Published:
November 23, 2004
Publication:
[1]
Hartford Courant
By:
Op Ed by Reginald Mayo
[2]
Click here for the original article
Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Education Commissioner Betty Sternberg envision a Connecticut that provides universal preschool to all families by the end of the decade. In New Haven, we believe we have the ingredients to get the job done even earlier.
Already, we have the largest preschool initiative in the state. Since we began offering preschool programs in 1997, we have served nearly 14,000 children with quality care, ranging from infant care to toddler and preschool programs. Our programs even include home visits to help educate new parents about how to provide a literacy-rich home environment.
We also have increased the percentage of children coming to kindergarten ready to learn. Although in 1995, some 63.2 percent of children had preschool experience prior to kindergarten, that number is now at 73.1 percent, the highest of any urban district in the state.
Why is quality preschool so important? We know that children who enter kindergarten with the so-called word gap are at a tremendous deficit. Even as the nation is devoting more resources and attention to helping children learn to read, a huge word gap still exists between affluent and poor children. By the time a child from a low-income household enters first grade, that child has gained only a 5,000-word vocabulary, compared with 20,000 words learned by a middle-class child. Further research shows that 86 percent of the words that children learn in their first few years of life are learned directly from their parents.
Effective preschool programs give young children the chance to develop language skills and become school ready. More important, research shows that quality preschool saves money - as much as $19,000 per child in the long run, according to the American Federation of Teachers, because students who attend quality preschool need fewer services later.
In New Haven, we have had tremendous success by starting early with quality reading programs. In 2001, 893 children (65 percent) going from kindergarten to first grade were reading below grade level. By 2002, the numbers were reversed, with or 714 (80 percent) at or above grade level. That is a complete turnaround.
The New Haven public schools began using Breakthrough to Literacy, a reading program with a technology component, in 2000. We saw gains in students' phonemic awareness, letter identification and concepts about print. Now, we offer the program in all preschool, kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. We will expand it to all second grades by 2005. Achievement is particularly pronounced among low-income students.
We also have used Essentials of Literacy, founded through the Yale Child Study Center's School Development Program, with great success. For two hours each day, students, in groups of four, rotate in a clockwise manner to six stations (story, phonics, listening, guided reading, vocabulary and writing) every 15 to 20 minutes.
This year we have implemented Saxon Early Learning in all preschool classrooms, to introduce mathematical thinking skills to our youngest learners. To complement that program, our teachers have been learning about science and are using the Little Scientists program in all pre-K classes. These two curriculum areas also strengthen language development and exposure to new vocabulary every day.
Our citywide school construction program at $1.23 billion also presents a unique opportunity. With every school we renovate or rebuild, we provide at least two preschool classrooms. So we are literally building a pre-K component into every revitalized school.
The first five years of a child's life are a critical time. Quality experiences, both inside and outside the home, can mean all the difference in setting the stage for a life of success. A child who comes to kindergarten recognizing letters of the alphabet, numbers and shapes has a better foundation than a child who has had none of those early experiences. In New Haven, we will continue to work diligently to provide that important first foundation.
Reginald Mayo is superintendent of schools in New Haven.
[1]: http://www.ctnow.com
[2]: http://www.ctnow.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-mayo1123.artnov23,0,4774026.story