RSG | Press Page: Parents Cite Needs To Make Universal Preschool Work

Parents and educators welcomed Monday night the growing state and local effort to provide preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds.

They said they believe the program will be successful if it is affordable, high quality, bi-lingual and socializing; if transportation, parent outreach and extended care are provided; and if the state remains committed to it.

The local effort to ensure preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, known as “universal preschool,” has been led by the Children First Initiative, a consortium of 25 local and regional groups. The group held its first public forum Monday at Winthrop Elementary School.

Organizers said their efforts have been propelled by a commitment from Superintendent of Schools Christopher Clouet, who said the drive for universal preschool represents a “cultural shift” that has occurred as studies have confirmed its positive impact on childhood development and preparation for later schooling.

Monday's forum built on an aggressive initiative by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the state Board of Education, who believe universal preschool would help close the “achievement gap” between high- and low-performing schools and reduce the need for remedial services for older students. The state projects it earns a return of $4 to $7 on every $1 it spends on early-childhood development.

The state board has proposed a two-year, $110 million plan to offer 21/2 hours of daily preschool, 180 days a year, to more than 18,000 children not currently enrolled in such a program. Local school boards would collaborate with new and existing programs to ensure high-quality instruction. Families would contribute to the cost based on their ability to pay.

The state plans to introduce the program to some 3,800 children in urban districts, including New London, where 44 percent of students enter kindergarten without having attended preschool, far above the state average of 25 percent. Diane Gozemba, co-chairman of the Children First Initiative, said Monday that the proposed funding would be “crucial” to establishing universal preschool.

Speaking in focus groups Monday, parents, many with children in a preschool program, told organizers a universal preschool program would have to ensure a unified and consistent curriculum and means of assessment, a low turnover among staff and some staff fluent in Spanish.

Parents said the effort to educate children really begins by helping parents understand how to teach their children, which would require the city to reach out before children are even born. The parents recognized the value of involving their children in groups, which reinforces social skills such as talking, listening and cooperating and said socializing should be as significant a component as early academic learning. The state must maintain its commitment to preschool, and make plans for special needs and gifted and talented preschool students, parents said.

Some parents, who are paying as much as $75 per week for preschool, said an affordable program would enable them to spend more time with their children, because they are now working extra hours to pay for preschool, and would allow them to save more money for college and the future.