The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will announce today that $133 million from the Race to the Top fund will be available for continued investments in state-level, comprehensive early education reform. Read more at The Starting Point blog.

Today Show correspondent Jenna Bush Hager called Educare an innovative early childhood program that levels the playing field for low-income children.

Follow us on Twitter @firstfiveyears for the latest early learning news and tools you can use - all in 140 characters or less. 

How have decades of rigorous scientific research provided the core concepts about how to build a strong foundation for a prosperous society? Jack Shonkoff, Director of Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, explains the fundamentals of brain architecture in this snappy animated video from our Invest In US project.

The Early Learning Challenge Collaborative, a partnership between BUILD and the First Five Years Fund, is pleased to release a new report, "Stepping Up to the Challenge: Profiles of the 2011 Early Learning Challenge Grant Applications." Read our overview of highlights from the 37 applications submitted during round one here.

The First Five Years Fund is excited to announce the launch of our new Facebook page. Join our online community for up-to-date information and news on quality early childhood education.

Keep your eyes on The Starting Point, where we're blogging about new developments in the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge.