New & Noteworthy

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.

Illinois businesses are advocating for more funding for child care assistance as facilities close while demand for services remains high. ReadyNation Illinois, a nonprofit representing Illinois business leaders, reported Tuesday that Illinois is losing $6.2 billion each year because of the child care crisis. Parents are not able to be productive workers because they have to take care of their child instead, according to the report. Bloomington-Normal has recently seen child care facility closures even though demand is still high. The cost of running a child care facility has also increased, leading to increased prices for parents and making some places unaffordable for some families.

Nearly two years after Chicago Public Schools removed police officers from campuses and implemented a new holistic approach to school safety, officials believe that shift could serve as a replicable model for school districts across the country. Those findings come from a new study from the University of Chicago’s Consortium on School Research and the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital, which examined the CPS process for removing school resource officers in 2024 and replacing them with a new Whole School Safety plan.

Higher education programs that prepare early childhood educators are at a critical inflection point as new policy and accountability pressures threaten the strength and sustainability of the early educator pipeline. On January 22 from 3:30–4:45 pm ET, AACTE, NAEYC, and the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation will co-host Education Bookends: Threats to Higher Education and the Impact on the Early Educator Pipeline and Profession, a timely webinar bringing together national leaders from higher education, philanthropy, and early childhood to examine what’s at stake.