Top 5 in Early Childhood From 2015

The needs of our nation's littlest learners have garnered increasing attention in 2015. Although early learning still takes a back seat to K-12 education and higher education in national policy debates, state and national politicians are incorporating calls for early childhood investments into their stump speeches, philanthropic funders are targeting resources to early learning and, according to a new First Five Years Fund poll, average Americans increasingly recognize the importance of early learning for children's long-term success.

Here are some of the early childhood stories that captured attention in 2015 – and what they might mean for the year ahead:

1. Expansion of full-day, universal pre-K in New York City. 

Sure, Mayor de Blasio wrestled Gov. Cuomo for $300 million to expand pre-K back in 2014, and the first full-day slots funded with that money opened later that year. But 2015 was the year the rubber hit the road on universal, full-day pre-K in New York City, with nearly 70,000 4-year-olds enrolled in the city's school- and community-based publicly funded preschools this year.

To put things in context, NYC's universal pre-K serves more children than state-funded pre-K programs in all but six states and exceeds the total enrollment of all but the nation's 51 largest school districts. In other words, NYC's pre-K expansion represents an unprecedented effort to rapidly scale up quality preschool, one that will be closely watched for years to come. Whether NYC's universal pre-K succeeds in boosting outcomes for children – particularly disadvantaged students – will have significant implications for the future of preschool expansion nationally. And whatever the outcome, NYC's experience in rapidly scaling preschool offers lessons for policymakers in other cities and states nationally.

[READ: Pre-K for All]

Parents and the high Cost of Child Care

Child Care Aware® of America’s 2015 report, Parents and the High Cost of Child Care, summarizes the cost of child care across the country, examines the importance of child care as a workforce support and as an early learning program, and explores the effect of high costs on families’ child care options.

This year’s report continues to expose child care as one of the most significant expenses in a family budget, often exceeding the cost of housing, college tuition, transportation or food.

Colorado costs compared to other states can be found on page 27 of the report and you can find a new interactive map that presents child care costs compared to household income here: http://bit.ly/1ORXk0c

Download the report and find child care resources, including an interactive cost map by state, and data highlights for five key urban counties around the country at http://usa.childcareaware.org/costofcare.

Executives Partnering to Invest in Children - 2015 Dinner Presentation

Executives Partnering to Invest in Children - 2015 Dinner Presentation from Enchanted Road Productions on Vimeo.

Read Mark Zuckerberg's letter to his newborn daughter

In a note to their newly born daughter, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Pledged 99% of their Facebook shares to philanthropies that support connection people and building strong communities.

Read the full text of the letter below.

Dear Max,

Your mother and I don't yet have the words to describe the hope you give us for the future. Your new life is full of promise, and we hope you will be happy and healthy so you can explore it fully. You've already given us a reason to reflect on the world we hope you live in.

Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today.

While headlines often focus on what's wrong, in many ways the world is getting better. Health is improving. Poverty is shrinking. Knowledge is growing. People are connecting. Technological progress in every field means your life should be dramatically better than ours today.

We will do our part to make this happen, not only because we love you, but also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next generation.

We believe all lives have equal value, and that includes the many more people who will live in future generations than live today. Our society has an obligation to invest now to improve the lives of all those coming into this world, not just those already here.

But right now, we don't always collectively direct our resources at the biggest opportunities and problems your generation will face.