hands on things, interact with other kids and adults, move a lot, create, play. But in the current school reform era, […]
The big problem with early childhood education
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced that the Department of Health and Human Services will award $17,631,822 in grants for various health care organizations, medical research and Head Start programs across Virginia. “This funding is an investment in the health and education of our communities,” the Senators said.“Community […]
Warner, Kaine announce funding for health services, early childhood education
Duke studies the virtues of preschool Oziel Vargas-Mendez reads a story to his pre-kindergarten class with the help of his teacher Jean Evans on March 28, 2014 at Hilburn Academy in Raleigh. Jill Knight jhknight@newsobserver.com Oziel Vargas-Mendez reads a story to his pre-kindergarten class with the help of […]
Duke Studies the Virtues of Preschool
December 2016-January-February 2017 Issue #20 Infant and Toddler Mental Wellness When we think of healthy beginnings for infants and toddlers, we immediately think of things such as nutrition and safe environments. We should also think of warm and supportive interactions with the caregivers who are in the […]
News from The VA Infant Toddler Specialist Network
U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. focused on the importance of both quality and access to preschool learning in the nation during the 12th annual Walter N. Ridley lecture at the University of Virginia’s Alumni Hall on Wednesday. The lecture, sponsored by the Curry School of Education and […]
Education secretary stresses need for high-quality early learning
There are rating systems for hospitals, nursing homes and doctors. So why is it so hard to compare providers of child care? Part of the reason is that there are no nationally agreed-upon standards for what determines the quality of child care. The standards that do exist are formulated in […]
NPR Article on the Importance of Child Care Rating Systems
Last week, the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the 3rd Annual Executive Briefing on the Economics of Early Childhood. The event featured Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl, Co-Director, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences and Director, NSF Science of Learning Center at the […]
VECF and VA Chamber co-hosted the 3rd Executive Briefing on ...
Imagine if we stopped teaching math to children over the age of 5, yet expected them to grow up to be totally proficient with math in their daily lives. Sounds like a pretty bad idea, right? Sadly, this is exactly how we treat social-emotional learning (SEL) in most cases. The […]
Social Emotional Learning is Essential for Success in Life, it ...
Local volunteers visited Culpeper’s Head Start program Thursday morning to participate in the national Read for the Record program. National Read for the Record Day was Thursday, and Culpeper’s Head Start program participated for the first time, said Dorenda Pullen, early childhood and adolescent programs director for the Culpeper County […]