This spring’s Literacy Forum responded to such issues in the New Haven region.

Specifically, according to NIEER’s executive summary, “State funding for pre-K decreased by over half a billion dollars in 2011-2012, adjusted for inflation, the largest one year drop ever. The size of these unprecedented budget cuts can be attributed to the lingering effects of the recession on state budgets, especially as at least $127 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds from the previous year were no longer available. Although the recession is technically over, the recovery in state revenues has lagged the recovery of the general economy and has been slower and weaker than following prior recessions…. The consequences of this declining state support for pre-K is evident in two other historic ‘firsts.’ After a decade of growth, enrollment has stalled. This marks the first time we have seen no increase in the percentage of children served in state pre-K. And, despite stagnant enrollment, state funding per child fell by more than $400 compared to the previous year, bringing funding down to $3,841 per child. State spending per child has decreased by more than $1,100 since 2001-2002.”

Further, ”Sixteen states reduced enrollment, from 1 percent in Connecticut, Kansas, and New York to 19 percent in North Carolina.”

Connecticut ranks 29th in its “access for 4-year-olds” (roughly comparable to Massachusetts at 27, with Florida ranked 1st and New York 8th) and 8th in “access for 3-year-olds” (Illinois is 1st, New Jersey 2nd).  In “resource rank based on state spending,” Connecticut comes out 3rd, trailing only New Jersey at 1 and Oregon at 2.  By “resource rank based on all reported spending,” Connecticut is on top, with New Jersey at 2 and Rhode Island 3rd.

A February New York Times article provides national context, along with a Times column by Gail Collins that cites the Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971, bipartisan legislation that Richard Nixon vetoed.  Another Times columnist, David Brooks, is cautiously optimistic about a greater federal role in supporting preschool innovation and evaluation among the states.

A letter writer who teaches English contends that the United States, too, is becoming “a nation of non-readers.”

Times Book Review features and children’s books editor Pamela Paul then reflected on “Reading, Writing, and Video Games.”  According to her:

“It’s important to realize early on that mastery often requires persevering through tedious, repetitive tasks and hard-to-grasp subject matter.”

Jonah Edelman, years ago a founder of LEAP in New Haven, then wrote a USA Today opinion article arguing for universal pre-school.

This spring in Hamden, CT, a March 28 Literacy Forum on Early Learning will bring together speakers including Myra Jones-Taylor, Early Childhood Planning Director for Connecticut, as well as policy expert Cyd Oppenheimer and educator Sandra Malmquist.  Moderating the panel will be Curtis Hill of Concepts for Adaptive Learning, which will be offering “Digital Literacy for Early Learners” – a series of workshops, as “a primer for parents.”

For more information about the March 28 Literacy Forum – for which there is no charge, but limited seating – and to RSVP, please contact: info@literacyeveryday.org.

The New Haven Register published “Improving Education Involves Everyone” – by a Literacy Coalition board member on the complementary roles of teachers, parents, and community organizations in supporting students’ success in school.

Kristof continued, “The even greater challenge is nation-building at home at a time when funding for schools is being slashed, about 7,000 high school students drop out every day, and there are long waits to get into early-childhood-enrichment programs like Head Start. Literacy programs can help break cycles of poverty and unleash America’s potential — and a single F-35 fighter could pay for more than four years of the Reading Is Fundamental program in the entire United States.  As we make hard budget choices, let’s remember that the essential fact of the world is that talent is universal and opportunity is not.”