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The War on Poverty
November 11, 2011
Learning starts with failure; the first failure is the beginning of education.
-John Hersey
-John Hersey
"The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was originally passed in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty. It’s time that we return to its original purpose by expanding and strengthening federally-funded programs for early childhood education." This call to action appeared in an article by Jennifer Rokosa in the Center for Progress (October 20, 2011), where she observes:
"The research is clear: ECE programs can combat poverty and make a significant difference in our school system’s success. At a time when record numbers of children are living in poverty, programs with proven and demonstrable effectiveness such as early childhood education are of the utmost importance."
Rokosa's recommendations:
"The revisions to ESEA must work to align preschool programs with the K-12 educational continuum so that children transition seamlessly between preschool and kindergarten and continue to build upon skills learned in preschool. Legislators can begin by making Title I funds, which are meant to provide assistance to schools serving low-income populations, more readily available to preschool programs. As it stands, only 3 percent of Title I funds are used for early childhood education.
"Legislators can also support preschool programs by implementing accountability standards that more accurately track preschool achievement. (Standardized testing, for example, is not an effective way of tracking the complex social, emotional, and intellectual growth that takes place in preschool years.) Other ways to build high-quality preschool programs include provisions for professional development that specifically address the concerns and challenges of early childhood educators, and incentivizing the creation of high-performing preschool programs in school districts across the country."
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Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsUnited States
I think ExchangeEveryDay should publish the success rate of the Head Start program vs. private child care based preschool programs. This should include a dollar-for-dollar analysis. A few years ago, I couldn't get a straight answer because none of the nine representatives of the Head Start program knew the answer. It's almost impossible for private child care to compete with a government funded program but we do it every single day for much less and provide a much better program. It would be nice for the federal and state agencies to recognize and fund private child care programs similar to the Early Start or Head Start. It's about time we set our focus on the child(ren) of this country not the government agencies.
Consultant
Youngsville, NC, United States
ABSOLUTELY agree with this article. I'm in my sixties and have watched the progression of preschools and early childhood ed. We started missing the mark back in the early nineties. Time to get back to what works for the child not what people outside the field think works.
We don't need to reinvent the wheel either by spending funds to set up preschools in public schools when there are child care programs already up and running and that could do so much more if they had appropriate funding. So why not work together with all agencies to provide the best environment for each child.?
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