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Bridging the Preparation Gap through Early Childhood
Education
- Under my leadership, the BOE will make student achievement
the number one priority. We will create an environment
where the Superintendent has the support he needs to implement
his Master Education Plan. And we will provide the
proper oversight and accountability needed to ensure the
highest quality of education.
- One of the most effective ways of eliminating the achievement
gap is to eliminate the preparation gap. The preparation
gap can be measured by the social, motor and cognitive skills
that students have when they enter kindergarten.
- By the time they enter first grade, poor and minority child
are already lagging behind their higher income peers. The
Master Education Plan states that by the time these students
reach high school, the gap between them will have grown to
the equivalent of four grade levels. (Master Education Plan,
page 60).
- Preschool education leads to long term success for children. It
allows children to start off on the right educational path,
prepared to advance from grade to grade with the proper skills
and knowledge.
- Extensive research shows that early childhood brain development
sets the stage for a child’s future ability to interact
socially and to achieve academically.
- If a child’s brain does not develop appropriately,
the child’s learning potential will be lessened. (From
Neurons to Neighborhoods: the Science of Early Childcare
Development, National Academies Press Institute of Medicine,
2000)
- Research shows that students who attend quality preschool
perform better in the classroom. They are also less
likely to need special education classes, less likely to
drop out of school, and more likely to graduate from high
school.
- Specifically, quality preschool education leads to:
- Higher test scores, regardless of race or economic status
- 41% reduction in special education placement
- 40% reduction in the rate of grade retention
- 29% increase in the rate of high school completion
- Quality preschool also benefits taxpayers and the greater
society. Children who attend quality preschool are more likely
to pay taxes, and are less likely to enter the welfare and
criminal justice systems. –
- Research shows that children from low income families who
attend high quality early childhood education programs are
- More likely to graduate from high school
- More likely to attend college
- Less likely to go to jail
- Less likely to become teen parents
- Less likely to enter the welfare system
- 50% less likely to require special education services
- Quality preschool is also a way to reduce the incidence
of crime. Students who attend quality pre-K have:
- Lower rates of juvenile arrests
- Lower rates of arrests for violent crimes
- Fewer lifetime arrests
- Higher monthly incomes
- Preschool typically consists of education for four year
olds. But brain research has shown that the real value
of quality early education appears in the younger years of
zero to three.
- High quality home visitation programs provide children
the skills they need from 0-3 years old in order for their
brain to properly develop.
- Studies show that poor and minority children who receive
high quality home visitation services are 84% more likely
to graduate from high school than their peers who did not
receive these services.
- Home visitation programs provide parents with the skills
they need to be more engaged parents, and these parents are
more likely to be involved in their child’s school
life.
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