The Effects Of Pre Kindergarten Programs On Public Schools

As an educator in the early childhood education field, I have had the opportunity to become aware, experienced, and exposed to At-risk children in the NC Pre-Kindergarten classroom. My goal with this action research paper is to adhere to the benefits and everlasting impact on children whom attend and children who did not attend the NC Pre-Kindergarten program. How does NC Pre-K program ready children for Kindergarten? How does a child that did not attend an NC Pre-K classroom differ from those children that did? What are the goals and standards that are addressed in the NC Pre-K classroom? What, if any, curriculum is used in the classroom? Lastly, what assessments and screening tools are used to measure growth from the beginning of Pre-K to the end of the school year? These are the questions that will give my research guidance and direction to better educate the reader.

Recent studies on early childhood education have shown that children who have access to quality pre-kindergarten education tend to have higher educational attainment than those who do not have the opportunity. While the literature is by no means uniform on this, the bulk of current evidence suggests that such policies will likely be helpful, especially for students in low - income and minority school districts. Only time will tell, of course, if such programs can help to make inroads into the seemly intractable achievement gaps, but based on current evidence, it is a policy worth

The studies found that all pre-school programs have the potential to prepare disadvantaged preschoolers to enter school at the same level, but since the children in this study were so much more disadvantaged and lower intellectually, they had no way to go but up. Since Head Start is designed for economically and intellectually disadvantaged children, these deficits can be specifically corrected. Simple knowledge like colors, street signs, and discipline are taught, but often assumed by other preschoolers who are more privileged they have already mastered those skills. Meeting the children on their own level brings them up to close the gap with other children. However, this gap appears in other

In the best of cases, the returns on a preschool education compared to the cost of enrollment is nearly seventeen times, an enormous benefit for a relatively low cost. (Schweinhart) This number comes from the results of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Project, a 40 year long, completely comprehensive look into how the addition of a preschool education positively impacts students from low income, urban families. The findings included, among other things, a 14 percent employment rate increase and $5,000 average annual wage increase in children who were able to attend a preschool compared to their less educated peers. Other benefits included included an 11 percent increase in homeownership, 17 percent increase in the ability to own two or more automobiles, 26 percent higher likelihood to own a savings account, 35 percent decrease in violent crime, and a 27 percent increase in likelihood to have the custody of children. (Schweinhart) These numbers would seem to indicate that preschool enrollment is an incredible value for the health and stability of a community, however all of these benefits may take decades to fully

Early experiences are critical for a child’s development. According to the U.S Department of Education “there are 2.5 million children here in the U.S that does not have access to preschool.” Not everyone can afford

The Abbott Preschool Program is administered through New Jersey’s Department of Education and the Department of Human Services. It was designed to provide all of New Jersey’s children an opportunity to succeed. The Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effect Study (APPLES), published in 2013, investigated the impact of the Abbott program on children’s learning through the end of kindergarten. The findings of this study demonstrated that children who attend the Abbott Preschool Program, whether in public schools, private settings or Head Start, improve in language, literacy, and math at least through the end of their kindergarten year.

The evidence for positive economic, educational and health benefits from targeted preschool interventions is substantial (Barnett, 2010; Campbell, Conti, Heckman, Moon, Pinto, Pungello & Pan, 2014; Finn, 2010). However, the current research does not provide evidence that universal preschool will give the same long-term benefits as targeted preschool (Armor, 2014). This writer argues that universal preschool is not appropriate in the American context because the current government preschool programs have limited long term benefit, it subsidizes those who can afford to pay for private preschool and it takes money from targeted preschool for the neediest.

Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place. Some feel that children who start kindergarten without previously attended preschool sometimes lack certain skills such as social and communication skills and an inability to follow routines. There were also studies done that found attending preschool could help to close the achievement gap in the grade school years. A child’s first few years of life are most important, and they absorb the most during those years. By providing universal preschool, all children would be benefiting, especially those who are in at-risk families or part of the lower class. As a society, we have a responsibility to help the children in our communities and provide them with the education they need in order to help them succeed in life.

The purpose of this research design is to compare and analyse data that gives reasons for and against pre-kindergarten programs; the benefits, supporters and opposers.

One common issue in early childhood education today is Head Start vs. Pre-K. Many feel that a child will excel better in a pre-K program rather than going to Head Start. Data from the Oklahoma pre-k study found that children attending Head Start at age 3 develop stronger pre-reading skills in a high-quality pre-kindergarten at age four compared with attending Head Start at age 4 (Jenkins, Farkas, Duncan, Burchinal & Vandell, 2014). Head Start’s primary goal is to promote school readiness for low-income families. Children that attend Head Start at age 3 or 4 displayed better pre-reading, pre-writing, and vocabulary skills. According to the HSIS study, children that attend HS for at least one year had a reduction of behavior problems and better social-emotional skills.

There are numerous preschool or Pre-K options available for young children throughout the U.S. At this time only Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma have truly universal preschool for all four year olds as nearly half of states with state pre-K programs limit enrollment to just low-income children (Mead, 2015). “Under universal pre-K, not only would more children of all backgrounds have access to high-quality early childhood education, they would have the chance to learn in an effective type of preschool environment that is currently rare among both public and private programs: an integrated classroom” (Potter, 2014, par. 6). More parents are placing their children in preschool due to the revelation that important brain development occurs in the early years of life, preschool has long-term benefits for children, and it helps prepare children for the increased demands of kindergarten (Stipek, 2016). There is a good deal of evidence that shows that preschool is beneficial for all children, especially more so for low-income children (Koonce, 2016). Low-income students who attend public pre-K are often 11 months ahead of their peers when entering kindergarten (Potter, 2014). Unfortunately, more than half of low-income three-year-olds and a third of low-income four-year-olds do not attend preschool even with the availability of programs such as Head Start and state-funded pre-K (Potter, 2014). This could be due to barriers such as a lack of information about care, a limited supply of

Successful primary education attainment is imperative for entering college, embarking on a career and participating in civil society (Garcia & Weiss, 2015). To be sure, there are studies which suggest that successful outcomes for children depend on their readiness for entry into primary school – therefore, mandating early childhood education is paramount to addressing the inequality within the United States public education system.

Early childhood education has not always been the top priority in the education world. Although, research has proved that it should be the top priority as the benefits of Early Childhood Education are innumerous. Extensive neuroscience research has discovered that the brain is build over time and it is built from the bottom up. Early childhood experiences directly affect the quality brain development. Establishing a sturdy foundation through a high quality early childhood education experience, will dramatically develop child's brain. As a result, they will have a brighter future. In this essay, I will propose a plan for the children of 2020 and how to ensure the best early childhood education experience. I personally believe that racially, culturally, linguistically and developmentally responsive practices parental involvement are critical to the sturdy foundation that is essential to the positive early childhood experience.

This next study was about a follow up on the Abecedarian Project done by people at the University of North Carolina. The Abecedarian Project was a trial designed to learn the extent to how early childhood education could overcome the odds of developmental delays and academic failure for children born into low-income families. At age 21, the treated group had kept a large advantage on both intellectual tests and scores on academic tests of reading and mathematics. The treated group were more likely to attend a 4-year college or university. Those

Early childhood education is one of the most important policy topics out there. Research has proven that the early years in childhood is a critical period for opportunity to develop a child’s full potential; as well as form academic, social, and cognitive skills that determine not only success in school but also their entire life (The White House). The right to a free, public education is guaranteed to all children in the United States. Early education is voluntary, and therefore some children are not given the opportunity to reach their full potential.