California Early Childhood Learning Resources

BRIEF
Promising Models for Preparing a Diverse, High-Quality Early Childhood Workforce in California

Madelyn Gardner, Beth Meloy, Hanna Melnick, and Jessica Barajas
2019 | As California prepares to make major investments in its early childhood education workforce, three programs offer promising models for recruiting and preparing educators through innovative, affordable pathways. These successful programs provide lessons for the state's policymakers about how to ensure all children have teachers who meet high standards and reflect the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity of children and their families.

BLOG
Invest in California’s Children by Investing in Early Childhood Educators

Samantha Tran
2019 | California has an opportunity to invest in its children by investing in its educators. To do so effectively, the state should consider a multi-dimensional approach that includes a true infrastructure of support, higher professional standards, and competitive compensation. With these investments and holistic approach, California will be one step closer to setting its youngest learners on a path to good health, academic success, and economic security later in life.

REPORT & BRIEF
Building an Early Learning System that Works: Next Steps for California

Hanna Melnick, Beth Meloy, Madelyn Gardner, Marjorie Wechsler, and Anna Maier
2018 | There is overwhelming evidence that children’s early years, from birth through preschool, are a crucial time for their development, and that high-quality early learning opportunities support children’s school readiness, promote later life success, and yield a return of up to $7 for every $1 invested. Providing access to high-quality ECE for all children in California will require a comprehensive approach to turning an uncoordinated set of underfunded programs into a true system of supports for children, families, and providers. A complement to LPI’s earlier report Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System, this report examines the challenges California’s counties face in providing ECE and provides recommendations for improving access to high-quality ECE for all children.

BLOG
Quality and Access Depend on Developing California’s Early Learning Workforce

Madelyn Gardner
2018 | As California policymakers look to strengthen the state’s early care and education workforce, the state could take a page from New Jersey’s playbook. In 1999 the Garden State launched an initiative to strengthen and increase compensation for its pre-K teacher workforce. Within 10 years, nearly every preschooler in the state program was taught by a fully credentialed teacher being paid a public school teacher’s salary.

EVENT
Making it Work: State and Local Perspectives for Improving California’s Early Learning System

2018 | The Learning Policy Institute released Building an Early Learning System that Works: Next Steps for California at this forum. This new report complements LPI’s earlier report on early care and education (ECE), Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System, which provides a comprehensive overview of the state’s ECE system. The earlier report found that California’s ECE system is complex and fragmented, and fails to provide hundreds of thousands of children with the quality early learning experiences they need.

WEBINAR
Quality Early Education for all Kids in California - What Will It Take?

2018 | Governor-elect Gavin Newsom has pledged to significantly expand early education in California. But with more than 3 million kids aged 5 and under in the state, what would it take? In partnership with EdSource and Policy Analysis for California Education, LPI participated in a discussion with leading early education experts on how to achieve this ambitious goal.

REPORT & BRIEF
Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System

Hanna Melnick, Titilayo Tinubu Ali, Madelyn Gardner, Anna Maier, and Marjorie Wechsler
2017 | Early care and education (ECE) can have a positive effect on many aspects of children’s development, including the language, literacy, mathematics, executive functioning, and social-emotional competencies needed for a smooth transition into kindergarten and later life success. But for many families, high-quality ECE is out of reach. California has established a range of programs to support the development of children from birth to age 5, but these programs are uncoordinated, insufficient in scope, and of variable quality. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the state’s ECE system, describing its administration and funding, access to care, program quality, and data limitations.

BLOG
Untangling California’s Early Care Programs to Improve Access and Quality

Madelyn Gardner
2017 | California’s complex early childhood education landscape is difficult for parents, caregivers, and providers to navigate. The system also remains underfunded, with a significant gap between the needs of California families and the availability of care. This blog draws on findings from LPI’s report, Understanding California’s Early Care and Education System, to make the case for a more coordinated and better resourced system for early learning.