February 2006

Editor's Note: Early Learning Revisited

A year ago, we ran an investigative article about the nationwide trend toward universal preschool and Washington’s place in the continuum – generally, behind the curve. At that time, our state government was running on a deficit and voters had just rejected an initiative that would have poured funds into education, including preschools.

This year, we are seeing a resurgence of funding and interest in early learning. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has launched an early learning initiative with up to $90 million in grants in the next 10 years to improve childcare and early learning in Washington. Governor Christine Gregoire has made early learning one of her priorities, launching an Early Learning Council as part of Washington Learns, a public-private group studying the state’s education system from preschool through college, and recommending a Cabinet-level Department of Early Learning. And this year, the state has a surplus, rather than a deficit, with early learning advocates expecting some of the budget pie.

I have two reactions to the turn-around – one of them “politically correct,” the other one not so much so.

On the one hand, it’s heartbreaking to think of children – eager, happy, hungry to find out new things – coming into kindergarten without even knowing their colors or numbers or how to interact with peers and teachers, and finding themselves, from the first day, confused and behind. Some experts think that these children may never catch up.

It makes no sense to spend countless hours and money trying to remediate those children’s deficits and to maintain their fragile self-esteem, when we could have spent the resources to make them school-ready in the first place. The Gates Foundation estimates that the federal Head Start preschool program and the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) reach only half of eligible, low-income 4-year-olds. Our first priority should be to expand those programs, so that all children can enter kindergarten on a level playing field.

If there are limited resources for expanding early learning programs – and there always are – the priority should go to those children who need it most.

On the other hand, I find some of the rhetoric backing universal preschool chilling.
I’m thinking specifically of a research study sent to me last year stating that children as young as 2 benefit from formal preschool programs and that parents should enroll their children as early as possible. Some advocates have no trouble recommending that children 2 and older go to preschool for a six-hour day.

But other experts believe, as I do, that the earliest learning should occur in the more intimate, nurturing environment of the home, with shorter forays into the bigger world. In fact, our reporter on last year’s story on universal preschool included a telling quote from John Medina, founding director of the Seattle-based Talaris Research Institute: “The single greatest predictor of academic outcomes and cognitive ‘success’ is the emotional stability of the home. Not the intellectual climate, but the emotional climate.”

If possible, I think parents should make the sacrifices to have one parent – or both parents on a staggered schedule – spend a good part of those first four or five years with their children at home, concentrating on giving them as many (not necessarily expensive) opportunities for enrichment and creative play as they can. Where it’s not possible, it’s best to keep the youngest children in a small, consistent, loving, enriching childcare setting rather than a formal program. As they grow into 4- and 5-year-olds, most children – depending on temperament – can handle and benefit from part-day structured preschool programs most days of the week, as long as the program has room for lots of child-directed learning and play.

I am encouraged by Gov. Gregoire’s stated goal of providing additional tools to support parents and caregivers in the home and in childcare settings. There are presently plenty of support programs, like PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support), coop preschools, Head Start outreach, county health department childcare educators and social services agencies, but there could be more and they could always use more resources.

There are no easy answers on how best to encourage early learning. The Early Learning Council will be spending the next 11 months making recommendations on how to fund early learning and how to keep it affordable and accessible. The Gates Foundation plans to open two model childcare centers, one in Western Washington and one in Eastern Washington, incorporating the best research on early childhood education.

We’ll keep coming back to the issue in the months ahead, and we’ll keep sharing a variety of views with you. Please feel free to send us your opinions.

Wenda Reed
Editor

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