Pre K - 12 & PSRP Public Education Issues Platform

Early Childhood and Pre-school Programs

The Issue

Educators all over Michigan and across the country, know that early childhood education is essential to a child's success in school and that the first four years of a child's life are the most critical period of development and the most critical time for learning. Research is unequivocal in finding that disadvantaged children, on average, lag substantially behind other children in literacy, math, and social skills even before formal schooling begins. The roots of the persistent achievement gap through school are to be found outside of school (U.S. Department of Education, 2000, 2001; Lee and Burkam, 2002; Alexander, Entwisle and Olson, 2001). At the onset of kindergarten, the average cognitive scores of children in the highest economic group are a staggering 60 percent above the scores of children in the lowest economic group (U.S. Dept of Education, 2000; Educational Testing Service, 2002; Lee and Burkam, 2002).

These findings by no means suggest that disadvantaged children cannot learn. To the contrary; once they are in school, they progress at least as rapidly as other children do. By the end of kindergarten year, the basic-skills gap between disadvantaged and other children has virtually disappeared (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2001). School does indeed make a big difference.

Furthermore, study after study show that children who have quality pre-school learning opportunities enter kindergarten better prepared both academically and socially. Additional studies indicate the benefits of full-day Kindergarten.

Action Steps

• The Program: Enhance and expand access to the Michigan School Readiness Program;
  
  
• Funding: Provide state and seek federal funding to fully fund the program;



• In-school Centers: Establish quality early childhood centers in schools for teachers and support staff with small children, prioritizing hard-to-staff schools;
  
  
• Staffing: Provide professional development for teachers, paraprofessionals, and support staff using research-based programs and provide for professional salaries;



• Parent Involvement: Encourage parental support and participation as an important component. Promote opportunities to strengthen parents/guardians abilities to provide active support through students and schools.
  
• Kindergarten: Require kindergarten for all students, and provide full day programs. Support Kindergarten Plus, an American Federation of Teachers' proposal that provides an extended year, full-day kindergarten to disadvantaged children by enabling them to begin kindergarten the summer before they would ordinarily enter and to continue through the summer after kindergarten, right before entering first grade. Amend the "school starts after Labor Day" law to permit this to be implemented.
  

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