ADVISORY: The Push for Quality Pre-School Education
Featuring Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) and Robert P. Casey (PA)
Please join The Center for American Progress Action Fund for an event on Wednesday, August 25th, 2007 from 10:30am – 12:00pm with Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) and Bob Casey (PA) as they present the highlights of their recently introduced pre-kindergarten bills. A Q&A and panel session with experts from the field will follow.
Across America, too few children begin kindergarten ready to learn; an unacceptable number of these students are low-income and minority. Recognizing the impact of high-quality early childhood education on school readiness and future academic success, the Center for American Progress Action Fund has promoted greater access to quality early learning opportunities for youngsters from birth to age five.
In August of 2005, the Center for American Progress released its education task force report “Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer,” which called for universal, high-quality pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-olds beginning with the low-income and minority children who need it most. Almost two years later, the Center released “From Poverty to Prosperity,” the final report of its poverty task force. The report also called for high-quality preschool as well as the expansion of the child care tax credit and guaranteed child care assistance to low-income families.
As advocates, educators, policy leaders, and businessmen strive to create an education infrastructure that will prepare all students for the challenges and demands of the 21st century, the expansion of early childhood learning experiences must be included.
Keynote Speakers:
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)
Featured Panelists:
Carol Brunson Day, President and CEO, National Black Child Development Institute
Harriet Dichter, Deputy Secretary, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Departments of Public Welfare and Education
Libby Doggett, Executive Director, Pre-K Now
Moderated by:
Cynthia G. Brown, Director of Education Policy, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Introduction by:
John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Program: 10:30am to 12:00pm
Admission is free.
Center for American Progress Action Fund
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Biographies
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was elected to the United States Senate by the people of
Sen. Clinton serves on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Special Committee on Aging; and she is the first New Yorker ever to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sen. Clinton was born in
Sen. Clinton is the author of best-selling books including her autobiography, Living History; It Takes A Village: and Other Lessons Children Teach Us; Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters to the First Pets; and An Invitation to the White House as well as numerous articles.
Senator Robert P. Casey is a new U.S. Senator from
In his short time in the U.S. Senate, Bob Casey has already joined the debate on one of his top priorities: increasing access to health insurance for children. This issue is not only one that is close to Senator Casey’s heart, it also runs in the family. The late Governor Robert P. Casey signed into law the children’s health insurance program on which the federal law is modeled.
Casey serves on five Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Special Committee on Aging; and the Joint Economic Committee.
In eight years as Pennsylvania Auditor General and two years as State Treasurer, Bob Casey compiled a record that focused on making government more accountable and responsive to the needs of Pennsylvanians. He has been a fiscal watchdog who made nursing homes safer, child care more affordable and government more accountable. He led the fight to reform Megan’s Law to better protect
Casey and his wife, Terese, were married in 1985 and live in
Carol Brunson Day is currently the President of the National Black Child Development Institute after serving as the CEO and President of the Council for Professional Recognition from 1985 until 2004. The Council is a Washington, D.C.-based association that serves as the home of the Child Development Associate National Credentialing Program as well as the National Head Start Fellowship Program. Dr. Day was also the liaison for the international exchange between the schools in Reggio Emilia,
Dr. Day sits on numerous national boards and has spoken at conferences and programs across the
Dr. Day received a B.A. in Psychology from the
Harriet Dichter is deputy secretary, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning was created by Governor Rendell as part of a new initiative linking the Departments of Education and Public Welfare to bolster early education and care for
Libby Doggett, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of Pre-K Now where she directs the organization’s efforts to educate state policymakers, the media, and the general public about the potential of pre-k to improve outcomes for young children. Prior to joining Pre-K Now, Dr. Doggett worked for the National Head Start Association, where she directed the HeadsUp! Reading program, an innovative, credit-bearing course designed to provide early-childhood professionals the skills needed to help young children learn to read and write. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of
Upon coming to
Dr. Doggett’s public-service record predates her tenure in
Dr. Doggett co-authored the first book written on child care and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Honors for her leadership on children’s and disability issues include an appointment to the Texas Commission on Children and Youth, the Governor’s Trophy from the Governor’s Committee on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities in
Cynthia G. Brown is Director of Education Policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund and served as Director of Renewing our Schools, Securing our Future National Task Force on Public Education, a joint initiative of the Center and the Institute for
John Podesta is the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund and visiting professor of law at the
From 1997 to 1998 he served as both an Assistant to the President and deputy chief of staff. Earlier, from January 1993 to 1995, he was Assistant to the President, Staff Secretary, and a senior policy advisor on government information, privacy, telecommunications security and regulatory policy. Podesta previously held a number of positions on Capitol Hill including: counselor to Democratic Leader Senator Thomas A. Daschle; chief counsel for the Senate Agriculture Committee; chief minority counsel for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks; Security and Terrorism; and Regulatory Reform; and counsel on the Majority Staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Podesta is a graduate of