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Publicly Funded Preschool: Fulfilling the Promise through Quality and Community Partnerships

Publicly Funded Preschool: Fulfilling the Promise through Quality and Community Partnerships. Mary Donegan-Ritter, Ph.D., UNI Regents Center for Early Education Joe Kramer, Superintendent, Pocahantas Community School District Ray Seehusen, School Board, Pocahantas Community School District.

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Publicly Funded Preschool: Fulfilling the Promise through Quality and Community Partnerships

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  1. Publicly Funded Preschool: Fulfilling the Promise through Quality and Community Partnerships Mary Donegan-Ritter, Ph.D., UNI Regents Center for Early Education Joe Kramer, Superintendent, Pocahantas Community School District Ray Seehusen, School Board, Pocahantas Community School District

  2. Nationwide State Spending on Preschool • National spending on pre-k will increase by $528 million in FY08, providing at least 88,000 more children access to pre-k • 82% of voters want their presidential candidate to support pre-k

  3. Why should preschool be publicly funded? Short term benefits • More likely to score higher on math and reading state tests in elementary school • Less likely to be retained in grade • Less likely to require special education services

  4. Why should preschool be publicly funded? Long term benefits • More likely to earn high school diploma • More likely to be employed • More likely to earn high wages • More likely to be home owners • Less likely to be a teen parent • Less likely to be involved in criminal justice system

  5. Gains per $1 Invested SOURCE: CED, 2006 Center for Public Education, 2006

  6. Poor children start school behind their more affluent peers academically… Percent of students scoring in top quartile Source: NCES, America’s Kindergartners, Class of 1998-99, February 2000

  7. … and socially Percent of students who engage in pro-social behavior often or very often Source: NCES, America’s Kindergartners, Class of 1998-99, February 2000

  8. Benefits of PreK for All Effects of Tulsa Pre-k Program by Race/Ethnicity ofStudent Source: The Effects of Oklahoma’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program on School Readiness. Gormley, W. (2004). Georgetown University Center for Research on Children in the U.S.

  9. Need does not stop at the poverty line • While gains for children in poverty are more dramatic, children from working class and middle income families benefit from lower rates of grade retention and special education referral. • “Underdeveloped potential” at school entry • Middle income children lack access

  10. School Failure and the Middle Class Middle class children have fairly high rates of school failure. Reducing these could generate large benefits Income Retention Dropout Lowest 20% 17% 23% 20-80% 12% 11% Highest 20% 8% 3% Source: US Dept of Ed, NCES (1997). Figures are multi-year averages

  11. Iowa’s Investment in PreK In May 2007 Governor Chet Culver created the Statewide Voluntary Four Year Old Preschool Program and provided inaugural funding of $15 million to expand pre-k access. • Additionally, the Shared Visions pre-k program received an increase of $1.6 million. • 182 districts applied, 64 districts were funded for year 1 • Starting in the 2008-2009 school year, programs funded through the $15 million grant will be included in the school funding formula.

  12. Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program • Teachers with college degrees and Prek or Kg certification • Research based curriculum • Class size max 20, ratio max 1:10 • Professional development • Child assessment • Iowa Quality Preschool Program Standards or Head Start Program Standards or NAEYC accreditation and Iowa Early Learning Standards

  13. Indicators of High Quality Preschool • Small class size (not more than 20) • Low child/staff ratios (10:1) • Well trained teachers—ongoing professional development • Follows guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practice (NAEYC) • Age appropriate • Individually appropriate • Culturally appropriate

  14. Challenges for Iowa’s PreK Programs: • Keep the funding for this new legislative initiative on track • Assure programs are well implemented • Recruit well-trained early educators • Ensure diverse delivery of pre-k programs • Provide more than the minimum 10 hours per week of classroom time

  15. If school districts provide “the minimum 10 hours”… • Will the programs have an impact on children’s school readiness? • Will working families enroll their children? • Child care (>70% of Iowa’s parents of young children are employed) • Transportation costs and logistics

  16. Diverse service delivery system • Involves collaboration between school districts and community providers • Meets needs of Iowa’s families • Improves quality of existing early childhood programs • Reduces transitions and creates a seamless prekindergarten through 12th grade system • Helps school systems increase and improve inclusion efforts • Raises the professionalism and compensation of the early education field

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