The Impact Of Pre K Reform On The Issue Of School Readiness

The article by Erika Christakis, informs future teachers and parents how preschool today may not be benefiting their children as much as they thought. She talks about how preschool has changed drastically over the years as well as kindergarten. She states that “kindergarten may be the new first grade”. Her statement shows how children today are expected more then they were years ago in all grades, especially preschool and at such a young age. Many think this is helping our children or will benefit them in the future if they know more as a child but this may not be the case. The article talks about multiple studies done throughout America to children are learning and how school curriculum changing affects children. A studied showed that children

Healy, C. (2015). Who benefits most from head start programs? Chicago Policy Review (Online), Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.durhamtech.idm.oclc.org/

A “high-quality” preschool program is curriculum based with certified teachers and a low child to teacher ratio (Robin, Frede, & Barnett, 2006, p. 1)

In the article “School Readiness for Infants and Toddlers? Really? Yes, Really!” by Sandra Petersen, she discusses how from birth to age three are crucial for school readiness. The “exuberant period” which is the months before and after birth is the time when the brain creates connections, “each capturing a moment of learning.” During infancy, foundations are built in each developmental area – language, motor, cognitive, and social-emotional. These later develop into skills such as curiosity, paying attention, memory, gathering information, problem solving, and working through frustration are learned. These skills are established in infancy and toddlerhood, but they are used throughout your whole life. These are essential skills that teachers look for.

Statement of Issue: Many minority children and children from low-income families enter kindergarten without the academic skills they need to succeed. Math and reading abilities at kindergarten entry are powerful predictors of later school success. Research shows kids who start school already behind are unlikely to ever get caught up to standards. Hispanic and African American children are anywhere from 7 to 12 months behind in reading and 9 to 10 months behind on math when they enter kindergarten. Access remains extremely low to high-quality early education do to a couple of problems. First, rates of access to early education vary widely as a function of children’s socioeconomic backgrounds. Secondly, the quality of most early education programs is not high enough to substantially improve academic readiness. Considering the tremendous potential for high-quality preschool to improve children’s outcomes, this policy brief will consider how a universal publicly funded pre-kindergarten program in the United States could decrease both disparities in access to early learning and achievement gaps at kindergarten entry.

Education has come a extensive way from the times of Plato and Aristotle, but from each new era came a person with a concept that effected the world of education eternally. Sisters, Margaret and Rachel McMillian influenced education through their development of the Open-Air Nursery School in more way then one. Not only had they introduced the idea of starting education at a younger age then the fledgling kindergarten program, but their school was devised for kids from low- income areas that needed the extra care as well. A unique concept of the time that grasped my interest and made me want to discover more about their program and it’s effect on Early Childhood Education.

As early childhood educators we all have our own philosophies and approaches to education. There are several types of early childhood programs. Each program has its own philosophies, methods, and program goals. Every early childhood educator is unique making each early childhood program experience special. Consistently, early childhood programs offer educational foundations that prepare young students for their educational futures. In this paper I will focus on comparing and contrasting two programs that stood out to me, Ridgeline Montessori and the Whitaker Head Start.

In order to respond this question, we must first review the history of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Early Childhood Education (ECE). Although ECE has been around since the creation of kindergarten in the 1800’s, the decade of the 1980’s was an important period for ECE. “By the 1980’s, meta-analysis of the well-designed US projects offered compelling evidence on the positive outcomes of [early childhood education and intervention]” (Woodhead, 2007). Therefore, there was much pressure to improve the state of education, including ECE. “The decade of the 1980’s saw numerous calls for widespread school reform, with changes recommended in teacher education, graduation requirements, school structure, and accountability measures” (S. Bredekamp, R.A. Knuth, L.G. Kunesh, and D.D. Shulman, 1992). At this time, there was an increasing concern about the quality of early childhood education for the influx number of families that needed it. This led the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to “begin planning a national voluntary accreditation system for early childhood programs”(NAEYC, 2014). With this planning came a need for a more specific description with regards to accreditation guidelines. Therefore, NAEYC issued a formal statement defining DAP.

Just think about this one tiny effect. Imagine that you are about to start school at the age of five, and once you arrive you see that kids around you are more prepared, confident, and eager to learn. These young smiley five year old faces don’t make you happy. In fact, this makes you depressed, and saddened. Early education, also known as preschool is of vital importance. Preschool or an early educational establishment is a group of people offering early childhood education, before the age five. They offer enriching courses for children, and help prepare them for the transition into elementary school. Children who use the opportunity of an early education have a huge advantage. On the other hand, children who don’t enter preschools seem to lack in certain areas, and lag behind. Many children in our country do not attend preschool at the age of three or four, and directly enter kindergarten without the early learning opportunity. This issue of a less advantage situation could eventually lead to a bigger disadvantage when it comes to learning. Many parents aren’t willing to send their children to preschool in their early years as it is over expensive and unnecessary for a three year old to enter school. I, on the other hand, disagree with these people. If children learn from early on, there won’t be any need to worry about others who have advantages. I believe that early education should be mandatory, and since many people can’t afford preschools, public school districts should have their own preschool grade for all younger students.

The NAEYC statement on developmental practice indicates change and continuity and change in the early childhood education field is vital due to the fact that their main commitment is excellence and equity. Nevertheless, all new knowledge gained over time has been advanced and increased. This means that with understanding, it has allowed us to revise and refine ideas for promoting children's development and learning. With developmentally appropriate practice, meeting and enabling the children are required. This means that teachers should get to know them well and push them to reach goals that may be a challenge but are achievable for them.

In today's society, early childhood education programs have become an almost expected first step in every child's life. Studies have shown that when children attend they children who attend a preschool program are exposed to numbers, letter, and shapes on a daily basis. They also begin to learn many life skills, like how to socialize, share and separate from their parents. These first steps of learning are so important that now forty states in the U.S. now offer state funded pre-k programs (Kanter, 2016). With some many different preschools and early childhood programs, how do parents know if the programs are being held to a certain standard? The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) is one comprehensive assessment tool available. Using this tool while quietly observing a preschool classroom, will help to define areas of strength as well as areas needing to be strengthened. The scale has thirty five different areas that are divided into six subscales, that will be observed. Each question is yes or no answer to a specific question and example.

The second area is, “Creating improved better connected education for preschool and elementary children.” This section addresses the fact that preschools are required to work with public schools to prepare students for the standards taught in kindergarten. This also helps students when they get to third grade and take state assessments. For teachers, the pressure is increasing for

Parents and society as a whole are realizing the importance of the first five years. They are realizing that “school readiness” is important and that we can do better for our children. As an industry, that has given early childhood the opportunity to grow both in a business sense and in an educational sense. It has given schools, like Lily Academy, the opportunity to grow the brand and has also forced all early childhood educators to reevaluate their mission and their vision for what they do and how they do it. Because of the demand for early childhood education by parents, the industry continues to grow.

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.

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.