PBS Foundation

Fundraising

The Early Childhood Education Initiative

View our interactive map
to see what local stations
around the country are doing
to promote Early Childhood Education.

PBS is spearheading one of the largest scale efforts ever undertaken to meet the growing need for quality early childhood education experiences in America.  The PBS Early Childhood Education Initiative will unite the power of media with proven research-based educational practices to prepare young children for success in school, the critical first step toward leading productive and successful lives.  This ambitious approach toward early childhood education will improve the academic success of children entering kindergarten, helping raise student achievement and reduce the likelihood of dropouts, truancy and other issues. 

The PBS Early Childhood Education Initiative will harness the power of television to engage and teach, and the depth of the internet and a wide-range of new media applications that are proven to help children learn.  Embracing a “whole child” perspective, content developed will cover every aspect of the core curriculum for early learning and growth: literacy, math, science and music as well as social, emotional and physical development.   The initiative will include content and services for young children; comprehensive, standards-based preschool curricula as well as face-to-face and online professional development for early childhood educators and child care providers; and in-depth outreach and information for parents and caregivers. 

Grover from Sesame Street

The Early Childhood Institute will be a centerpiece of the initiative.  This research “laboratory” will be established in partnership with the most influential academic research institutions focusing on early learning in the country.  Through university "lab school" classrooms, daycare centers and home setting studies, the Institute’s work will inform content development and build curriculum support that extends learning far beyond the broadcast and online experiences.  This rigorous research-based approach guarantees measurable learning and student achievement.  A critical component of the Institute will be that it is the nexus for measuring the impact of current and future programming.  While some programs have extensive research and testing behind them, others could use much more.  Never before has the collective thinking of PBS, its content producers and outside experts been consolidated under one central umbrella.  Testing content before and after production within the Institute will become the norm for PBS programming.  And PBS will be able to say that all of its children’s programming creates a valuable and measurable impact – a first in children’s television, both public and commercial.

PBS, alone, is uniquely qualified to address the education crisis in this manner and will dedicate all of its assets to establish and sustain the Early Childhood Education Initiative:

• National/local infrastructure of 355 community-based PBS member stations able to reach 99% of all U.S. households, including the highest reach among low income and minority populations;
• 35+ year history of delivering award-winning research-based content created for early learners;


Learn math the fun way with Cyberchase!

• Most-trusted educational media brand among parents and teachers;
• Local PBS stations experienced at providing outreach, workshops, training and resources to teachers and caregivers, benefiting over 1 million adults caring for over 8 million children to date;
• Thousands of strong community partnerships, including public libraries, child care resource and referral networks, social service agencies, and more, with a strong commitment and track record in reaching low-income and disadvantaged populations;
• PBS.org, one of the most trafficked dot-org sites in the U.S. and one of educators’ top three Web destinations;
• PBSKids.org, offering an array of research-based educational games for kids, and attracting approximately 12 million visits each month.  The average visit to PBSKids.org lasts 48 minutes--well above the industry standard;
• PBSParents.org, awarded a 2006 Parents’ Choice Gold Award, providing parents with in-depth information about each stage of their child’s development and strategies and activities for nurturing that development, from literacy and language to early math and science;
• PBS Teachers, a web site with extensive searchable PBS content and a variety of resources (streaming video, DVD, professional development courses, and interactive activities) for teachers, all correlated to national and local curriculum standards; 
• Long-standing relationships with the leading academic research institutions in the U.S.;
• Extensive multi-platform distribution capability, including broadcast, online, video podcast, streaming video and download-to-own opportunities;
• Pioneer and leader in technology – including the first to deliver closed captioning for the hearing-impaired and descriptive video service for the visually-impaired.

The Early Childhood Education Initiative encompasses every aspect of PBS’s service to young children, their parents, caregivers and teachers.  The Initiative aggregates the strengths of more than thirty years of early childhood experience and builds on those strengths to ensure that our nation’s youngest citizens are given a solid, tested foundation as they prepare for school and later life.  A recent article by Nobel Laureate James J. Heckman, PhD says:

An investment in the PBS Early Childhood Education Initiative is an investment in the success of our country’s future generations.

For more information, please call 703-739-5051 or email pbsfoundation@pbs.org.