I received this email from the head of the Early Learning Coalition:
Rick, I believe the facts in your 6/2/11 Buzz article are correct. However, I think your perspective on the facts misses the point.
There is good national research that confirms that of the new Kindergardeners who are assessed as “not ready,†85% will not pass a standardized 3rd grade reading test, almost without regard to the amount or type of remedial teaching that is provided between Kindergarten and 3rd grade.
The reason for this is that a child’s brain is ready to develop the foundational skills that are necessary to be ready to read before the child starts Kindergarten. As children approach age 5, the ability of their brains to develop those foundational skills ends. This is one of the “windows of opportunity†that exist in brain development. If the skills are not developed in time, the window closes. There is, of course, a normal bell-shaped distribution of when the window opens and when it closes. There are even people – don’t you hate them! – who have the lifelong ability to learn new languages. But they are the far right-hand end of the bell-shaped curve exception.
Implicit in your article is the fact that, if our children show up for Kindergarten ready to do the work of a Kindergardener, the Escambia County School District does a pretty good job of educating them. Yet, like every school district, the ECSD struggles to educate children who have been dumped on the front step of the school district not ready.
The focus of our community needs to be on making sure that every child is ready to succeed when they start Kindergarten. Every parent needs to know that they are responsible for preparing their children to succeed in school and the simple, inexpensive things a parent can do with a child to ensure the development of those foundational skills.
The money our community invests in early childhood education has the highest return on investment of any education spending we can do. Economists at Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis have published research demonstrating that the ROI to a community on early childhood education is between 7:1 and 17:1 (for the most at-risk) kids. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is so convinced of the importance of this that he includes it in many of his speeches.
Excerpt from speech by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Challenges for State and Local Governments, March 2011, New York, NY
“…Budget balance and budget stability are important fiscal issues. In the long run, though, the most important fiscal issue is whether the structure and composition of the government budget best serves the public interest. Certainly, most people would support the goal of fostering healthy economic growth. Government can contribute to this objective in a number of ways. One critical means is by ensuring an adequate investment in human capital–that is, in the knowledge and skills of our people. No economy can succeed without a high-quality workforce, particularly in an age of globalization and technical change. Cost-effective K-12 and post-secondary schooling are crucial to building a better workforce, but they are only part of the story. Research increasingly has shown the benefits of early childhood education and efforts to promote the lifelong acquisition of skills for both individuals and the economy as a whole. The payoffs of early childhood programs can be especially high. For instance, preschool programs for disadvantaged children have been shown to increase high school graduation rates. Because high school graduates have higher earnings, pay more taxes, and are less likely to use public health programs, investing in such programs can pay off even from the narrow perspective of state budgets; of course, the returns to the overall economy and to the individuals themselves are much greater….â€
I hope you will continue to expand your coverage on the importance of early childhood education. Without an educated workforce, our economic development efforts will continue to disappoint. Imagine trying to sell businesses on moving here when 27% of our people are illiterate or functionally illiterate. About 30% of our children show up for Kindergarten not ready to learn. About 30% do not pass the 3rd grade FCAT reading test. About 30% never graduate from high school. Do you think there might be a pattern here?
Skip Housh
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County