Learning Begins at Birth:
The Larger Education Conversation
California Association for Family Child Care A WATER COOLER*
CONFERENCE AGENDA
Bringing the needs of California’s youngest children into the larger education conversation
Welcoming preschool, zero to three, prenatal to five, birth to eight, K‐12, P‐16 and higher education teachers, providers, administrators, parents, activists, advocates, philanthropists, and policy‐makers and their staffs.
March 24 and 25, 2009
Sheraton Grand Sacramento 1230 J Street Sacramento, CA 95814
Learn: How other states—and nations—are advancing early education, and the results they are seeing so far What some of California’s top political leaders are thinking about the future of early education here How changes at the federal level may impact early education policy opportunities How K‐12, preschool, childcare, and early education advocates, teachers, providers and administrators are narrowing their differences to envision a policy path for early education in California
How California business and labor leaders see the issues to resolve and how to move forward How early education fits into the priorities of California voters and what political strategists see ahead
* The Water Cooler is a collaborative effort by the Advancement Project, the California Community Foundation, Children Now, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, First 5 California, Preschool California, and
many other organizations including those shown here, to advance early care and learning for California’s children birth to five.
DRAFT AGENDA **Yellow highlighting indicates that the speaker has been confirmed TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2008
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. REGISTRATION
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. RECEPTION (Hosted Refreshments and Ample Hors d’oeuvres)
Welcoming Remarks:
The Honorable Karen Bass, Speaker of the California State Assembly
The Honorable Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem of the California State Senate
A Salute to Head Start and the Power of Early Childhood Investments
Susan A. Buffett, Chairman, The Sherwood Foundation, The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and The Buffett Early Childhood Fund
Mark Shriver, President and CEO, Save the Children Recollections of My Father:, Sargeant Shriver and the Founding of Head Start
Susan Wernert, President, California Head Start Association
Ed Zigler, PhD, professor emeritus of Yale University, one of the original planners of the federal Head Start program, researcher, first director of U.S. Office of Child Development, now known as the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, and former chief of the U.S. Children's Bureau
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2008
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. REGISTRATION
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. WORKING BREAKFAST
Introductions by Kris Perry, Executive Director, First 5 California
Acknowledgements of Conference Co‐Conveners and Philanthropic Partners
Welcome and Introductory Thoughts from Susan A. Buffett, The Buffett Early Childhood Fund
Brain Development and the Rewards of Early Investment
Lynn Karoly, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Rand Corporation
Matthew E. Melmed, Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE
Jack Shonkoff, PhD, Julius B. Richmond Professor of Child Health, Harvard University
Moderator: Harriet Myer, President, Ounce of Prevention Fund
10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. BREAK, Refreshments Available
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Progress Internationally, in Other States, and at the Federal Level: Possible Lessons and Openings for California
Libby Doggett, President, Pre‐K Now
Cornelia Grumman, Vice President, The Ounce of Prevention Fund, Directing the First Five Years Fund
J. Ronald Lally, Co‐Director, Center for Child & Family Studies, WestEd: Other Nations
Dan Pedersen, Founding President, Buffett Early Childhood Fund: Other States
Moderator: Catherine Atkin, President and Executive Director, Preschool California
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 a.m. Early Childhood and K‐12 Collaborations and Linkages
Welcome, “Collaboration Between Early Care and Education and K‐ 12 on Behalf of Young Children” by Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Gloria Corral, Deputy Director, First 5 San Francisco
Whit Hayslip, Los Angeles Unified School District, Assistant Superintendent of Early Childhood Education
Denise Meek, Executive Director, Early Education Programs and Services, San Diego County Office of Education
Charles Weis, Ph.D., Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools
Moderator: Assembly Member Julia Brownley, Chair, Assembly Education Committee
12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. BREAK and WORKING LUNCH
Public Awareness and Priorities: How Well Do Voters Understand Early Education and Where Does It Fit in the Education Mix?
New California Opinion Research presented and discussed by:
Mark Baldassare, President, Public Policy Institute of California
Lee Ann Buchanan, Lee Ann Buchanan and Associates
Bob Cherry, Hein, Cherry & Attore, Inc.
Scott Day, Political Manager, California Teachers Association
John Hein, Hein, Cherry & Attore, Inc.
Jan van Lohuizen, Voter Consumer Research, Inc.
Moderated by: Ted Lempert, President, Children NOW
1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Narrowing Policy Differences and Creating a Pathway to Success: Status Reports by Water Cooler Workgroups on Policy
Recommendations
10 Minute Presentation; Questions After Report
1:30 p.m. Workgroup # 1: Revenue, Taxation, Proposition 98, and Sequencing/Priorities Co‐Chairs: Ted Lempert and Adonai Mack
1:55 p.m. Workgroup #2: Critical Issues Within the Existing System Co‐Chairs: Debby Armstrong and Nina Buthee
2:20 p.m. Workgroup #3: Quality Rating and Improvement, Tiered Reimbursement, Curriculum, and Delivery System Co‐ Chairs: Meera Mani, Giannina Perez, and Ginger Swigart
Moderated by: Kris Perry, First 5 California
2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. BREAK, Refreshments Available
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. How Parents, Business, and Labor See the Challenges and Opportunities
Pam Brady, President, California State PTA
Jim Wunderman, President and CEO, Bay Area Council
David A. Sanchez, President, California Teachers Association
Blair H. Taylor, President and CEO, Los Angeles Urban League
Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO, California Chamber of Commerce
Moderator: Molly Munger, Co‐Director, Advancement Project
4:10 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Narrowing Policy Differences and Creating a Pathway to Success: Status Reports by Water Cooler Workgroups on Policy Recommendations
10 Minute Presentation; Questions after Report
4:10 p.m. Workgroup #4: Access Gaps and Facilities Co‐Chairs: Sharon Scott Dow and Nancy Strohl
4:35 p.m. Workgroup #5: Workforce Development and Certification Co‐Chairs: Toni Campbell, Sarah Neville‐Morgan, and Marcy Whitebook
Moderated by: Kris Perry, First 5 California
4:50 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. BREAK, Refreshments Available
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Forum with Key Elected and Opinion Leaders: An Eye to 2010
The Honorable Edmund G. Brown, California Attorney General
Tom Campbell, former Congressman, former Dean of Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
The Honorable John Garamendi, California Lieutenant Governor
The Honorable Bill Lockyer, State Treasurer
The Honorable Gavin Newsom, Mayor, City of San Francisco
The Honorable Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
The Honorable Steve Poizner, California Insurance Commissioner
The Honorable Gloria Romero, Chair, Senate
Committee on Education, California State Senate
The Honorable Tom Torlakson, Member of Assembly Committee on Education, California State Assembly
The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Meg Whitman, former President and CEO of EBay
Moderator: Peter Schrag, Sacramento Bee
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT RECEPTION with Forum Participants