10:15 AM -- 12:15 PM
No More Parallel Play: Governors’ Symposia on Early Learning and the Early Grades (session #346)
The roots of children’s academic success or failure are already firmly in place by grade 3. Even gains made by many children in high-quality pre-K programs can fade if they are not supported by continued high-quality learning experiences in the early elementary years. Policies and practice that effectively align early learning and the early grades (P-3) represent effective strategies for closing the achievement gap. These policies and practices are emerging in some pioneering states as part of an enlarged focus on school readiness that links two separate and distinct systems—early care and education, and public education. Governors in several states have convened key policymakers and education leaders from early care and education, and K-12 education to work together to create strategies to effectively link systems through transition and alignment. This session highlights the proceedings, outcomes and lessons learned from these Governor’s Summits on Early Learning and the Early Grades.

PARTICIPANTS
	Tony Berkley, Evaluation Manager, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Michigan
	Harriet Dichter, Deputy Secretary, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare, Pennsylvania
	Janice M. Gruendel, Governor's Senior Policy Advisor, Children and Youth Co-Chair Early Childhood Education Cabinet, Office of Govenor M. Jodi Rell, Connecticut
	Sharon Lynn Kagan, Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York
	Kristie Kauerz, Early Childhood/P-3 Policy Director, Office of Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien, Colorado
	Eva Lester, Early Childhood Policy Advisor, Division of School Readiness, Office of Governor Janet Napolitano, Arizona
	Sandy Miller, Director, Office of Early Childhood Education, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio