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Early ed for all

Sunday, October 2, 2005
Cape Cod Times

About 9.2 percent of the 10,600 children under the age of 5 in Barnstable County live below the federal poverty level.

According to the 2000 Census, about 63 percent of the 3- and 4-year-olds in Barnstable County are enrolled in a public or private preschool program.

Now consider that the average salary of a preschool teacher in the Barnstable-Yarmouth Metropolitan Area is $25,440, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What do all these statistics point to? The need for high-quality preschool for all.

After all, the human brain develops more rapidly between birth and age 5 than during any other subsequent period. And according to several studies, children who participate in high-quality early childhood programs develop better language skills, score higher in school-readiness tests and have better social skills and fewer behavioral problems once they enter school.

Furthermore, this is more than an education issue; it's a workforce issue as well.

''When workers have reliable, quality early education and care arrangements for their young children, employers report reduced employee turnover, lowered absenteeism and increased productivity,'' according to Margaret Blood, director of the Early Education For All Campaign.

Recognizing these facts, the Massachusetts Legislature last year voted to consolidate the state Office of Child Care Services and some functions of the Department of Education's Office of School Readiness and created the Department of Early Education and Care - the first step toward providing universal access to public education for all 3- to 5-year-olds by 2012.

Now, it's time to take the next step.

Later this month, legislators will begin hearings on ''An Act Establishing Early Education for All,'' a bill with extraordinary bipartisan support.

Health and Human Services Secretary Ronald Preston, who chairs the state board of early education, told Statehouse News Service that the state would gradually invest more money in early education programs, but doubted it would be ''enough to make everybody comfortable.'' Instead, he said, the new department should ''look at what we have and look at what efficiencies can be found'' in addition to ''moderate, moderate increases. It's going to be, in my view, an incredibly difficult task.''

Lawmakers have been hesitant to estimate the cost of expanding pre-school to all 3- and 4-year-olds, but studies and reports estimate the amount to be between $500 million and $1 billion over several years.

Nevertheless, ''It is widely recognized that delivering on the promise of pre-school will require investing first and foremost in those who educate and care for our young children every day,'' said Blood. ''As the infrastructure and groundwork are laid for a program of universal pre-school over the coming year, Massachusetts must give priority to implementing - and funding - a system of professional development for the early education and care workforce.''

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