Last week, I shared with you the news concerning the U.S. Department of Ed.’s release of the K-12 Common Standards for Reading and Math. These standards are to play a major role in Obama’s administration for education reform. The Department of Education has already tied federal money to states embracing the common standards. States vying for the Race to the Top program, for example, received 40 points (out of a possible 500) for participating in the consortium and taking steps to adopt the standards. The Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor’s Association (NGA) lead the formation of the K-12 standards. It has been announced that CCSSO and NGA will soon be starting on a set of standards for birth to 5 years old and would align with the K-12 ones. Hopefully, the new findings from the National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) and the National Research Council’s Early Math report will be a source for constructing these very important standards for Pre-K.

We learn from Early Ed Watch that the Obama administration has developed a new “Effective Teaching and Learning” category for the FY 11 budget. The budget request is for $450 million and would be a smaller silo-ed program approach. “We think fewer, more flexible programs make sense,” says Judy Wurtzler, deputy assistant secretary at U.S. Dept. of Education. What is important to the early childhood field is the inclusion of pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

The inclusion of Pre-K is also included in the LEARN Act. The LEARN Act is a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which is being debated as I write this blog. The debates will continue through the summer.

Early Ed Watch wonders if the government could find itself spending less on literacy programs in Pre-K and the early grades than it did 10 years ago under Reading First. It may be a very long hot summer. Stay tuned for updates.