(Mister Journalism Blog by Jeff Salisbury)
https://misterjournalism.wordpress.com/
Increased academic focus? Check.
More testing? Check.
Heightened expectations? Check.
It’s official: kindergarten is the new first grade – and maybe more.
A greater focus 
on academic skills can lead to something else getting pushed out or sidelined. In between 1998 and 2010, music and art declined significantly. The percentage of teachers who reported offering music every day in kindergarten dropped by half, from 34 percent to 16 percent. and daily instruction in art plunged from 27 to 11 percent. Furthermore, 87 percent of teachers in 1998 said they had an area in the classroom specifically designated for play. Only 58 percent said the same in 2010. Similar declines were reported for art and science spaces.
The survey also reveals striking contrasts between 1998 and 2010 regarding the issue of assessments and accountability. In 2010, teachers were much more likely to indicate that evaluating students in relation to local or state standards was very important. In 1998, only 47 percent of teachers said evaluating a child’s achievement relative to the rest of the class was important. That number rose to 67 percent twelve years later. In 1998, kindergarten teachers weren’t even asked about the use of standardized tests to assess students. In 2010, 44 percent reported using them 1 or 2 times a year, 23 percent said one or twice a month.
Read more here: Is Kindergarten the New First Grade? Without a Doubt, Say Researchers – NEA Today
http://neatoday.org/2016/01/19/is-kindergarten-the-new-first-grade/
MSU Extension launches lead educational resources website
EAST LANSING, Michigan – The national spotlight is on Flint as it deals with wide-ranging issues related to lead in the water supply, but lead exposure is not just a Flint problem. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents, including many young children, live in areas with elevated lead levels. Detroit, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Jackson, Holland, Albion, Adrian, Hastings, Three Rivers, Bay City, Ludington, Manistee Three Rivers, and the Upper Peninsula have all had pockets where children have elevated lead levels, according to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services data. This exposure is not from the water supply as in Flint, but instead through lead-based paints and lead residue in soil.
Michigan State University Extension is committed to bringing nutrition and early childhood education with an increased emphasis on combatting the effects of lead exposure to communities in need. MSU Extension, working with partners including the Pediatric Public Health Initiative in Flint, is working to create new resources and modify existing resources to detail how people can use nutrition to fight the effects of lead, and what resources are available in at-risk communities.
MSU Extension has launched the Fight Lead Exposure website (http://msue.msu.edu/lead) as an informational resource hub for people to learn about lead including the risks and what to do if they concerned themselves, a young child or a loved one has been exposed to lead.