Seattle - Early learning programs like Head Start will get a budget boost from federal stimulus dollars. For Washington, that's both good news and bad.

About 12,000 children are in Head Start programs around the state - and the state-run equivalent, Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) serves another 7,000. The Washington Legislature is expected to recommend less money for ECEAP, although its waiting list has more than doubled in the past year.

Marty Jacobs, family services director for Child Care Resources, says, rather than using the federal money to expand early learning, state lawmakers see it as a chance to cut back.

"They're looking for all kinds of opportunities to cut state spending, in the hope that the stimulus or other federal monies will pick up the slack. But the fact is, we need more services, not just to substitute one service for another."

ECEAP helps children in low-income families get ready for school. It also helps keep their parents involved in the process, according to Jacobs.

"I think these services are essential for children, and for their families. They provide excellent family support, and really help families provide a great beginning for their children."

If state funding is cut, Jacob warns, the ECEAP programs will lose federal matching money that, for some, could mean closing their doors. Counties like Spokane and Yakima would be especially hard-hit. ECEAP was created, she explains, because Head Start programs don't have the capacity to serve all the families who need them.



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During the COVID pandemic, West Virginia's elementary school enrollment dropped and saw rankings near the bottom among states for some education metrics. However, those students now are catching up on what they may have missed while remote learning with the help of a global nonprofit.

Cathryn Miller, state director for Save the Children's West Virginia program, said her organization has faced an uphill battle in the Mountain State.

"If you look at the 2021 U.S. Census, West Virginia fell among the bottom 10 states for both school disruptions and having the tools they need to learn at home," she said. "Some of the schools did not receive enough devices during their remote learning until January of 2021."

Miller said Save the Children now partners with 50 schools in eight West Virginia counties to provide early education and social-emotional learning programs to about 2,300 children.

Miller said the elementary education programs are offered both during the day and after school, with a focus on two core subjects.

"They strive for reading and math proficiency at the end of third grade, which is that critical time when children need to go from learning to read to reading to learn," she said. "And that is really what sets them up for future success in school and life."

Shane Garver, head of education, hunger and resilience for Save the Children, said that while West Virginia's education system was one of the hardest hit, most American families struggled to keep up with their kids' schooling during the pandemic.

"As the pandemic began, nine out of every 10 families with kids across the U.S. faced significant disruptions in their child's learning," he said. "Recent research has shown that kids are four to five months behind in reading and math skills."

Garver also noted that students from minority communities are up to six months behind in their studies, and students of families in poverty are up to seven months behind.

With negotiations for Pennsylvania's budget under way, a new report unpacks the state's investment in early-childhood education. Advocates hope it can sway lawmakers to boost funding in the budget.

Gov. Tom Wolf's final budget proposal includes a $70 million increase in pre-K funding. In the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children report, the Commonwealth ranks 14th for per-capita funding, compared with 26 states with similar pre-K programs.

Despite increased support for pre-K during the pandemic, Kari King, president and chief executive of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said there's still work to be done because 61% of eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in the state remain unserved.

"When kids have access to high-quality pre-K," she said, "we're really getting them ready for kindergarten, getting them ready for school with the early literacy, early numeracy concepts, to really get them on that path to success throughout the rest of their education and their school years."

Wolf's preschool budget increase would go to Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program, which focus on early childhood education for low-income families. The budget must be finalized by June 30.

The report included investment recommendations to improve the quality of Pennsylvania's pre-K programs. King said supporting educators through professional development is one step.

"Recruitment and retention has been a really big issue in this sector, particularly since the pandemic," she said "So, seeing what we can do to support the workforce in gaining those educational credentials - so that the programs can be high quality, because that's really where it does show that children do better."

An analysis of Pennsylvania's pre-K programs by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill found that children in Pre-K Counts have significantly higher language and math skills than their peers. King said the report will be shared with General Assembly leaders and the Wolf administration.

A new toolkit for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade provides resources for teaching about issues of consent and healthy relationships.

The Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health created the toolkit to help parents, caregivers, educators and young students understand how to start those conversations. Jamie Erdheim, consent culture coordinator with MOASH, said it's important for children as young as 4 and 5 to start learning about issues of consent, personal boundaries, bodily autonomy and healthy communication.

"Especially girls, right? Especially LGBTQ youth, especially youth of color - many of them experience sexual violence by the time they are finished with high school," Erdheim said. "So, if you're starting that education with everyone in high school, it's too late."

One in four girls and one in 13 boys experiences sexual abuse at some time during childhood. Erdheim said it's important for elementary students to have an understanding of what consent is - not only to prevent abuse, but so they can share with a trusted adult if they need support.

Erdheim said there's a common misconception that consent education is only about sex, but noted there are many other contexts for it, and many that are relevant to younger kids.

"For K-through-5 it could be, like, ask for permission before you touch someone's things," Erdheim said. "That's consent education. Or if someone takes something of yours, how are you communicating about it?"

The toolkit also contains recommendations for standards that consent education should meet. It has links to videos, books and websites that can be useful for teaching about these topics, as well as community resources for violence prevention, mental health, sexual health and LGBTQ-plus advocacy.