Bloomington's Washburn Elementary School Principal Jon Millerhagen shares the importance of early childhood education at the Pre-K Coalition briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Millerhagen is joined on the panel of education leaders with Amy Mandel (left) a New Jersey pre-school teacher, and Brenda Welburn, executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education. Photo Credit: Michael Campbell 2011

(October 6, 2011 -- Bloomington, MN)  Bloomington Public Schools’ early education initiatives continue to garner state and national recognition for their innovative approach to helping at-risk three- and four-year-olds come to school better prepared and on par with their peers.

Washburn Elementary School’s pilot Kinderprep program – first developed by Bloomington’s early childhood educators at the Pond Family Center – was featured in a Minneapolis Star Tribune (An Early Ed Push) story last week. This week, Principal Jon Millerhagen shared how the district is integrating early childhood education into its K-3 system at a briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. A live web cast of Washburn’s pre-kindergarten classroom will also be part of the briefing.

“We believe Washburn Elementary School and Bloomington Public Schools embodies a national model of ‘policy to practice’ with its pre-kindergarten to third grade (P-3) integration efforts,” said Kelly D. Pollitt, director of advocacy, policy and special projects with NAESP. “This work is critical to showcase to Congress and key federal education lawmakers the importance of early education efforts.”

The briefing coincided with the release of the Pre-K Coalition’s new report, Ensuring America’s Future: Policy Statements and Recommendations from National Education Associations. The report puts forth a series of recommendations to better support policies and practices that ensure young children are ready and able to succeed in school.

NAESP is also producing a video of the Washburn Kinderprep program to be shared at a PEW Charitable Trust event later this month to promote Pre-K-2 alignment in policy and legislation authorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The Pre-K Coalition is a collaboration of seven of the largest national education advocacy organizations, including American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association.