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  • From: Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] Education---Catch 'em early
  • Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 09:23:04 -0700

Cost of early education is less than any alternative. I don't care how the hell it is done, just do it.



Boston.com THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING

The Boston Globe <http://www.boston.com/news/globe/>
EDUCATION FOR LIFE | GLOBE EDITORIAL


An earlier start

September 17, 2004

/Third in a series /
LUCKY PRESCHOOLERS spend their days playing and learning in classes full of books, activities, and talented teachers. Less fortunate children show up in kindergarten without the skills they need to thrive in school. To turn luck into equal opportunity, state officials plan to build a department of early education and care. It will provide high-quality, publicly funded programs for preschool children.

Before the state hands out crayons and books, however, leaders have pressing work: setting up a board and an advisory commission, choosing a commissioner, and consolidating the work of the Office of Child Care Services and the Department of Education into the new department.

It is crucial to stick closely to the time line in next year's budget. The administrative spine should be in place by July 2005. The new department can then offer a prototype of a statewide system and fund pilot projects that experiment with curriculum and assessment to put down the roots of the system.

What does good early education look like? Classrooms are bright and attractive, but behind them is a community effort that can include support from parents, pediatricians, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. Classrooms should serve 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. Appropriate programs should also be provided for younger children.

Children learn about words and numbers, but they also develop behavioral skills such as sitting still and paying attention. Most important, early education should be an exciting experience that makes children eager to learn. Too many children enter kindergarten with the heartbreaking feeling that they won't be good at learning.

So the state must build bridges between early education and the existing public schools to ensure that young children get the academic and social skills they need for kindergarten and beyond.

Higher education has to grow to train early-education teachers because "education levels of preschool teachers predict teaching quality and children's learning and development," according to the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. All teachers should have education ladders. In the Lowell area, for instance, Middlesex Community College offers an associate's degree in early education. A bit farther away, Salem State College offers a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. And teachers can earn a master's degree in education at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.

Public colleges should also experiment with work site classes that fit easily into teachers' schedules. And early-education salaries have to increase in order to attract and keep talented teachers.

The costs are high: an estimated $1.2 billion over 10 years to build an early-education system, and after that, $1 billion a year to maintain it. This prompts concerns that Massachusetts might lack the political will and money to build free and universal preschool education -- that the best the state can do is target at-risk children, especially since research shows that they benefit the most. But Massachusetts should be inspired by Georgia, where every 4-year-old can enroll in the state's early-education system. Early education should be used not just as a social program but as a foundation that makes Massachusetts a superior place to learn, whether students are 3 or 63.

One factor that should help is an appreciation for the likely savings over the long term. Clive Belfield, an educational economist at Columbia University, has calculated the economic effects that universal early education would have in New York State. He concluded that New York would save money in several areas, including special education, grade retention, and remediation. He concludes that these factors would offset between 41 percent and 62 percent of the cost of universal early education in New York. He is currently working on a similar calculation for Massachusetts.

Public funding remains in short supply. But Massachusetts has enough money to start planning and laying a foundation for universal preschool. As the economy rebounds and public revenues grow, money should be invested in pilot programs and permanent improvements. If comprehensive planning allows the investment in early-childhood education to grow incrementally but steadily, it should not have to compete with other education goals. Within 10 years Massachusetts should have an early-education system building the state's human capital.*TOMORROW: Reaching higher. *
© Copyright <http://www.boston.com/help/bostoncom_info/copyright> 2004 The New York Times Company









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