This morning a new initiative was announced that hopefully will contribute to the broader policy discussion necessary for the future of America’s disadvantaged children. Lawrence Mishel, President Director of Education Policy, of the Economic Policy Institute is responsible for convening a broad-based and distinguished task force who together are asking U.S. policymakers to rethink their assumptions on how best to close the achievement gap in student performance between America’s most disadvantaged students and their more advantaged peers. What is most hopeful is that they seem to be saying with one voice that schools alone cannot be expected to eradicate the well documented impact of low socio economic status on achievement.

The task force issued a statement calling for a broader approach that expands the concept of education well beyond the current pre-occupation with formal schooling that occurs k-12. They want policymakers to seriously acknowledge the importance of ” high quality early childhood and pre-school programs, after school and summer programs, and programs that develop parents’ capacity to support their children’s education.” And secondly, they want us to look beyond the narrow definitions of basic academic skills and cognitive growth to once again look at the whole person, “including physical health, character, social development, and non-academic skills, from birth through the end of formal schooling.”

The characteristics of their proposed approach, which is informed by a large body of evidence, are based on four priorities: Continue to pursue school improvement efforts, Increase investment in developmentally appropriate and high quality early childhood, pre-school, and kindergarten education, Increase investment in health services, and Pay more attention to the time students spend out of school.

They issue the following challenge to America:

America has a decision to make. We can continue to pursue education strategies that focus on schools alone and on narrow, test-based accountability - and be content with the modest improvements long associated with this approach. Or we can ratchet up our ambitions and adopt a new and expanded strategy with the capacity to improve student achievement and adult outcomes more efficiently and effectively.

This is a movement I will gladly join, how about you? You can co-sign the statement as a beginning.