The poll was taken between 10/10 and 10/16.  I guess being completely negative and not offering any new ideas doesn’t always work.

Here is a link to a WSJ report.

Boston – Strategies for Children, Inc./Early Education for All and Opinion Dynamics today released the findings of a brand new statewide survey of parents of young children living in Massachusetts that gives critical insight into the wants and needs of the families of young children in the Commonwealth. The survey, the first of its kind in over 30 years, provides invaluable data for the state as it moves toward ensuring that all children have access to a high-quality early education. 

Survey results demonstrate that 92% of children receive early education and care from someone other than a parent at least once a week.  Quality issues are most important to parents as they select early education and care arrangements, with the majority feeling that it is very important that these arrangements provide social and emotional development and prepare children to go to school.  The survey findings also indicate that many parents wish their current arrangements were better in these areas. 

The survey highlights differences between Latino, black, and white parents: Latino and Black parents are more likely than white parents to say it is important that early education and care programs prepare children for school, and less likely to think their current arrangements are doing so.

Commenting on the results, Margaret Blood, President of Strategies for Children, Inc. said, “The results from this survey – the first of its kind in over 30 years – speak for themselves: Almost all children are in early education and care settings outside the home on a regular basis. Parents demand quality and opportunities for social-emotional and cognitive development for their children. They want access to high-quality pre-school and full-day kindergarten and we, as a Commonwealth, need to ensure that we meet this pressing need.”

Other findings show:

• Young children are in early education and care settings an average of 3.9 days each week, for an average of 27 hours per week.  On average, children of single parent families are in early education and care settings more days per week than children of married parents—4.37 days, compared to 3.80 days. 

• On average, children under age seven receive regular early education and care from 2.3 providers other than parents or other guardians.  Approximately one-quarter (27%) receive early education and care from one non-guardian provider, one-quarter (27%) from two, a fifth (20%) from three providers, 13% from four or five providers, and 5% regularly receive early education and care from six or more providers.

Parents rate issues of quality as more important than issues of cost or convenience in selecting early education and care arrangements.  The factors most likely to be very important to parents when selecting arrangements include safety (93%), opportunities for social and emotional development (80%), and getting their child ready to go to school (64%).  The factors of cost (46%), convenience of location (59%), and convenience of hours of operation (58%) are very important factors to fewer parents. 

• Parents also rated the performance of their current early education and care arrangements on these same factors on a scale of excellent, good, only fair, and poor.  The safety of current situations is rated excellent by 70% of parents, opportunities for social and emotional development by 65%, and getting their child ready to go to school by 50%. 

• Fully 93% of Latino parents rate opportunities for social and emotional development as very important, while 57% rate their current arrangement as excellent on this factor—a 36-point deficit, compared to a 10-point deficit among white parents.  Similarly, 87% of Latino parents rate getting your child ready to go to school as very important, while 38% rate their current arrangement as excellent on this factor—a 49-point deficit, compared to just 8 points among whites.

Building upon this demand for quality, the survey found that parents are very interested in participating in a new universal preschool program.  Fully 8-in-10 parents (81%) of children under age six say they would be interested in enrolling their child in a free, high-quality early education program for three-, four-, and five-year olds. Interest in universal preschool is especially high among non-married parents (88%), Latinos (89%), and those with household incomes of $25,000 or less (89%). 

When parents were asked about additional information they’d like to receive about this new program, most common responses centered on education quality and content (30%), followed by background information on the teachers and staff (26%).

• Parents would be most likely to enroll their child/ren if the program was offered year round (58%), followed by during the school year (37%), while few would be most likely to enroll a child if the program was only offered during the summer (4%).

• Parents are most likely to enroll their child/ren if the program is offered five days a week (44%), while 36% would be most likely to enroll their child if it is a three day per week program. 

The study demonstrated that the majority of Massachusetts’ parents would prefer to put their children in a full-day kindergarten program. Currently 58% of parents with children in kindergarten report that their child is in full day kindergarten.  Among parents who report that their communities do not offer full-day kindergarten, six-in-ten (61%) say they would rather send their child to full day than half-day kindergarten. 

A total of 585 telephone interviews were completed, including a statewide base sample and over samples among non-white parents and those living in Boston.  Interviews were conducted between the dates of April 13 and May 10, 2006.  The margin of error associated with the overall statewide results is ± 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval.

Opinion Dynamics is a leading national consulting firm specializing in custom market and opinion research.  ODC was founded in 1987 to provide a better approach to research – not just data, but impact. Over the years, ODC executives have worked with over 1,000 clients in a variety of industries across North America, including organizations in both the public and private sectors.

Strategies for Children is a non-profit organization specializing in public policy, advocacy and constituency building. Our mission is to improve the well-being of children and families by moving their issues to the top of the agendas of communities, states, and the nation.

The Early Education for All Campaign is a coalition of leaders from business, early childhood, labor, religion, health care, education and philanthropy, working in partnership with parents, grassroots leaders, and state policymakers to make publicly-funded high-quality preschool education and full-day public school kindergarten available to every Massachusetts child.

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April 12, 2006

LG CANDIDATE ANDREA SILBERT RELEASES TAX RETURNS

For 2003, 2004 and 2005; Challenges Fellow LG Candidates to Release Their Tax and Income Information

Andrea Silbert, Democratic Candidate for Lt. Governor, today released federal tax returns for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005.

“I am asking the people of Massachusetts to entrust me with a job where I will influence fiscal policy, including taxes and spending, that will impact their lives. In order to win that trust, I think it’s important that I share this information with them,” said Andrea Silbert.

“In addition, I think my opponents for Lt. Governor should release their tax returns as well and I ask them to trust the voters as I do. A simple way to do that is to share income and tax information. I trust the voters and believe they will use this information to decide who will best represent them,” Silbert said.

In 2003, Silbert, then the CEO of the non-profit, statewide service organization Center for Women and Enterprise and her husband Craig Caldwell, a graphic designer and artist earned a combined income of $89,955. They paid federal taxes of $11,290 and received a refund of $5,818.

In 2004, Silbert and her husband earned a combined income of $133,007. They paid federal taxes of $20,516 and received a refund of $5,798.

Silbert left the Center for Women and Enterprise in 2004. In March of 2005, she made the decision to run for Lt. Governor. In 2005, Silbert and her husband earned a combined income of $52,047. They paid federal taxes of $13,000 and received a refund of $2,412

Said Andrea Silbert, “A big part of why I am running for Lt. Governor is because I want to represent working people in Massachusetts who live like we do. I am a working mother of three and my husband and I have to watch our budget, pay our bills and plan for our future. I think disclosing my family’s income and tax information shows that. I am running to make sure my children have the same opportunities I have had. I am worried that they will not.”

Note to Media:

To obtain a copy of Andrea Silbert’s 2003, 2004, and 2005 tax returns, please contact Campaign Manager Christy Mach at 617-479-2006/mach@AndreaSilbert.com or Coleman Nee at 617-359-6000.

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