Early Learning Challenge Collaborative

In May, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new $500 million state-level grant competition, the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge that seeks "to encourage states to develop bold and comprehensive plans for raising the quality of early learning programs across America." The Early Learning Challenge Collaborative is poised to help states make the most of this opportunity.

The Early Learning Challenge (ELC) is exciting for a number of reasons. The administration's commitment, even in tough economic times, to invest in building comprehensive early learning systems is a significant boost for those states who want to advance high-quality and comprehensive early childhood systems and services. It also enables states to continue the work of the public-private partnerships that over the past decade have been critical to the development of the early learning system building movement that laid the groundwork and created the frame for the Early Learning Challenge. As a parallel to Race to the Top for K-12, the ELC demonstrates federal recognition of the reality that children are born learning and that nurturing their early development and the ability of their families to support them matters enormously for educational and life outcomes.

The Early Learning Challenge is a game changer for the field. It elevates quality as the basis for public investment and seeks to develop the essential infrastructure, including QRIS, an aligned professional development system and effective data systems. The ELC addresses the needs of the most vulnerable children through a comprehensive approach – it is not about program expansion but about improving, linking and aligning all of the programs, policies and services focused on young children and their families. It aligns 0 to 5 with K-12 and higher education to ensure that children receive seamless, high-quality educational experiences throughout their lives.