HEALTH - Toxic Waters

"Investigations reveal startling scope of lead in drinking water" PBS NewsHour 12/20/2016

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SUMMARY:  On Tuesday, Michigan's attorney general filed new criminal charges in Flint's lead contamination case.  But Flint is not alone.  Reports from both USA Today and Reuters find that lead contamination is widespread, affecting some millions of Americans, usually in rural communities with small water systems.  Judy Woodruff speaks with Laura Ungar, the lead reporter on the USA Today investigation.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  As we reported earlier, Michigan's attorney general filed criminal charges against city officials in Flint for operating that city's water systems in an unsafe manner.

Well, it turns out Flint is not alone in having a lead contamination problem.  Two recent news investigation find two startling numbers.

A Reuters investigation of lead levels in blood found nearly 3,000 areas in the country with contamination levels higher than those in Flint.

And a USA Today report found that some four million Americans get water from utilities that do not meet federal safe drinking water standards.

Laura Ungar was a lead reporter on the USA Today investigation.  And she joins me now.

Laura Ungar, welcome to the program.

You and your colleagues focused on smaller communities around the country.  Why?

LAURA UNGAR, USA Today:  Well, we wanted to look at the problem beyond Flint and look to see just how big the scope was.

And so, basically, we looked at where the problem was the worst, and we found that, in these small water systems, which are generally located in rural areas, small, remote communities, the problem was worse in those communities.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  And give us an example of what you found.  You got a number of families you write about in this series.

LAURA UNGAR:  Yes.

For example, one family in Ranger, Texas, they have a situation where their 2-year-old son has high levels of lead in his blood.  And they lived there for about a year, almost a year, before finding out from a citywide letter that they had high lead in their city, in their city's water supply.

And then they — actually, their tap was tested, and they didn't find out the results of that from the city.  They found it out from me, actually.  I told them the levels that were found in their own tap.

So — and they were very upset about that situation, because, you know, their son is 2, and he's facing high lead, which, as you know, just causes all sorts of problems with children.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  And, again, it wasn't just this one small community.  You found something like four million Americans affected.

LAURA UNGAR:  Yes, it's more than four million.

That four million is places where — or people affected by places that either tested improperly or skipped tests.  There are even more than that when you talk about where high lead has been found and, in some cases, has not been fixed.

"After Flint's lead crisis, the ‘most important medication' for kids is education" PBS NewsHour 12/20/2016

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SUMMARY:  There is a well-established link between lead exposure and learning disabilities, but early childhood education has been shown to counteract the effects.  In Flint, Michigan, where the youngest residents have been the most vulnerable to lead poisoning, the city has opened a free child care center in an attempt to counteract the harmful effects on developing brains.  Hari Sreenivasan reports.

EDUCATION - Adding Up Pre-Schooling

"Counting the benefits of teaching math to 3-year-olds" PBS NewsHour 9/6/2016

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SUMMARY:  In Boston public schools, 3, 4 and 5-year-olds are getting their first introduction to math.  Before they walk through the kindergarten door, the “Building Blocks” curriculum is designed to encourage very young children to think and talk about math concepts throughout the days, by providing lessons through innovative games.  Special correspondent Cat Wise reports.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Students in Boston are heading back to the classroom this week, where the school district's youngest learners are taking on math in a whole new way.

Special correspondent Cat Wise reports for our weekly education segment, Making the Grade.

WOMAN:  Ready, go.

CHILDREN:  One, two, three, four, five.

CAT WISE, Special correspondent:  The scene may look like indoor recess, but these preschool students are jumping joyfully for a lesson in mathematics.

WOMAN:  Who's getting warmed up now?

CAT WISE:  Even the teachers in this Boston public elementary are warming up to the idea of math instruction for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds.

WOMAN:  Beautiful.

CAT WISE:  Sara Gardner teaches pre-kindergarten at Edward Everett School.

SARA GARDNER, Teacher, Edward Everett School:  The curriculum activities, they're fun.  They're fun.  And as a teacher, you really get to dig deeply into the development of math and math ideas in young kids.

CAT WISE:  Boston schools have adopted a curriculum called Building Blocks, which encourages kids to think about and discuss math concepts throughout the day.

Linda Ruiz Davenport directs math programs for Boston Public Schools.

LINDA RUIZ DAVENPORT, Mathematics Director, Boston Public Schools:  Getting young children involved in mathematics at an early age helps foster their curiosity about mathematics, particularly mathematics in their environment.

THE EARLY YEARS - Too Little Playtime?

"Are young kids losing the brain-boosting benefits of playtime?" PBS NewsHour 7/5/2016

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SUMMARY:  As kindergarten and pre-K have become more academically rigorous, some worry that the very youngest students may be missing out on crucial development through abundant playtime.  But other educators believe setting high expectations for achievement helps kids, especially low-income students, excel.  Special correspondent Cat Wise reports.

CHILD (NewsHour):  Let’s go, Liam.  Let’s go, Karen.

CAT WISE:  At ages 3, 4, and 5, most children want to play pretend.

CHILD:  This is our babies.

CAT WISE:  But in today’s world of high-stakes academic testing, some preschool teachers feel pressure to put away the baby dolls and pick up the school books.

GERALYN BYWATER MCLAUGHLIN, Teacher, Mission Hill School:  I have been teaching for 25 years, and I have seen a big change.

So you’re pretending to be the sister?  And you’re pretending to go on a walk?

CAT WISE:  Geralyn Bywater McLaughlin teaches prekindergarten at Mission Hill, a public school in Boston.

CHILD:  I’m the momma.

GERALYN BYWATER MCLAUGHLIN:  So you’re the momma?

CAT WISE:  She and other educators have started a campaign they call Defending the Early Years.

GERALYN BYWATER MCLAUGHLIN:  The goal of Defending the Early Years is to really help rally early childhood educators to push back against this push-down of academics into the early years.  The standardized tests, the disappearance of play, teachers are feeling it, and we’re helping to bring voice to their frustrations and their concerns.

STARTING EARLY - An Expanding Health Program, Bipartisan Supported

"How home visits for vulnerable moms boost kids’ brainpower" PBS NewsHour 1/19/2016

CAUTION:  Remember, just because this bill was bipartisan supported does NOT mean much, until it is funded in an Appropriations Bill which comes later.  Such bills are actually killed or weakened when they do not get the needed funding.  I expect that the money-before-people Republicans will not properly fund this bill, but they will go home and brag about voting for the bill.

The media really needs to concentrate on reporting funding of any Congressional Bill, since many politicians will vote for a bill but later vote against funding it.

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SUMMARY:  A rapidly expanding medical program for low-income first-time mothers combines social services with the latest in brain science.  The Nurse-Family Partnership provides in-home advice on health and parenting, which can lead to improved cognitive development and language skills for their children, who are showing up to school better prepared for learning.  Special correspondent Cat Wise reports.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Next, a look at a political rarity, an expanding health program supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

Special correspondent Cat Wise reports.

KIMBERLY HIRST, Registered Nurse:  I have a book for you guys today.

CAT WISE (NewsHour):  In Aurora, Colorado, registered nurse Kimberly Hirst is checking in on 19-year-old Sinai Herrera and her 2-year-old son, Caleb.

SINAI HERRERA:  One, two, buckle my shoe.

CAT WISE:  The visits are part of a rapidly expanding program called the Nurse Family Partnership.  The partnership combines old-fashioned social services with the latest brain science, all to help low-income first-time mothers and their children.

KIMBERLY HIRST:  Time and time again, I see these young girls drop out of school, so they’re at risk for that and living in poverty forever.

CAT WISE:  The regular visits begin in pregnancy and continue until the children are 2 years old.  Nurses offer advice on health, parenting, and self-sufficiency.

KIMBERLY HIRST:  It’s really so much more educational, rather than clinical.  And so I feel like sometimes I’m, like, a life coach.

CAT WISE:  Improved outcomes, like a 48 percent reduction in child abuse and an 82 percent increased employment for mothers, have been so significant that Congress recently voted to infuse home-visit programs with $800 million in new funding.

But while the Nurse Family Partnership is focused on health and poverty, another outcome is catching the attention of early learning experts.  Kids from the program are showing up at school better prepared.

David Olds, the project’s founder and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine, says the educational benefits are no surprise.