The Need For Universal All Day Pre Kindergarten

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

In 2011 while Texas was still under the leadership of Governor Perry, 5.4 billion dollars were cut from educational spending, leading to overcrowded rooms and leaving out students from attending Pre-K (Michels). A study from the Texas Education Agency showed that students who attended Pre-K outperformed students on their math and reading tests versus those who did not attend regardless of socioeconomic status. The aftermath of policies cutting down on educational funding are slowly showing their aftermath, and if something is not done to solve those problems, then it can be assured that a great downfall to the state of Texas will be seen.

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

Children benefit more from a high quality full-day pre-k program because their average daily attendance rate is better than average and have reduced chronic absences, their social-emotional development is better, and their achievement scores in language and math are higher than their peers’ who attend a half-day or no pre-k program.

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.

Now a day’s Texas is growing profoundly, but as it cultivates so does its problems. One of the major issues facing Texas today is in the education department. The matter ranges from school funding to standardized testing. Not only are students themselves complaining about the matters at hand but also parents, some teachers, and even state legislature. There have always been five major issues in Texas education; school finance, school choice, expanding pre-kindergarten, school calendar, and testing. Of these issues you could never think of them separately because no matter how hard you try they will, in the end, affect one another.

On February 12th, 2012, in his State of the Union address, President Obama discussed the long-term benefits a universal preschool would have on today’s society. “In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children…studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. We know this works. So let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind.” (Obama) Unfortunately, an overwhelming number of children, from low-poverty areas, are unable to access high-quality early childhood programs for their preschool aged children. Consequently,

To start off, many students aren’t ready yet for the basis of kindergarten as they never finished, or even attended preschool. Attending a preschool gives children an early advantage, and stimulates an early mind. When a child starts their educational journey at the age of three, they get a two year “Head Start,” for themselves, compared to kids who have not attended preschool. This early advantage is a physical and significant benefit for them as it helps strengthen the child from early on. According to greatschools.org, “To sustain children’s excitement and motivation for learning, high-quality preschool and child care programs introduce early literacy and math skills

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

In the article, Does Head Start Work? A 1 – Year Follow-up Comparison of Disadvantaged Children Attending Head Start, No Preschool, and Other Preschool Programs it revealed that Head Start is still an effective program however, it needs improvement and it needs a follow up program. Children who are disadvantaged because of their family’s social and economic status are found starting out in school below those who are not disadvantaged. Head

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

When raising their child, parents often question whether or not they should allow their child to participate in an early childhood education program, such as Pre-K. Usually, it's because they are skeptical of the effectiveness of these programs, what with all the debate surrounding the subject. Many claim that these programs do nothing to benefit a child’s success. However, that is not true. Early childhood education programs actually provide a stable head-start for a child’s future success.

Under a state funding formula adopted in 2008, the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), the Abbott Preschool Program was to be phased-in by 2014 to all children in an additional 84 high-poverty school districts, and to all low-income children in all other districts

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.