For Immediate Release	Contact:          David Griffith
July 11, 2008	703/740-4824

Alexandria, VA - How state leaders can boost the quality of instruction from prekindergarten through the third grade-and how states can better coordinate their widely disparate early education systems to help young children sustain their learning gains-are the subjects of the newest edition of the State Education Standard, the journal of the National Association of State Boards of Education, being published this month.  The State Education Standard is available at www.nasbe.org/standard.

Thirty years of practice and research have contributed profound insights into the importance of preschool to a child's intellectual, emotional, and social growth. State boards of education are uniquely positioned to maximize the investments being made in early education by making connections between prekindergarten, kindergarten, and the early grades and establishing coherence and alignment among these grades.

"Our nation lacks a common vision for serving young learners as part of a comprehensive education, and this is especially true for children from poor families. To be successful in school, all children must have access to preschool programs. We can no longer view preschool and the early elementary grades as separate and apart entities, but rather as a system that complements and connects to one another for the benefit of a child's development. Our journal is offering thought provoking information about what state leaders can do to promote and sustain high quality learning environments throughout a child's formative years," said Brenda Welburn, NASBE Executive Director.

"Seventy percent of American children are unable to read at grade level by fourth grade.  This calls for a new approach that focuses on improving the education of children in each year from pre-kindergarten through third grade.  To do that requires recognition of PreK as an integral part of our universal public education system, and that teachers, parents, and education leaders recognize the critical role played by the early elementary grades in preparing students for success," said Ruby Takanishi, President of the Foundation for Child Development.

Articles in the journal come from a wide range of expert authors in early childhood and K-12 education, policy, and practice. They cover such areas as state experiences, assessments, accountability, teacher preparation, and response to intervention.

Publication of this edition of the Standard was made possible by a grant from the Foundation for Child Development (FCD), a national private philanthropy dedicated to the principle that all families should have the social and material resources to raise their children to be healthy, educated and productive members of their communities.

A four-issue subscription to the Standard is $35. Single copies are available for $10. Call (800) 220-5183 to order.

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NASBE, www.nasbe.org, represents America's state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking; advocate equality of access to educational opportunity; promote excellence in the education of all students; and assure responsible lay governance for education.