
As the House Committee on Education and Labor begin hearings this week on early childhood education, it's a good time for journalists to think about visiting centers of early learning, including Head Start and Early Head Start.
Questions about the quality of programs abound at a time when President Barack Obama's stimulus package includes some $5 billion to grow Early Head Start and Head Start and to expand access to quality child care and early learning.
These excellent questions about how to assess the quality of programs come courtesy of the First Five Years Fund, whose goals include increasing the number of policymakers, private foundations and business leaders who believe in the value of supporting young children early.
On this list are some red flags for the kinds of things you don't want to see when visiting an early childhood center:
What you don’t want to see:
Inattentive, overwhelmed, or unengaged staff
* Unengaged teachers sitting on the side of the classroom but not participating
* Shouting, swearing, or other displays of hostile discipline
* Infants and toddlers crying without being attended to
An unsafe, unhealthy, or un-stimulating environment
* Small, cramped centers or homes without designated appropriate spaces for different ages
* A center or home that smells of urine, has visible safety risks, or is unclean
* Frequent use of television or video to occupy children
* Children easily distracted or frightened by visiting strangers
Activities and routines that are too chaotic or too inflexible
* Children wandering aimlessly, left unsupervised, or displaying unchecked aggression
* Children restrained in car seats or in high chairs at times other than meal time
* Children spending a lot of time waiting around for turns
* Children expected to sit at desks, perform highly structured tasks, or other forms of age-inappropriate expectations
What you want to see:
Educated, attentive, and engaged teachers and staff
* Teachers with four-year degrees and specific training in early childhood education
* No more than 8 infants and toddlers and no more than 20 preschoolers in a classroom
* Teacher to child ratios of 1:3 for infants and 1:10 for preschoolers
* Teachers who crouch to eye-level to speak to children and who hold, cuddle, show affection, and speak directly to infants and toddlers
* Families and teachers exchanging information about the child's development and learning progress
A safe, healthy, and child-friendly environment
* A room well-equipped with sufficient materials and toys
* Classrooms in which materials and activities are placed at eye level for the children
* Materials and toys accessible to children in an orderly display
* Centers that encourage safe, outdoor playtime
* Frequent hand-washing by children and adults
* Visitors welcomed with appropriate parental consent
Stimulating activities and appropriately structured routines
* Children who are engaged in their activities
* Children offered breakfast and lunch and a time to nap
* Children participating with teachers and each other in individual, small-group, and large-group activities
* Children receiving a variety of stimuli in their daily routine using indoor and outdoor spaces and age-appropriate language, literacy, math, science, art, music, movement, and dramatic play experiences
* Preschoolers who are allowed to play independently
It's not always easy for busy journalists to find the time to go out and visit pre-schools and Head Start programs, but stories describing what actually happens in these programs go a long way toward helping the public understand what policies are actually working, and where drastic improvement is needed. At a time when the U.S. is poised to invest significant public dollars in early childhood programs, journalists can shine a light on how its littlest citizens are learning -- or not.