Blog
A mother’s love is good for a child’s brain
Mothers’ support during children's preschool years is linked to robust growth in the area of the brain involved in learning, memory and stress response.
Legislature Adjourns Sine Die; Senators’ Bipartisan Support for Early Childhood Remains Strong
Our Legislative Highlights report summarizes bills affecting the early learning and development of our state's youngest learners.
It’s the Week of the Young Child
The Week of the Young Child is a time to focus on what we can do to create environments that meet the needs of young children at risk to promote their early learning and lay a foundation for lifelong success.
First School-Child Care Partnership Grants Awarded
Falls City, Kearney, North Platte, Chadron, Sidney and Gering receive new Sixpence grants to create School-Child Care Partnerships that will serve nearly 600 infants and toddlers, more than half are at risk of arriving at school prepared to learn.
Nebraska U.S. Senator Fischer Introduces Paid Family Leave Bill
Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) has reintroduced the Strong Families Act that would offer employers incentives to voluntarily provide paid family or medical leave to their employees.
Building a Baby’s Brain: From a Dirt Road to a Superhighway
Babies’ brains are not little sponges waiting for someone to pour information into them. They are built during the earliest years through very specific kinds of interactions.
Flexibility Matters
Home child care providers, child care centers, Head Start programs, school-based preschools, faith-based programs and others all have a place in ensuring that Nebraska's children at risk have access to quality opportunities during their earliest years.
Focus on Reading
March and April are reading months — check out the many promotions aimed at reading to children from birth.
Work Begins on Governor’s Education and Workforce Roundtable
LB773 was introduced to create the Early Childhood Workforce Development Task Force. Rather than have the bill advance this session, a strategic decision was made to work collaboratively with Governor Pete Ricketts' new Education and Workforce Roundtable to identify issues and solutions impacting students' in the early childhood-to-workforce pipeline.
Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Begins
Our nation’s new education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), was signed into law in December 2015. The law, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act, seeks to improve opportunities and outcomes for students.
Teaching Children About Emotions
Managing emotions in a healthy way is an important skill for children learn during early childhood.
Teacher Quality Matters
Broad consensus exists that teacher quality matters—teacher quality makes a difference in our K-12 system and it makes a difference in our colleges and universities. But nowhere does teacher quality have a greater impact than with our youngest children.