DETROIT - At a press conference in Detroit today, Gov. Rick Snyder announced his intent to issue an executive order creating an Office of Great Start to coordinate the state's early childhood efforts.

A Detroit Free Press account of the press conference said the new office was "the first change Snyder discussed this morning in his special message on education. He said the focus on early childhood programs will result in a greatly improved academic achievement through school and the rest of their lives."

Lawrence J. Schweinhart, president of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti, said, "It’s extraordinary to see the commitment of Governor Snyder to early childhood development and the concept of offering highly effective programs to young children. Specifically, the special focus on early childhood combined with the broader focus on quality is exactly what the state needs. It really helps to realign the issue in a really productive way."

Mike Tenbusch, vice president for educational preparedness with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, said, "We love that the governor not only realizes the important of early childhood but is making it a number one priority of education. The governor’s speech clearly recognizes the success of ECIC and the Great Starts and in moving the children’s agenda forward in Michigan. And it is inspiring to see that he wants to accelerate that."

Meanwhile business leaders across Michigan lauded the governor's plan to emphasize early childhood.

"I’m delighted that early childhood has become an even more pointed focus for the state of Michigan," said Carolyn Bloodworth, treasurer of the Consumers Energy Foundation. "We at Consumers Energy remain convinced that early childhood is one of the best investments a business can make."
 
Lew Chamberlin, CEO of the West Michigan Whitecaps basebal lteam in Grand Rapids, liked the idea of a single office "taking control of those 84 different funding streams in the Michigan budget for early childhood."

"That can only create more efficiency and ultimately save the people of Michigan dollars in the long run. When we’re in the situation were in, dealing with limited public resources, the challenge to use those dollars as efficiently as you possible becomes even greater. I’m pleased that is the governor’s thinking."

Paula Cunningham, member, president and CEO of Capitol National Bank and a member of the Children's Leadership Council, said a state emphasis on early childhood will 'have a tremendous long-term impact."

"This is something we on the Children’s Leadership Council met with the Legislature about, talked with them about, and asked to be created. We feel there is so much more efficiency to have with one office as a point of contact. Realistically, when you don’t know who to call, at least there’s one place you know you can call."

For more reaction to the governor's announcement and to comment, see the Sandbox Party website.

Links to other coverage:
Detroit News
WLNS
WHTC
Associated Press
mLive
Oakland Daily Tribune

In a letter to the Michigan Legislature, spelled out his rationale for creating the new office:

Preparing children for optimal learning and quality achievement in school actually begins at conception. Brain development begins early in a pregnancy. Threats, such as alcohol or malnutrition, can have a negative or even irreversible effect on the developing brain. Premature birth and low birth weight also can have lasting effects on a child. Early childhood is a time of remarkable brain growth that affects a child’s development and readiness for school.

According to Michigan kindergarten teachers, on average, only 65% of children entered kindergarten classrooms this year ready to learn the curriculum. This ―readiness gap‖ often begins at birth and continues until school entry. It can lead to an achievement gap that persists through each year of school.

Seventy percent of Michigan fourth graders scored below the proficient reading level on the NAEP in 2009 (the most recent available data), placing Michigan 34th of the 50 states. Until the end of third grade, children are learning to read. Fourth grade students need to be able to read to learn. Children who cannot meet NAEP proficiency levels, especially low income children, are likely to end up not completing high school, becoming adults who struggle to qualify for even the lowest skill, lowest paying jobs. The result for Michigan: a lack of competitiveness in the global marketplace and a significant portion of the population without hope for a prosperous future.

Our goal must be to create a coherent system of health and early learning that aligns, integrates and coordinates Michigan’s investments from prenatal to third grade. This will help assure Michigan has a vibrant economy, a ready work force, a pool of people who demonstrate consistently high educational attainment, and a reputation as one of the best states in the country to raise a child.

Today, Michigan’s approach to investing in school readiness and early elementary success is not values-based or founded on sound scientific or economic evidence. Research confirms that the developmental needs of children are interrelated, yet we invest in a variety of fragmented, segmented and highly specialized programs. Michigan programs that serve children and families in the prenatal to third grade period are spread across multiple state departments and each department delivers programs based on its own culture, outcomes and goals. Currently, there are 84 separate funding streams scattered across state government that deal with early childhood. Programs operate with varying levels and types of accountability, inconsistently assess quality and lack capacity to measure or report results.

To remedy this, I am proposing the consolidation of early childhood programs and resources into a single office of early childhood focused on maximizing child outcomes, reducing duplication and administrative overhead and reinvesting resources from efficiencies into quality improvement and service delivery.

Our cohesive strategy starts with an Executive Order that combines the Office of Child Development and Care currently at the Department of Human Services with the Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services at the Michigan Department of Education.

The new Michigan Office of Great Start – Early Childhood will be located at the Department of Education and will coordinate all 84 separate early childhood funding streams currently managed throughout various state government agencies. Programs that will become a part of the Office of Great Start in the initial phase will include: Great Start School Readiness, Great Parents/Great Start, Preschool Special Education, Child Care Licensing, Head Start State Collaboration, Child Care and Development Program, and Early On.

This new office will refocus the state’s early childhood investment, policy and administrative structures by adopting a single set of early childhood outcomes. All public investments will be assessed against a single set of early childhood outcomes as follows:

• Children born healthy

• Children healthy, thriving, and developmentally on track from birth to third grade

• Children developmentally ready to succeed in school at the time of school entry

• Children prepared to succeed in fourth grade and beyond by reading proficiently by the end of third grade

Michigan government, business and foundation leaders agreed several years ago on the need for early childhood investment and the necessity of a new approach in order to close the readiness gap. They asserted that neither government alone, nor the private sector acting unilaterally, is able to change the trajectory of school readiness. A bridge is needed to connect the sectors. To that end, the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) was created to be more flexible and nimble than government, and be more aligned with state and federal opportunities than the private and nonprofit sectors.

The Michigan Office of Great Start – Early Childhood working hand-in-hand with the private sector, through ECIC, will create a dynamic partnership aimed at maximizing public and private investment in the service of Michigan’s children.

All human behaviors, from work force abilities to social skills build on capacities developed during childhood, beginning at birth. The early development of cognitive skills, emotional well-being, social competence, and robust physical and mental health is the foundation for school success. These abilities are the critical prerequisites for economic productivity and responsible citizenship throughout life.

Michigan must change to support these realities. We know too much about the first five years of life to continue to invest as though learning begins at the kindergarten door rather than at birth. Government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and ECIC all have critical roles to play.

Click here to read the governor's full letter to the Legislature about his education plans, including the Office of Great Start.

For the Snyder administration's official press release about his education plans, click here.