Vision 2015: high-quality preschool key to later successes

The research seems clear: Children who attended high-quality preschool programs do better in school are less likely to break the law and are more likely to have high-paying jobs as adults.

Yet most Delaware youngsters never get that advantage.

Only 5 percent of Delaware children younger than 5 are enrolled in nationally accredited preschool programs, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

A 2003 University of Delaware study of early childhood programs in the state called the quality of curriculum planning and implementation “weak,” particularly in the areas of math, science and -- for some -- language and literacy. Infant-toddler programming also was criticized.

Vision 2015, a coalition of community leaders trying to turn Delaware’s average school system into a world leader in the next eight years, calls for greater state investment in early childhood education. The group argues a strong start ensures children enter kindergarten prepared to learn.

“So much of the brain is developed in the first three years. If children don’t get that correct wiring of the brain, they often begin school at a deficit,” said Ann Wicks, chair of the Governor’s Early Care and Education Council and United Way’s Success by Six.

“We know that children who do not have high-quality early care and education, whether it be at home or through child care, begin school with a vocabulary of 5,000 compared to their peers who begin school with a vocabulary of 20,000 words,” she said. “It’s like walking into a room with people speaking a foreign language.”

“It’s no wonder these children get frustrated and act out and have behavior problems,” she said. “They are up against such difficult odds.”

A long-term study of the effects of high-quality early care on low-income 3- and 4-year-olds found those who attended preschool at age 40 had higher earnings, were more likely to hold a job, had committed fewer crimes and were more likely to have graduated from high school. The 2005 High/Scope Perry Preschool study found a return to society of more than $17 for every tax dollar invested in early education.

The quality of a program is important, said Evelyn Keating, provider services director for the non-profit Family & Workplace Connection.

“When you walk into a 2-year-old classroom, you don’t want to see a 2-year-old at a desk being told to color in the lines because that is not developmentally appropriate. They learn through play,” Keating said.

“It used to be thought that any place a child was was better than no place at all, and now we know that quality matters,” she said. “The qualifications, the educational level of the classroom teacher and director of the program are really key.”

That is why Lisa Strusowski of Earleville, Md., enrolled her two daughters at Delaware Technical & Community College’s Wilmington campus early child care center.

“I was happy because it was more than a day care,” said Strusowski, an instruction coordinator at the college.

Through developmentally appropriate activities, the children learn fine motor, gross motor and social skills as well as problem-solving, she said.

For North Wilmington mother Fay Smith, NAEYC accreditation of the center is important.

“The first several years is the foundation of the whole educational experience,” said Smith, also a student majoring in early childhood education.

Daughter Kaelyn, who turns 3 next month, already knows her alphabet and can count to 20. She is starting to write some letters and knows letter sounds.
“The early childhood often is overlooked. That old-school mentality is that that is not really as important as it is later on in life,” Smith said. “[But] ... that experience is going to follow them on to school.”

The federal government began its Head Start program in 1965 to provide preschool to low-income children. The United States spent $6.8 billion in 2005-06, serving 11 percent of the nation’s 4-year-olds and 7 percent of 3-year-olds. About 1,540 Delaware children participated, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.

Delaware also already provides services for some children. Delaware’s Early Childhood Assistance Program began in 1994 to expand access to low-income 4-year-olds. ECAP programs are modeled after Head Start. Delaware implemented a curriculum framework for state-funded prekindergarten, the Delaware Early Learning Foundations, in 2003.

About 8 percent of Delaware 4-year-olds were enrolled in state programs last year, according to the NIEER, which estimated state spending at $3,482 per child.

How much states invest in early childhood education varies, ranging from less than $1,000 per student in Maryland to more than $9,300 in New Jersey, according to a November report by the Committee for Economic Development. The average is $3,500.

The Vision 2015 plan recommends Delaware leaders invest more by providing tuition subsidies for low-income 3- and 4-year-olds. The plan calls for strengthening the quality of the state’s programs by requiring providers participate in the Delaware Stars for Early Success Program, a pilot now under way to rate programs. Under the Vision 2015 plan, only those earning high marks would be eligible for state subsidies.

Government subsidies also need to be increased, Wicks said, noting her council supports paying providers 75 percent of the fair market rate. The current amount varies depending on service and county with some only receiving 63 percent.

Vision 2015 leaders haven’t released a price for this aspect of their proposal, but the entire plan’s implementation is expected to cost at least $100 million in public and private funding over several years.

Delaware lawmakers previously have failed in their attempts to introduce bills that would create a tiered reimbursement system for providers based on a quality rating system. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s proposed budget includes funding for early childhood, including professional development stipends and enhancements to ECAP.