On May 25, 2011, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that the Administration plans to use approximately $500 million of the FY11 Race to the Top funding for a major competition in support of bold and comprehensive State plans for raising the quality of early learning programs.
I’m truly all for raising the quality of early learning programs. Setting a solid foundation is important for all learners, and can help prevent students from falling behind in later grades or needing special education services. However, every time I read about RTT measures, and what Arne Duncan I’m left with an extreme bad taste in my mouth.
Why are we having competitions in order to get funding?
Why aren’t we spending money finding out what works for different learners and finding ways to implement this for all students?
What is the purpose of the focus of assessments in early childhood? Do we need 2 yr olds to start filling in bubbles in order to get the funding needed to provide early childhood programs from economically disadvantaged kids?
They ask for our input at the bottom of this article. If they want our input, why haven’t they been listening to teachers this past year?
