Harriet Dichter, Deputy Secretary for the Office of Child Development and Early Learning of the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare and co-chair of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Council, stated that there isn’t just one investment or program that is the “silver bullet.”  “What matters,” said Dicther, “regardless the program, is a common framework of high standards, accountability, and sufficient investment to make a difference.”  Dichter explained that we must expand federal funding that will insist that states have research-based standards and accountability based on nationally acceptable minimums and that it is possible to have a national baseline that does not interfere with the states’ autonomy.

The Deputy Secretary pointed out that we need to develop a consistent national framework of standards.  A question I would pose to Dichter and others is how the federal government might both implement national standards and preserve states’ autonomy and creativity in programming.  Further, I would welcome her input, and those of others, as to how we might implement national accountability standards without creating a “No Child Left Behind Act” for pre-school children.  I look forward to continuing this dialogue with Dichter and others in future Committee hearings on early childhood development.

We know that children’s experiences in the first five years of life greatly influence brain architecture and chemistry in ways that can have lifelong impacts on learning, behavior, and health.  And we know that the knowledge and skills gap between children from less advantaged families and those from higher-income families is evident before elementary school.  A high-quality early education – one of the most important opportunities we can give our children – will ensure future generations’ success in school and beyond.

I look forward to this committee’s work with the President to help parents and educators make the early years of children’s lives nurturing and enriching. Ensuring that children and their families have access to high-quality, comprehensive services that help the children develop cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally enables them to succeed in school and in life.

Children who receive quality early childhood education and development services do better in reading and math, and are more likely to graduate from high school, attend college, and hold higher paying jobs. The support and security that these services provide infants, toddlers and young children help their brains develop in the early years and set the foundation – literally – for later development and learning.

Last Congress, we reauthorized the Head Start Act to prioritize teacher quality and Early Head Start. I was proud to have been the chief sponsor of that bipartisan reauthorization along with Chairman Miller, Mr. Castle, Mr. Ehlers, and others. The committee also reported my colleague Ms. Hirono’s PRE-K Act.

We took some important steps.

But meeting the goal that we share with President Obama is about more than any one program. It’s about ensuring that wherever children are, there are high standards, and the resources and accountability to ensure those standards are met.

As a father, grandfather, and former teacher, I know that is the key to their success and our success as a nation.

The states represented in today’s hearing – Nebraska, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Kansas – have demonstrated that state and local commitments to investing in early education and child care can be successful.  As Jessie Rasmussen, vice president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund in Nebraska, explained, “common quality standards, clear pathways to meeting research-based standards of quality, sufficient funding for not only reaching these standards but for sustaining quality operations, and flexibility in meeting family needs have been essential elements in our efforts to build a comprehensive, highly effective, birth to five early childhood system.”  Those same sentiments were echoed by other panelists who also pointed to research-based policy making and statewide collaboration as critical components of successful early education initiatives.

Other common themes we heard in today’s hearing had to do with ensuring access to high quality child care and early education opportunities, supporting families in their role as children’s first and most important teachers, and the need for improved data collection and analysis so we can learn from and improve on what we know works.  We also heard that federal early education policy should foster collaboration at the state level and allow flexibility for states, as some states are further along the spectrum of access and quality, and every state has its own strengths and cultural needs.

Many states – including my home state of Hawaii – have a lot of work ahead of us before our children will have access to high quality child care and preschools.  From what we’ve heard from our panel today, investments in early education are especially important now during this economic downturn.  As more parents lose their jobs and more homes are lost through foreclosures, we must continue to support families in providing affordable, safe, consistent learning environments for their children.