Schools face numerous pressing challenges, from chronic absenteeism and falling grades to more structural problems like retaining teachers and workforce development. District and state-level leaders have approached these problems separately, but often they neglect the most strategic lever in the education system: principals. Effective principals, in both high- and low-performing schools, play a critical role in retaining teachers, improving students’ academic outcomes, and maintaining a positive school culture, according to a new report by the Learning Policy Institute, a California-based research organization and think tank. Released in May, the report, titled “The Principal Effect: How Investing in School Leaders Is Key to Solving Education’s Challenges,” synthesizes several studies on principal effectiveness and school performance.

Children with disabilities as young as 2 are being suspended and expelled from school often for behaviors that are related to their diagnoses, according to a new report detailing their experiences. In one case, a parent was called to pick up her daughter with autism less than two hours into her first day of pre-k. And, a different family shared that their 3-year-old who is on the spectrum has been tossed out of four preschool programs. The report from the Education Law Center-PA focuses on families in Pennsylvania affected by what’s known as “preschool pushout.” In some cases, that means children are formally suspended or expelled, but it can also include informal efforts to sideline a child like frequently asking parents to pick them up early.

A group of early childhood researchers and advocates are launching a new partnership to better inform policymakers about research on early childhood care. The partnership, called the Early Childhood Exchange, aims to be a “connector” between researchers and policymakers to ensure research is informing policy decisions, said Amy O’Leary, the executive director of Strategies for Children, a member of the exchange.

“Governor Hochul began this year with a bold promise to millions of New Yorkers — that child care would no longer be a privilege, but a guarantee. Building on the ideas and plans brought to her by parents and educators, she put forward her own proposal ready to be the foundation of what could truly become the path to universal child care. Unfortunately, that initial optimism we felt back in January makes this final budget’s shortcomings all the more disappointing, as it does not include adequate investment in the child care workforce or the child care assistance program which helps families access child care. The final budget is more than a billion dollars short of building the path to universal child care that was promised.

It’s not often you see over 900 diverse organizations across California all agree on something. But when a problem affecting our kids’ education has existed for over a century with little progress towards fixing it, it brings people together to finally demand a solution.

Sara Slaughter, Executive Director of the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation, invites outgoing Start Early President Diana Rauner to reflect on 15 years of leadership in early childhood in Illinois and nationally. Drawing on Start Early’s direct work with young children, families, educators, and communities, and its distinctive approach connecting direct service, research, and policy, Diana shares timely and enduring principles for the field, including the importance of an abundance mindset, the long game required of funders and advocates, and the broad coalition needed to sustain meaningful progress for children and families.