Prekindergarten must be part of basic education
The 2010 legislative session is a pivotal time for early childhood learning in this state. Lawmakers must include the prekindergarten years as part of basic education and continue to fund programs that prepare children and families for the early school years.
Ten years ago, little research and even less public attention was directed toward early childhood education. Some children showed up for kindergarten knowing their colors and shapes, able to count and do rudimentary math and many had the social skills necessary to interact well with other children.
Other kindergartners came totally ill-prepared for the academic and social challenges that faced them.
While that’s still true today, great strides have been made in the past decade to raise the public’s awareness about brain development and the need to focus on those early learning years.
Molly Boyajian is director of early learning initiatives for Thrive by Five, a public/private partnership focused on the prekindergarten years. She says, “Investments in the early years is cheaper, better for the kids and more successful. If we get it wrong in the beginning with kids, it’s hard to go back and fix it later on.”
Science and the study of brain development verify that.
Research shows that 85 percent of the brain’s core structure – size, core, growth and much of its hard wiring – is developed by age 4. Yet in those pivotal years, less than 9 percent of the public’s investments in education and development is done, Boyajian said.