In 2024, EdSurge printed a number of dozen tales about early care and schooling, up from only a handful after we first started overlaying the early years 5 years in the past.
Situations of the sector proceed to be extraordinarily difficult, with crisis-centered headlines filling our digital pages simply as they do in different information shops. However because the pandemic continues to recede into the previous — and with it, the historic funding that adopted — lots of our tales in 2024 checked out packages and other people providing a path ahead for the sector.
Our protection final 12 months additionally sought to interrupt down the arbitrary barrier between early childhood and Ok-12 schooling. With tales on themes resembling local weather change schooling, social-emotional expertise and kindergarten readiness, we underscored the continuity that exists from the early years into grade college.
Beneath, in descending order, are our 10 hottest early childhood schooling tales of 2024, primarily based on web site site visitors. To see extra of our protection of the early years, click on right here.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
For many years, house visiting packages have supported households throughout the U.S., selling constructive parenting practices that foster a secure, nurturing atmosphere for youngsters. Lately, quite a few these packages have seen a possibility to succeed in extra kids by adapting their providers to fulfill the wants and priorities of home-based youngster care suppliers. We have a look at how these fashions work and discuss to youngster care suppliers who’ve benefited from them.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
A “public coverage disaster” — that’s how creator Dan Wuori describes the U.S. early childhood schooling system, in an interview about his new ebook, “The Daycare Fantasy.” Wuori, who has spent a long time working in early childhood coverage, believes that our present system is extra expensive to taxpayers and extra dangerous to kids, households and early childhood educators than simply about any “diabolical plan” somebody may devise on their very own. He lays out a greater strategy.
By Debbie Tannenbaum
“I’ve discovered that there are a lot of methods to empower even the youngest college students to get artistic with digital instruments,” writes Debbie Tannenbaum, a school-based know-how coach, in an essay. However she says that begins with equipping their lecturers with the boldness and expertise they should combine tech into their school rooms. Tannenbaum shares what she’s discovered about supporting early childhood educators in utilizing know-how with younger learners.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
Throughout the nation, elementary college lecturers and leaders report that kids are getting into kindergarten worse off than their friends of the previous. They’ve underdeveloped social-emotional and advantageous motor expertise. Some will not be but in a position to make use of the restroom independently. Noting this worrying development, some college districts have stepped in with their very own options to help early learners as they put together to begin college. We take a detailed have a look at two of them.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
AI is seemingly all over the place now, however it’s not often mentioned in early care and schooling. Throughout a panel at SXSW EDU in March, early schooling leaders dipped their toes into the dialog about this nascent know-how, discussing some sensible, intentional functions of AI for early childhood educators.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
In December 2023, EdSurge printed an in-depth look at a brand new youngster care mannequin in Michigan, known as “Tri-Share,” that has garnered a lot consideration. This system splits the price of youngster care equally between an employer, an worker and the state. On this follow-up story, we have a look at two states and one county with diversifications underway, to see if Michigan’s success will be replicated elsewhere.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
Sociologist Casey Stockstill didn’t got down to write a ebook inspecting race and sophistication divisions amongst 4-year-olds. However after spending two years observing and researching two seemingly related, high-quality preschools in Madison, Wisconsin, the variations had been too profound to disregard. We spoke with Stockstill about her new ebook “False Begins: The Segregated Lives of Preschoolers,” and the way it has formed her understanding of early schooling as a fantastic equalizer.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
A program that started in Kentucky as a novel concept to rebuild the early childhood workforce — and, in impact, buoy the broader labor market — rapidly unfold throughout the nation. Greater than a dozen states are both contemplating or presently implementing insurance policies that make early childhood educators eligible without spending a dime youngster take care of their very own youngsters. The answer is easy however efficient — and garnering bipartisan help.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
Regardless of the historic funding funneled into early childhood schooling after the pandemic, the sector — and those that work in it — nonetheless wrestle. Early childhood educators earn, on common, $13 per hour, a wage that places them within the backside 3 % of staff nationally, regardless of the essential work they do to “construct our kids’s brains,” as one researcher put it. We look at that and different findings from a current report.
By Emily Tate Sullivan
Kindergarten readiness has been on the decline for years, alarming lecturers, college leaders and youngster growth specialists. Heading into a brand new college 12 months, we requested quite a few educators and researchers: Which expertise are most essential to a baby’s success as they begin kindergarten? Their solutions had been surprisingly constant: ABCs and 1-2-3s are good to have, however social-emotional expertise are non-negotiable.
