Solving Inequity in preschool education
By Ashley brown
By Ashley Brown
Preschool is a fundamental part of early childhood education because it prepares children for a classroom environment, and gives them skills they will need later on in higher grades. Despite the positive impact preschool has on academic success, many children's parents do not enroll them in preschool. Children that attend The Preschool For All program are at a disadvantage in comparison to the children who attend tuition based preschools. These disparities lead to gaps in achievement between the upper and lower class. In order to diminish the achievement gap, Chicago Public Schools needs to reform preschool education.
Preschool needs to be made mandatory, so that all children go into kindergarten with the skills, such as being able to communicate with peers and teachers, as well as reading,writing, and basic math. By not going to preschool, children are missing the chance to learn these skills. They will have to learn these skills, in addition to learning the material for that grade level. Children who's parents do not enroll them in preschool are putting them at a disadvantage because their likelihood of doing well in school is not as high as the children enrolled in preschool. Children who attend preschool are “29% more likely to graduate high school” and will earn “33% higher salary on average” (Early Education Programs,CPS ). If all children attended preschool, these disparities would not exist. In addition to making preschool mandatory, a skills proficiency requirement needs to be put in place, so that students will not enter kindergarten without the experience needed to succeed.
Additionally, all preschools should have the same standard curriculum. The curriculum in tuition based preschools is more complex than curriculum in the Preschool For All program. Preschool For All offers "basic reading, writing, and math skills" (Preschool For All,CPS) , while tuition based preschools use the "Creative Curriculum Literacy Approach to promote literacy, including reading aloud, storytelling, talking, singing, and playing with language" (Tuition Based Preschools, CPS). This unequal curriculum gives tuition based preschool students an advantage over students who attend Preschool For All. Setting a standard curriculum for all preschools is beneficial because school will put one student ahead of the other because regardless of where they are in Chicago, all students will need to meet the same standards to be promoted to kindergarten. All students will start at the same level of knowledge, so they will all have the necessary skills to begin kindergarten.
Starting off every student with an equal opportunity to succeed in school will narrow the achievement gap between upper and lower class students. If all students have the same prior knowledge entering elementary school then this pattern should persist throughout higher education, which will lead to revaluation of secondary education. Addressing the issues in early childhood development education can lead to fixing the problems in higher education that prevent students from having equitable education.
Bibliography
"Preschool for All ." Chicago Public Schools :Preschool for All. Chicago Public Schools, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cps.edu/Schools/EarlyChildhood/Pages/Preschoolforall__.aspx>.
"Tuition-based Preschool ." Chicago Public Schools :Tuition-based Preschool. Chicago Public Schools, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cps.edu/SCHOOLS/EARLYCHILDHOOD/Pages/Tuition-basedpreschool.aspx>.
"Early Childhood Education Programs" Chicago Public Schools: Early Childhood Education Programs. Chicago Public Schools, nd. Web. 28 Feb. 2014
<http://www.cps.edu/schools/earlychildhood/Pages/EarlyChildhood.aspx#sub1-tab>
Preschool is a fundamental part of early childhood education because it prepares children for a classroom environment, and gives them skills they will need later on in higher grades. Despite the positive impact preschool has on academic success, many children's parents do not enroll them in preschool. Children that attend The Preschool For All program are at a disadvantage in comparison to the children who attend tuition based preschools. These disparities lead to gaps in achievement between the upper and lower class. In order to diminish the achievement gap, Chicago Public Schools needs to reform preschool education.
Preschool needs to be made mandatory, so that all children go into kindergarten with the skills, such as being able to communicate with peers and teachers, as well as reading,writing, and basic math. By not going to preschool, children are missing the chance to learn these skills. They will have to learn these skills, in addition to learning the material for that grade level. Children who's parents do not enroll them in preschool are putting them at a disadvantage because their likelihood of doing well in school is not as high as the children enrolled in preschool. Children who attend preschool are “29% more likely to graduate high school” and will earn “33% higher salary on average” (Early Education Programs,CPS ). If all children attended preschool, these disparities would not exist. In addition to making preschool mandatory, a skills proficiency requirement needs to be put in place, so that students will not enter kindergarten without the experience needed to succeed.
Additionally, all preschools should have the same standard curriculum. The curriculum in tuition based preschools is more complex than curriculum in the Preschool For All program. Preschool For All offers "basic reading, writing, and math skills" (Preschool For All,CPS) , while tuition based preschools use the "Creative Curriculum Literacy Approach to promote literacy, including reading aloud, storytelling, talking, singing, and playing with language" (Tuition Based Preschools, CPS). This unequal curriculum gives tuition based preschool students an advantage over students who attend Preschool For All. Setting a standard curriculum for all preschools is beneficial because school will put one student ahead of the other because regardless of where they are in Chicago, all students will need to meet the same standards to be promoted to kindergarten. All students will start at the same level of knowledge, so they will all have the necessary skills to begin kindergarten.
Starting off every student with an equal opportunity to succeed in school will narrow the achievement gap between upper and lower class students. If all students have the same prior knowledge entering elementary school then this pattern should persist throughout higher education, which will lead to revaluation of secondary education. Addressing the issues in early childhood development education can lead to fixing the problems in higher education that prevent students from having equitable education.
Bibliography
"Preschool for All ." Chicago Public Schools :Preschool for All. Chicago Public Schools, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cps.edu/Schools/EarlyChildhood/Pages/Preschoolforall__.aspx>.
"Tuition-based Preschool ." Chicago Public Schools :Tuition-based Preschool. Chicago Public Schools, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cps.edu/SCHOOLS/EARLYCHILDHOOD/Pages/Tuition-basedpreschool.aspx>.
"Early Childhood Education Programs" Chicago Public Schools: Early Childhood Education Programs. Chicago Public Schools, nd. Web. 28 Feb. 2014
<http://www.cps.edu/schools/earlychildhood/Pages/EarlyChildhood.aspx#sub1-tab>