In the nearly 13 years since I wrote my first early childhood story for The Hechinger Report, I have never experienced a year quite like 2025. From the…
Read more 5 early childhood education highlights of 2025Even with a conservative think tank’s blueprint detailing how the second Trump administration should reimagine the federal government’s role in education, few might have predicted what actually materialized…
Read more The Trump administration’s biggest impact on education in 2025Max Villalobos, 3, paints while attending pre-K at The Morris Foundation Child Development Center on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Fort Worth ISD and PreK Today partnered this school…
Read more Texas parents can use $10K school vouchers at private pre-Ks in 2026, state saysby Jackie Mader, The Hechinger Report November 1, 2025 The first hint of trouble for McKinley Hess came in August. Hess, who runs an infant and toddler care…
Read more Child care crisis deepens as funding slashed for poor familiesWhen pediatricians diagnose preschoolers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, there are clear steps they are supposed to take. Families should first be referred to behavior therapy, which teaches…
Read more Many children with ADHD miss a crucial step in treatmentHello! This is Christina Samuels, the early education editor here at Hechinger. By now, I hope you’ve had a chance to read my colleague Jackie Mader’s story about…
Read more Rural Americans support more government spending on child careThe first words I uttered after successfully defending my dissertation were, “Wow, what a ride. From Head Start to Ph.D.!” Saying them reminded me where it all began:…
Read more OPINION: We cannot afford to dismantle Head Start, a program that builds futures, strengthens families and delivers proven returnsUNION CITY, N.J. — By 7:30 a.m., Jackson had started rushing his father, José Bernard, to leave their house. “Dad, we’re going! We’re going, come on, let’s go.” …
Read more New Jersey’s ‘Abbott districts’ are 25 years into offering free, high quality pre-K, but at least 10,000 eligible kids haven’t enrolledAnother school shooting has unfolded, this time in Minnesota, as a new school year gets underway in many towns and cities across the United States. Two children —…
Read more How to talk to children about school shootings after 2 killed in MinnesotaOSLO — It was a July afternoon in 2011 when a car bomb exploded just a few blocks from Robert Ullmann’s office. Because it was the summer, only…
Read more For Norwegian children, access to child care that supports a joyful childhood is a right. – The Hechinger ReportThere is a long overdue movement in states and districts across the country to update K-3 reading and math curricula to ensure they adhere to research-proven practices. However,…
Read more OPINION: Most preschool curricula under-deliver, but it doesn’t have to be that way – The Hechinger ReportWASHINGTON, D.C. — Jacqueline Strickland has spent nearly her entire life caring for children in Washington, D.C., starting at age 7, when she began babysitting her siblings after…
Read more D.C. experimented with giving child care workers big raises. The project may not last – The Hechinger ReportEditor’s note: This story led off this week’s Early Childhood newsletter, which is delivered free to subscribers’ inboxes every other Wednesday with trends and top stories about early…
Read more Curbing private equity’s expansion into child care – The Hechinger ReportOAKLAND, Calif. — Teacher Yasmin Kudrolli sat on a low chair and lit a candle to start the morning meeting in her prekindergarten classroom in Oakland. Speaking quietly…
Read more California rolling out free transitional kindergarten, bumps and allDERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — On a bright fall morning last year, a shimmering, human-sized Hershey’s Kiss with bright blue eyes greeted delighted children and their parents outside of…
Read more Free child care exists in America — if you cross paths with the right philanthropist – The Hechinger ReportConsider this a head’s up: This week’s newsletter is about poop. Specifically, potty training. In January, Utah Rep. Doug Welton introduced a bill that would require kindergarten students…
Read more Are more 5-year-olds coming to kindergarten in diapers? – The Hechinger ReportEditor’s note: This story led off this week’s Early Childhood newsletter, which is delivered free to subscribers’ inboxes every other Wednesday with trends and top stories about early…
Read more Mississippi child care workers barely earn ‘survival wages’ – The Hechinger ReportEditor’s note: This story led off this week’s Early Childhood newsletter, which is delivered free to subscribers’ inboxes every other Wednesday with trends and top stories about early…
Read more Transit for toddlers: More bus stops needed near Head Start Centers
