Getting children ready for school is as important as getting them through high school, and poverty is the biggest obstacle to that goal.
As amazing as it seems, an infant is born with 100 billion brain neurons, and between the ages of 3 and 8, a child's brain has twice as many neurons and connections as an adult's brain.
A child's early experiences establish the framework for his or her cognitive and social development by creating the architecture of the brain, which in turn builds a child's capacity to learn. The rapid development of children during their first five years emphasizes the critical importance of high-quality early educational experiences.
Research tells us the window of opportunity to develop particular skills such as language, social-emotional development, music and logic concepts will never be greater than during the first five years of a child's life, the period in which a child's brain grows most rapidly and reaches its peak of activity. If such skills are not developed during this time, they may never develop to their full potential.
As a child's first teachers, parents need support in their efforts to provide experiential opportunities for their children. The most significant obstacle that prevents parents from providing such opportunities is poverty. In 1995, researchers reported that by age 3, middle-class children had working vocabularies almost twice the size of those of children from low socioeconomic families. Research also showed that lower socioeconomic children begin school 18 months to two years behind their more advantaged peers, and this disparity widens each year without effective intervention. Pre-kindergarten programs have been proven to close this gap.
In the 2007-08 school year, 54.5 percent of Tennessee's school-age children qualified for free or reduced-price school lunches, continuing a steady increase in the number of children eligible for such assistance. And with the economic crisis in our state, the percentage likely will increase significantly this year.
With the ever-increasing emphasis on student achievement, accountability and rigorous standards that come with implementation of the Tennessee Diploma Project, early childhood education programs including Gov. Phil Bredesen's voluntary pre-K classes are even more critical for student and school success. Research shows that children who attend a high-quality preschool or pre-kindergarten experience greater social and academic success in kindergarten, throughout subsequent grade levels and in life outside the classroom.
The cornerstones of this body of research are found in three major studies that have shown both short- and long-term positive effects of preschool and early learning on cognitive, social, emotional and economic development. The High/Scope Perry Preschool study in Ypsilanti, Mich., the Chicago Child-Parent Centers study and the Abecedarian Study in Chapel Hill, N.C., identified children at risk for school failure and collected data through adolescence and adulthood. The preschool programs in each study were considered high quality, adequately supported financially and professionally administered.
All three studies found strong evidence of social, educational and economic effects on the participants. The studies also calculated cost-benefit analyses of the preschool programs and found significant benefits for communities including a return investment of about $7 per $1 invested.
Such findings show there are many benefits for children who attend high-quality prekindergarten programs. These benefits include increased graduation rates, less need for special education, less grade repetition, less involvement in crime and greater employment opportunities and increased wages as adults.
Pre-K is about preparing our youngest learners not only academically but socially and emotionally. One study has found that social skills in young children are more closely associated with school readiness and success in kindergarten and first grades than cognition and academic skills. We must provide our children with the skills needed to be successful and this begins with the development and support of their social and emotional skills.
If we are to alter the face of education in Tennessee, systemic change must occur which begins with our youngest students. Preparing students to be successful in kindergarten and beyond is as critical to these children's future as obtaining their high school diplomas. We already have a great start, thanks to Bredesen's continued support for existing pre-K classrooms; but by working to strengthen our children, families, schools and communities even more, we can guarantee a bright future for all of our children.
