Early ESSA

Yes, Warriors Against the Core, we know ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) has horrid plans for our littlest learners. However, did you know there was a 2007 law factored into it as well? (If you’re in a hurry, skip to item number 7 below.)

The Law? The 2007’s “Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act”. How is this playing into ESSA?

According to a general search, the U.S. Dept. of Ed’s document embedding the Head Start Act, should show us how. (image is below)

To access the Guide: essaelguidance10202016
This Guide is 37 pages and is chock full of all kinds of things we Warriors should know:
For example: the data mining, the workforce education, and the inclusion of homeless, Native American, and privately schooled children.

Below are the highlights most important to our War. We should remember that IF the U.S. Dept. of Ed survives, who leads it MUST be a true champion for these littlest children. So far, that champion has not stepped forward.

The Highlights and Low Facts:

1) Dr. John King covers his backside on the very first page and in the very first few sentences. ‘Champion for kids’? No, a chump for kids. Any leader not willing to be held accountable is a leader we don’t need.

Here’s an excerpt, “The U.S. Department of Education does not mandate or prescribe practices, models, or other activities in this non-regulatory guidance document. This guidance contains examples of, adaptations of, and links to resources created and maintained by other public and private organizations.” 

2) Page 4 reveals the guidance is given to assist States and Leaders in the ways they should go to meet their obligations in ESSA. Excuse me, but IF the whole gist of the law was to give the States back their control, why does the Ed feel it needs to assist?

This is like a parent telling a child you can eat whatever you want for dinner and then pointing out that these certain kinds of foods are what they should have. Add to that the resources are from P3s (public private partners)..take a guess as to how many will belong to the CCSS Machine, therefore, being slanted for MORE education alignment and overreach?!

3) Page 5 gives us the worn out rhetoric of ‘high quality’ early learning needs SEL (social emotional learning), anything to close the ‘achievement gap’ (Wait, what? These children are just beginning to learn, there isn’t an ‘achievement gap’!), and critical thinking (again, too early!!). In fact the source cited for the ‘critical thinking’ is called “From Neurons to Neighborhoods”. (Sounds absolutely awful, doesn’t it?)

You can find this dated document on the National Academies Press website. See:
https://www.nap.edu/read/9824/chapter/1
(*Notes: 588 pages long, an army of all kinds of researchers, doctors, social agents, policy makers, and others created this study which focuses on children from birth to their first days in Kindergarten. It looks at how their brains work, how they interact, and on and on.)

Oh, and one more thing, all the Foundations tied to the National Academies Press? Up to their necks in CCSS curriculum and resources.

4) Page 6 begins the teachers and their roles in early education section.

5) Pay very close the the footnotes on Page 7, you’ll see, first hand, what those ‘comprehensive’ services include for families and their little ones. All under government parameters.

6) The justification for ‘federal education funds’ begins on Page 8. If our U.S. Secretary of Education and the entire federal government knew their U.S. Constitution, there is NO legal justification for federal anything in education!!
(*Notes: it is here you’ll begin to see the strings from the feds extended to the LEAs and SEAs (Local education agencies and State education agencies). As I shared with you almost immediately after ESSA was passed into Law, the powers of LEAs and SEAs would increase..and so would the micro-management. Here is where you get an idea of HOW that power is to carried out.)

7) Pages 9 and following show you how ESSA will use Title One funds in preschool. There are all kinds of tables and charts to see. However, it is the sentence stating the the Secretary of Education MUST disseminate performance based education standards to the LEAs that we MUST share!! (see below) Also, notice in the footnotes and you’ll find that 2007 Law.

Other Warning Signs:

Warriors, in this document are other warnings for us to share! Look for charter schools; Preschool Development Grants; subgroups of students considered ‘non traditional’ like homeless, Native American, privately educated, and more.

The Underlying Goals:

From Page 16, “Alignment and collaboration between early childhood education programs and the K–12 system is a recurring theme throughout the ESEA. The law stresses greater coordination, at both the State and local levels, of programs that serve young children, and encourages a more seamless learning experience from preschool through the elementary grades. In order to accomplish these goals, the Department encourages States and LEAs to consider both the horizontal and vertical alignment of programs. Horizontal alignment is the consistency or connectedness of program and professional standards across programs and settings that serve a particular age or grade. Vertical alignment addresses the progressive development of standards from birth through third grade that provide a continuum for children’s knowledge and skills. Furthermore, it is important that both schools and early childhood programs coordinate their outreach efforts to families, so that they are aware of enrollment options and processes for their children. Community-based organizations can play an important role in this regard as they often have existing, trusting relationships with families.”

Warriors, I don’t need to share with you how dangerous this is. A ‘seamless transition’ is not only for early learners to elementary school, it’s ‘birth to grad school and/or career’!
We have TOO much evidence which points this out, to sweep it under a rug.

Related Resources:

1) Sept. 2016, a document from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services where you’ll find a lot of information about agencies, services, and groups to be used to continue alignment. You’ll also see assessments are factored in. Every State has an Early Childhood Education Council, that’s where you can find out how aligned your State already is to ESSA for the little ones. See the document:
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/sac_joint_statement_final.pdf

2) To learn more about the State Advisory Councils:
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/states/collaboration/advisory.html

3) My articles related to early learners and ESSA:
a) https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/11/12/spin-cycle-anyone/
(How current Congressional bodies are helping use early education, Title One, and more to align to a workforce based education.)
b) https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/10/23/sure-fire-disaster-fed-ed/
(A gold mine of early learning alignment in S3190. The Congressional Appropriations and its early education earmarked intentions, and more.)
c) https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/02/11/fed-ed-2017-are-you-ready/
(Early Head Start and so much more.)
d) https://www.commoncorediva.com/2016/09/03/supercalifragilisticexpialidocious/
(Performance family standards, performance standards for little ones and a host of other compliance intentions by the federally led education debacle.)

Closing:

Warriors, it goes with saying, but I will say it anyway. We must use this type of information NOW to influence our leaders BEFORE their return to office in January (or their debut in January).

What you see below is a lovely little child. The sponge is to represent all  that our babies will absorb in life. How dreadful it is to know they are destined for a streamlined education of workforce proportions instead of being free to be themselves.