The Longmont Leader accepts contributions, photos, letters to the editor, or LTEs, and op-eds for publication from community members, business leaders and public officials on local topics. Publication will be at the discretion of the editor and published opinions do not represent the views of the Longmont Leader or its staff. To submit a contribution, email [email protected].
Our children deserve more than a safe environment where they watch screens much of the day. Study after study has found that children who attend quality preschool and early learning programs develop significant language and cognitive skills and are ready to meet the academic demands when they start kindergarten. Quality providers offer age-appropriate environments: lots of floor space for infants to crawl and explore; desks and tables for older children to draw, paste, and assemble puzzles; and lots of books for all children to enjoy.
Quality early childhood education providers follow developmental guidelines for social skills, fine motor skills, speech, and language development to ensure that all children are meeting their critical milestones. They structure the day with activities-story time and imaginative play, arts and crafts, constructing and deconstructing, talking and listening-all aimed at developing critical skills. They remind children of basic rules. Be kind to others. Use your inside voice. Listen when someone is talking. Cooperate and take turns. Clean up after yourself.
They teach the “soft skills” needed for working well with others: communicating effectively, problem solving, and persevering through difficulties. Such skills are necessary for a successful school experience and, later, are skills employers seek in their employees. While these skills are promoted in preschool centers, they can also be provided in other settings if those providers have access to the necessary resources.
These carefully crafted programs can significantly reduce trauma in children’s lives by providing a consistent routine in a safe environment with nutritious meals. According to Harvard University Center on the Developing Child, “Significant hardship, stress, or trauma (e.g., from abuse, neglect, extreme poverty, and more) can lead to physiological and behavioral disruptions that can have a lasting impact.”
Some children are at a higher risk of trauma or failing to meet their development goals. Twelve percent of Colorado children, 149,000, live in poverty, making it difficult for their parents to access high quality childcare programs. Forty-four percent are children of color, who statistically face greater barriers to health education and economic security than their white peers (Children’s Defense Fund).
Students who are not “school ready” when they enter kindergarten often require special services and experience punitive measures. A 2016 project in Baltimore studied 9,000 students who were not ready when they entered kindergarten. When they examined their progress from kindergarten through fourth grade, they found that those who were behind in their development when they entered kindergarten were up to 80% more likely to require individualized services and support. They were up to seven times more likely to be suspended or expelled (Health Day News).
Fortunately, another research project proved that early childhood programs ensure that children are “school-ready.” In 1972, researchers in Chapel Hill, N.C., designed the seminal Abecedarian Project to study the long-term effects of high-quality early childhood education programs. They enrolled 111 children at birth from low-income families in a high-quality childcare center for 5 years. Children attended 5 days a week, 12 months a year. Although the curriculum focused on all five areas of development, the program prioritized language: “We told the teachers that every game was a language game. Even if the activity focused on motor skills, teachers needed to talk to the students and elicit age-appropriate language from them,” explains Joseph Sparling the senior scientist on the project.
In follow-up studies (ages 5, 8, 12, 15, 21, 30, & 35), these children scored higher on achievement tests, had lower grade retention, and fewer placements in special education than the randomly assigned group. By age 21, they were more likely to attend a four-year college or to have a skilled job or both. They were less likely to be teen parents and less likely to report depression. By age 30, they were healthier with fewer incidences of hypertension and obesity (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center).
“These programs (early childhood) may be costly, but not addressing the problem of readiness to learn will cost more in the long run,” explains Amie Bettencourt, a clinical child psychologist at Johns Hopkins.
