Early Childhood Education

Many California are eager for change and a majority are downright pessimistic about California's future, according to a new survey from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

A child’s earliest months and years are critical to her or his life trajectory. We know that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops before age 5. That’s why it’s so important to invest early in our children. First 5 L.A. and First 5 organizations across the state are eager to support our governor-elect in his efforts to build strong children. Like Gavin Newsom, we know we can and should do more to build strong children today.

Now that California voters have given Gavin Newsom the job he has sought for eight years, he is about to discover that winning was the easy part. Here's his plans for California's most pressing issues.

California's test scores raise questions about whether Gov. Jerry Brown’s two signature education initiatives—the revamped education funding formula that provides far more money for each disadvantaged student, and his doctrine of subsidiarity, or local control—can survive when he's gone.

California's achievement gap needs universal preschool, Hollister Ranch and Martin's Beach brace for battle and de Leon eyes San Francisco's water supply.

California lags other states in closing the achievement gap for disadvantaged students. A new 10-year report suggests a major state investment in preschool.