Boston finds that quality preschool is worth the effort
Jesse Costa/WBUR
Using a projector, Jodi Doyle points out shadows on the ceiling to students in her preschool class at the Eliot School in Boston. Boston has become a beacon for the universal preschool movement, but so far it can only provide seats for about half the interested families.
It's a Wednesday morning at the Eliot K-8 Innovation School. Teacher Jodi Doyle is working with a small group of preschool students interested in domes.
"What do you think the difference is between a dome and an arch?" she asks.
The lesson doesn't go exactly as planned. Doyle wants the kids to build their domes with wire, but she wants the children to come up with that idea themselves. The kids used wire several months ago for a related project, and she hopes they'll remember.
"Is there anything else in this classroom we could use that might hold the shape of a dome?" she asks.
"Books!" they answer.
Preschool is getting a lot of attention these days. President Obama and mayors across the country are touting preschool as an important investment in the economy.
As policymakers weigh the costs and benefits of "preschool for all," they're trying to figure out what actually works in the classroom.
One of the places they're looking is Boston.
Teaching coach Marina Boni is watching Doyle's classroom closely. After the lesson, she commends Doyle for trying to tie the new wire project to the old, but she says photographs of the older, forgotten project might've made the connection a bit more concrete.
School officials say this system of intensive coaching is a key to classroom success. Boston uses coaches as part of its larger push for preschool quality. The district has installed a rigorous curriculum and requires teachers to get Boston finds that quality preschool is worth the effort | 89.3 KPCC:
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