Having a Job Doesn’t Pay the Child Care Bills?

Posted on April 18, 2012 by kelly.burnes

This article on CNNMoney today really made me arch an eyebrow? It’s the complete opposite side of the story, do you buy it? I also think this is a perfect case for why employer-sponsored child care should be enacted. It may not work for every employer, but the conversation needs to start. A message such as this not only sets women back in the job market, by staying home, it sets families (some families) back in terms of small luxuries like taking a vacation. And for kids that do have stay-at-home moms, are they just being cared for…or are they missing out on stimulating early childhood education experiences in preschool?

We know you have an opinion, share it with us!

http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/18/pf/moms-work/

 

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The Latest Issue of Early Childhood News

Posted on April 5, 2012 by pdi

Welcome to the latest issue of Early Childhood News!
We hope you enjoy this latest issue of our quarterly newsletter. A preview of the stories in this latest issue are after the jump, click the “Read Early Childhood News” link below to download this latest issue.

Read Early Childhood News

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Exciting New Read: “Seeing Children with New Eyes”

Posted on April 4, 2012 by pdi

Sydney Gurewitz Clemens is releasing Part One of her new book, Seeing Children with New Eyes: What we’ve learned from Reggio Emilia about children and ourselves, to generously insure the broadest access possible!

Sydney has written about young children throughout her career and is known for her pure and soulful dedication to children and her incredible perception and understanding of children as whole human beings who deserve the most respectful adults. She authored with book with Leslie Gleim and Jed Handler.  Do yourself a favor and read about Reggio Emilia through Sydney’s eyes!

Download and read part one now!

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Must Watch! A New Video About the Importance of Play

Posted on April 4, 2012 by pdi

From KaboomPlay and The Gesell Institute of Human Development comes a new video about the importance of play for children, and the ever-increasing push for more academics in Kindergarten: “The Role of Play in the Overly-Academic Classroom”

The Gesell Institute of Human Development is an independent non-profit organization located on the Yale campus.

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We’re not the only ones…

Posted on April 3, 2012 by kelly.burnes

The U.S. is far from the only country struggling with child care demands and the quality of early childhood education. Take a look at this story from The Conversation. And then weigh in with your thoughts by leaving a comment.

http://theconversation.edu.au/were-hardly-the-nanny-state-when-it-comes-to-decent-childcare-6191?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweetbutton&utm_campaign=article-top

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Nuggetgate

Posted on March 2, 2012 by kelly.burnes

A turkey sandwich with cheese. Potato chips. Banana. Carton of apple juice. Why are we talking about a brown bag lunch? Any of a number of Google searches will turn up the news story and subsequent commentary and opinion on the 4-year-old who had her lunch confiscated at school and served chicken nuggets as a replacement. Here is one link to the story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/15/school-lunch-guidelines-p_n_1278803.html. And as such, when people get to talking, there are conflicting reports out there. Whether the teacher or a USDA inspector seized the homemade lunch, really is not important. What is important is that it happened. We are now embroiled in Nuggetgate…

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New Study Sheds Light on Teachers’ Impact Beyond the Classroom

Posted on January 17, 2012 by pdi

Few topics cause as much debate and concern in education as teacher quality and effectiveness. Do teachers have a strong impact on a student’s performance? Can we measure this impact? How do we identify effective teachers?

Last month, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a working paper by researchers Raj Chetty, John Friedman and Jonah Rockoff that addresses these questions. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the effects teachers in large urban school district on both the test scores and long-term outcomes of their students. (Read the executive summary here or the full paper here). Building on the recent trend toward “value-added” measurements (which measures the average gain among students in a teacher’s classroom against the student’s prior test scores), the study included two major findings:

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Registration Now Open for NYCAEYC Conference!

Posted on December 15, 2011 by pdi

Registration for the NYC Association for the Education of Young Children (NYCAEYC) 2012 Conference is now open! This year’s conference features keynote speaker Faith  Ringgold, a world-renowned author of children’s literature, and over thirty workshops on a variety of issues in early childhood practice and policy. The conference will take place February 10 and 11, and will open with a reception featuring artwork by the keynote speaker. To register, or for more information, visit NYCAEYC’s Conference page.

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Credit-Bearing CDA Has Been Approved by State Education Department

Posted on December 6, 2011 by pdi blogger

PDI is pleased to announce that a 12-credit Child Development Associate Certificate (CDA) has been approved by the New York State Education Department. The launching of this credit-bearing certificate program will not only meet the new federal mandate for Head Start assistant teachers across New York City, but it will also enable participants to more easily transition into 2-year early childhood education degree programs.

Offered in partnership with the CUNY School of Professional Studies, the launch date for this credit-bearing CDA Program is Spring 2012. Applications are currently being accepted for January enrollment.

For more information about this Child Development Associate (CDA) Certificate program, please visit the SPS website: http://sps.cuny.edu/programs/spscourses/programdescription.aspx?pid=127&sid=EDUC

For more information about the CDA credential, please visit our website: http://earlychildhoodnyc.org/education/credentials.cfm#cda

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Reflections on “Dine and Discuss: Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education”

Posted on November 22, 2011 by pdi

Dine and Discuss PanelLast Thursday’s Dine & Discuss Networking event held at the Murphy Institute focused on careers in early intervention and preschool special education.  The event features a panel made up of professionals working in all levels of the field including higher education, supervisory and director roles, and special education teachers.  One overarching theme was the gentle reminder that working in this field is about the child and family first.  In order to be successful when working with a child with special needs, you must have the flexibility to put the needs of that child at the moment first.

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