Full-day kindergarten will better prepare thousands of children as they progress through the higher grades. Indianapolis Public Schools has adopted this policy, as has the State of Indiana. The move is welcome, but it is the first of two steps that must be taken to advance the prospects of our youngest students. The second would extend K-12 education to include pre-kindergarten. This would help ensure that many at-risk children enter school ready to learn and create a foundation so that all children -- regardless of income or background -- can face the challenges that lie ahead.
Across the nation, tens of thousands of children enter kindergarten 18 months behind classmates in academic skills because their preparation for school is unequal to their peers. As educators, school districts and elected officials search for strategies that best prepare students for the future, the question arises: Why aren't we fully committed to pre-K programs that make it possible for children to enter school ready to learn?
The Mind Trust has offered a plan to provide pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds within IPS. Implementing the plan would mark a sizable step in closing the early childhood learning gap in IPS. This is a start. Until all Indiana school districts provide a quality pre-school experience, the region and state remain at risk of not preparing future generations for the demands of a changing economy.
School readiness is especially relevant as we compete in a world fueled by an increasingly knowledge-based workforce. The foundation is set in the early school years. Yet more than 20 percent of U.S. workers are unable to read at the most basic level or complete simple addition. Indiana high school graduation rates are at 75.2 percent (National Center for Educational Statistics, school year 2008-09) -- just below the national average -- and less than 50 percent in many urban areas. Given these alarming figures, we must redirect current policies to improve educational outcomes.
A number of studies underscore the value of quality early childhood education. Modest investments in high-quality initiatives early on can produce results that are significant and long lasting. The returns have been estimated as high as $16 in long-term savings for every $1 spent, according to a cost-benefit analysis of the Perry preschool study. Children who enter kindergarten ready to learn are more likely to graduate from high school and move on to postsecondary education. The benefits of a well-educated workforce include higher salaries and greater economic stability. Furthermore, we may not have the stubborn unemployment rate that plagues our economy if more students finished school and had a better skill set.
PNC Bank has been a longtime advocate of education improvement, and particularly early childhood education, because of the results we have witnessed. In 2004, we launched PNC Grow Up Great, our $350 million initiative focused on preparing at-risk children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. Our engagement with early childcare centers, teachers, students and their families has helped us better understand that school readiness is not a challenge that any one group or organization can tackle alone -- nor is it an issue where we can expect immediate change. It will take a collaborative and meaningful effort from the broader community -- business, civic and philanthropic -- to move the needle.
Reports show children in communities with access to early childhood education perform better on assessment tests required under the No Child Left Behind Act. Tough decisions, however, need to be made on how to fund early education programs. Despite the tight competition for limited resources, most preschool programs need dedicated funding to meet quality standards and achieve sustainable results. The great majority of states are not required to offer preschool, and a handful of states, including Indiana, do not offer state funded pre-K programs at all.
Families with sufficient financial resources tend to place their children in preschool. It is low- to moderate- income families, however, who have trouble affording preschool and may need assistance to cover its cost. But the trend in funding preschool programs is down. Total state support for pre-K in the 2010-2011 school year decreased by nearly $60 million and would have fallen by at least an additional $127 million if not for additional federal grants. This is the second consecutive year that total state spending on pre-K has declined.
I look forward to working alongside local business leaders to prepare children for the educational and economic challenges ahead. With a focused and increased investment in early education, we will have a strategy that helps them succeed.
Stuart is regional president of PNC's Central and Southern Indiana market.
http://www.scoop.it/t/knowledge-economy/p/1935034588/ece-and-kbe-the-vital-importance-of-early-childhood-education/original ECE and KBE: The vital importance of early childhood education
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment