Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 106
03/07/2006 11:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Early Childhood Development Presentation | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
March 7, 2006
11:11 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mark Neuman, Chair
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Les Gara
Representative Woodie Salmon
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Bill Thomas
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Nancy Dahlstrom
Representative Berta Gardner
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Early Childhood Development Presentation
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
STEFFANIE CLOTHIER, Program Director
Children and Families Program
National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL)
Denver, Colorado
POSITION STATEMENT: As an NCSL representative, provided
information on other states' efforts at improving early
childhood education.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR MARK NEUMAN called the House Special Committee on
Education meeting to order at 11:11:00 AM. Representatives
Gara, Gatto, Salmon, and Neuman were present at the call to
order. Representative Wilson arrived as the meeting was in
progress. Representatives Dahlstrom and Gardner were also in
attendance.
^EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION
11:11:25 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN announced that the only order of business would be
a follow-up presentation to the one given the previous week by
the Ready to Read, Ready to Learn Alaska Taskforce chair, Nancy
Murkowski. He said that today's presentation would include
information regarding other states' efforts to improve early
childhood education.
11:13:07 AM
STEFFANIE CLOTHIER, Program Director, Children and Families
Program, National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL),
informed the committee that her presentation would focus
primarily on pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) programs. She listed the
reading material available in the committee packets which
includes topics on teachers, community providers, and model
program research in addition to early education information
published in the National Conference of State Legislatures
Legisbrief. She explained that the primary mission of NCSL is
to help states with policy innovation and encouraged committee
members to use NCSL resources for research or development of
policy ideas.
CHAIR NEUMAN interjected to inform the committee that Ms.
Clothier is very familiar with Alaska statutes.
11:16:12 AM
MS. CLOTHIER notified the committee that Bob Boerner is the NCSL
liaison for the state of Alaska. Then in response to
Representative Gatto, she said that her presentation would not
only highlight the benefits of early childhood education, but
would include policy options as well. Through a PowerPoint
slide presentation, she listed several factors motivating state
legislatures to address early childhood education: low third
grade test scores and the realization that holding back those
students who perform poorly is an unwanted expense; lack of
school readiness when entering kindergarten; the achievement gap
in kindergarten and the finding that those "children who arrive
at kindergarten behind, generally stay behind"; and access to
new brain research and economic data. The next slide, she
explained, compares the test scores to family income of those
entering kindergarten. She relayed that this has resulted in
states trying to determine whether or not to implement targeted
or non-targeted programs.
11:20:54 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN asked Ms. Clothier to explain why the test scores
on the chart, for reading, math, and general knowledge, are all
very close. He expressed his belief that this is not typical
for the variety of student levels.
MS. CLOTHIER said she does not have an answer to this and was
also surprised by the results, particularly for the math scores
which typically are not as high as the literacy scores. She
said she would investigate.
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER, Alaska State Legislature, noted that
there are many parents who believe that children are not mature
enough to be in school until approximately age seven. Given
this, she inquired as to why kids should start school even
sooner than kindergarten.
MS. CLOTHIER stated her belief that preschool is not the only
answer and that family experiences and parental training are
also key factors in preparing a child for school. She also
clarified that although some of the children who lag behind can
"catch up," it is important to determine and address those
skills needed to ready children for school.
11:23:26 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN interjected to say that because research has found
that the capacity of learning in the younger years is greater,
this explains the importance placed on targeting early
education.
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER suggested that attending preschool to
help prepare kids for kindergarten makes sense for some but not
others. In response to Ms. Clothier, she clarified that those
kids who are struggling or unready, might simply be forced to do
so at a younger age in a classroom with kids who are ready to
learn. She offered her belief that preschool programs solely
designed to meet the needs of those who are struggling, could be
more effective.
MS. CLOTHIER said that determining whether or not to target a
program is part of the big debate. She also relayed that at
this point in time, most states target their programs to those
most at risk. However, she opined that those children in upper
income families who are also struggling should have their needs
addressed as well.
11:25:31 AM
MS. CLOTHIER, returning to her slide presentation, listed
several outcomes from preschool programs: higher test scores,
increased social skills, better classroom behavior, less grade
repetition and special education, higher graduation rates,
increased productivity, less crime, and better health behavior.
She showed the committee a series of graphs comparing the
different results of those students enrolled in the Perry
Preschool "program group" to those in the "no-program group."
Those in the former group, she highlighted, had fewer numbers in
special education, higher test scores at age 14, and more
graduating from high school on time. She continued to show more
charts indicating a higher percentage of successes for this same
group as adults: higher earnings, more homeowners, fewer on
welfare, greater numbers employed, and more with savings
accounts.
CHAIR NEUMAN inquired as to how today's trends compare to those
at the time the Perry Preschool study was done.
MS. CLOTHIER said that when considering the Perry Preschool data
which came from a very expensive, high-quality program, states
might question whether it can be replicated in today's world.
She opined that the "model" programs have the greatest gains and
that some of the programs being offered by states today fall
somewhat short of this. She went on to list effective results
of the Abecedarian project in North Carolina and noted how this
can show both short-run and long-run savings to states.
11:28:47 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked what the high-income kids are doing
differently compared to low-income kids.
MS. CLOTHIER explained that there is broad participation in
preschool programs by all incomes regardless of the level of
cost. In further response, she said with the parents being the
child's "first and best teacher, ... the experience happening in
the home is obviously the other factor [determining readiness
for school]." Returning to her slide presentation, she said
that unlike the two aforementioned preschool studies, the
Chicago Child-Parent Center study involved a much larger sample
size yet had similar results with a higher percentage of
successes for those children in the program group: greater
numbers graduating from high school, fewer in special education,
fewer likely to repeat a grade, and fewer juvenile arrests. She
highlighted that some of the greatest savings are those
pertaining to criminal justice. She also relayed her interest
in seeing economists enter the discussion on early education,
interpreting the latest data from the aforementioned model
program studies from an economic standpoint, and confirming that
there are economic gains to be made by investing in early
education. She then spoke of Jim Heckman, a Nobel Prize winner
from the University of Chicago, as someone who has provided
another "interesting approach to the economic argument" and
whose career has focused on the development of workforce skills
in human capital. She said he has identified motivation,
persistence, and self-control as keys to workforce development
and the sooner this is developed in a child's life, the greater
likelihood of having a better economic return.
11:34:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked whether brain development potential
not realized by age five is irreversible.
MS. CLOTHIER indicated that this is not her specialty and that
most of the focus on this topic has been on things harmful to
kids and hard to reverse. Given this, she explained that
additional focus involves determining what kind of positive
environment is needed to promote learning.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON expressed her understanding of recent
brain research findings which is that if the pathways in a young
child's brain are not stimulated, they will recede and begin to
disappear - something that is irreversible.
11:36:41 AM
MS. CLOTHIER listed several different ways states have
approached implementing pre-kindergarten programs which include:
those generally aimed at three- and four-year-old children,
those that vary in length of time per day and per school year,
and those that are sometimes targeted to low-income children or
low-performing schools. In response to Representative Wilson,
she agreed that these programs can be targeted to those schools
that don't meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as done in
Arkansas and New Jersey.
11:37:52 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN inquired as to whether there might be a chance of
an equity argument or potential lawsuit with these programs
being targeted to some and not others.
MS. CLOTHIER said that this is a good question but one that has
not yet become an issue. She stated her belief that preschools
are seen as potential remedies to some of the lawsuits as they
are one way states can make up for deficiencies. She provided
an example of the New Jersey lawsuit in which the development of
a preschool was a result of a kindergarten through grade twelve
(K-12) lawsuit requiring the state to establish preschools.
11:39:15 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked whether some schools have offered
preschool programs during the summer months to address the
problem of not having enough space in schools even though this
would mean a much shorter school year for the preschoolers.
MS. CLOTHIER informed the committee that Florida has allowed its
districts to choose whether to do a school year or summer
program, but only receive funding for the one. She added that
"generally states have not limited their preschool programs to
schools" and as long as the required service is provided and
standards met, anybody can provide the service.
CHAIR NEUMAN stated his belief that the discussion of early
education in Alaska needs to be between both the Department of
Education and Early Development (EED) and the Department of
Health and Social Services (DHSS).
REPRESENTATIVE GARA said it's unlikely that grant money can be
given to a private organization because of the Alaska
constitution which does not allow spending of public funds on
private education. He noted that although federal regulations
allow this with the Head Start programs, funding for other
programs might involve "something that's chartered through a
governmental body in order to meet the constitutional
requirement."
CHAIR NEUMAN requested the Ms. Clothier investigate and provide
the committee with information as to how other states are
addressing this.
MS. CLOTHIER said she would and noted that this same
constitutional issue came up in New Mexico which resulted in the
restructuring of its state departments.
11:42:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON, in noting the challenge Alaska has faced
in funding early education, asked whether many of the states
have [successfully] channeled their budgets such that K-12
funding might be managed by education departments and Pre-K
funding managed by health and social services departments.
CHAIR NEUMAN noted that "Alaska is in quite a predicament"
because EED has said it does not have sufficient personnel to
deal with this.
MS. CLOTHIER opined that "each of the agencies needs to take
responsibility." She relayed that historically the focus on
childcare versus preschool education has been divided. She
provided an example of where some states decided to create a
joint governance between two departments and where others
assigned the management to one department with a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with another. In regard to funding, she
said that sometimes a grant program is managed by the education
department to be directly applied for by providers or possibly
distributed to school districts that then contract out to
providers.
11:44:37 AM
MS. CLOTHIER, returning to the slide presentation, highlighted
that 26 states and the District of Columbia (DC) expanded their
Pre-K programs last year. In response to Chair Neuman, she said
that 40 states currently provide funding to preschool programs.
She then provided the committee with examples of how three
states have structured their preschool programs: Oklahoma,
Arkansas, and New Jersey. She said in Oklahoma incentives are
given for full-day programs and teachers are required to have a
Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with a certification in early
childhood. "These are big cost items if ... done this way," she
said. In response to Chair Neuman's inquiry regarding the
expense, she said the issue of qualified teachers is the most
expensive and most challenging for states. However, she noted
that research has determined the more qualified a teacher is,
the better the outcomes for kids.
11:47:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON inquired as to whether "quite extensive
in-service" for teachers and aides would be less expensive and
just as effective.
MS. CLOTHIER remarked that current research is insufficient in
determining the answer to this. She opined that "there's a lot
to be said about state experience" on this topic. She also
noted the question of compensation is "a big one because the
early childhood field has consistently paid ... very low wages."
If states are going to require more education for teachers, she
said, then the compensation issue comes into play as well.
CHAIR NEUMAN, referring to the tier system currently proposed by
EED commissioner, Roger Sampson, questioned how this might be
affected by the requirement that early education teachers be
more qualified.
MS. CLOTHIER said that some of the states have created a "P-3
certification" to qualify teachers to instruct preschool as well
as third grade. Returning to the preschool study done in
Oklahoma, she relayed that gains were made for all income levels
and all populations.
11:50:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON inquired as to whether the gains made for
those children furthest behind was sufficient enough to raise
them to the same level [as the more advanced children].
MS. CLOTHIER said she doesn't know the answer to this but
doesn't think so.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON stated her belief that those children
"still behind" do not gain the self-esteem needed to feel good
about themselves.
MS. CLOTHIER explained that even though research has shown there
is some "cognitive fade-out" for all kids and their I.Q. test
scores don't remain as high as they once were, those who feel
better about themselves and have more confidence are still more
likely to graduate. "I think what people have discovered is
that it's probably not about [intelligence quotient (IQ)]
anymore; it has a lot more to do with some of the social and
emotional skills that children gain as well," she said. She
went on to highlight other aspects of the preschool studies done
in Arkansas and New Jersey. In response to Representative
Gardner's request to compare results of these states' programs,
she said that Arkansas has not yet done a study as to the
effectiveness of its recently expanded preschool program. New
Jersey does have data for its program, she explained; however,
it is not in the same format as the one done for the Oklahoma
study and so not as easy to compare.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON inquired as to whether any data existed
that could provide a nationwide comparison of the effectiveness
of programs in all states.
MS. CLOTHIER noted that many of the state studies are too new at
this point in time. In further response to Representative
Wilson, she said she agreed that this comparison of data should
be made available.
11:57:14 AM
MS. CLOTHIER informed the committee that given the variety of
choices to be made, in regard to establishing early education
programs, NCSL is available to help states with research and to
help think through the available options.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON said she would like to review the early
education program challenges faced by those western states with
similar distance delivery issues as Alaska.
MS. CLOTHIER opined that the "rural issue" is an important one
and suggested that Oklahoma might have experience with this. In
response to Chair Neuman, she confirmed that legislators
interested in obtaining assistance or information on this issue
could contact her at NCSL.
CHAIR NEUMAN stated his belief that Alaska is "on the cusp of
changing education" and yet faces challenges such as:
limitations with funding, location of schools, division between
EED and DHSS, and cultural differences.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON added her interest in learning how to
educate other legislators enough so that they share the same
concern and willingness to find ways to fund early childhood
education.
MS. CLOTHIER said that one effective route would be to enlist
involvement from other interested parties such as: major CEOs,
chambers of commerce, and sheriffs.
12:01:50 PM
CHAIR NEUMAN acknowledged the presence of other legislators not
on this committee "in trying to make sure that education is
better for all Alaskans."
MS. CLOTHIER, in response to Representative Gara, said her
PowerPoint presentation is available for use [by committee
members]. In further response, she explained that "generally
NCSL doesn't take a position on individual bills."
CHAIR NEUMAN thanked Ms. Clothier for her presentation.
12:03:33 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Education meeting was adjourned at 12:03
p.m.
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