Winning Beginning NY (www.winningbeginningny.org) is a statewide coalition working to inform policy-makers and the public about the many benefits of early care and learning to children, families and society. The coalition aims to build a broad-based constituency to make investment in quality early care and education a priority in New York State. One of their most significant achievements is the recent commitment by the state to invest an additional $146 million in Pre-K funding, for a total of just under $450 million. Winning Beginning NY looks forward to providing technical assistance to school districts and community-based organizations on how to start-up and expand Pre-K programs across New York.
Winning Beginning NY’s campaign is guided by the following principles:
- Early learning should take its rightful place as a public responsibility in New York State
- All New York State parents should have access to full-day early learning programs for their children
- New York State’s early childhood professionals should have credentials and compensation comparable to those of public school teachers
In addition to focusing on helping the state follow through on its promise to offer free, quality Pre-K to all children, Winning Beginning NY is committed to addressing the crisis in child care funding. The coalition is specifically focusing this session on the early childhood workforce and the passage of loan forgiveness legislation that would re-pay the higher education bills of qualified early care and education professionals. With the Governor making clear his commitment to a 0-5 agenda, there is great optimism in New York about the future of early care and education.
Winning Beginning NY is co-convened by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy (www.scaany.org), Child Care Inc.( www.childcareinc.org), New York State Child Care Coordinating Council (www.nyscccc.org), and the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children (www.nysaeyc.org). For more information please visit the Winning Beginning NY website (www.winningbeginningny.org) or contact Docs For Tots, dft@docsfortots.org).
