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Universal preschool pushed
By Marla Goldberg
The Republican, November 11, 2007

At Mason Square Head Start on Wednesday morning, several preschoolers were happily building, decorating, and banging on drums, while others were up to their elbows in sudsy water.

Later, they all danced to music.

For years, child development experts have cited the advantages of preschool for building social, verbal, and preliminary mathematical skills, and the unmatched power of early intervention to curb learning and behavior problems.

But now, Massachusetts politicians, including Gov. Deval L. Patrick, hope to make opportunities similar to those offered at Mason Square Head Start available to all 3− and 4−year−olds − not just those with parents poor enough for federally−funded programs, or rich enough to pay for private ones.

"The challenge is to simultaneously make a system that's accessible, affordable, and high quality," said Ann J. Reale, state commissioner of the Department of Early Education and Care.

The agency headed by Reale was created in 2004 to oversee a new, more coordinated response to the needs of small children and families.

Women make up 61 percent of the workforce statewide, according to Massachusetts Citizens for Children, which noted in a recent report that men's wages, when adjusted for inflation, have fallen.

Meanwhile, changes to welfare laws in recent years have pushed more parents into the labor force.

Despite the apparently growing need for affordable child care here, the costs to Bay State families are among the nation's highest.

Last month, the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies reported that Massachusetts is in the top 10 least affordable states for full−time, center−based child care. The report found an average cost of $10,700 a year for the state's preschoolers, and of $14,650 for infants.

More than tuition

Meanwhile, Massachusetts is among 43 states where full−time, center−based infant care costs more than tuition at a state college. Single Bay State parents with babies in such programs are particularly hard−hit, with child−care costs consuming 57.4 percent of median income, the association reported.

And in every region of the country, fees for center−based infant care are more than families spend on food.
There are a handful of states which are combating the problem with universal pre−kindergarten, which they have in place or are phasing in over the next few years. Those states, according to Pre−K Now in Washington, D.C., include Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.

In Massachusetts, educators say that rigorous testing of public school children over the last several years is prompting elementary schools to pay more attention to the early grades, and to make kindergarten more challenging.

"With kindergarten teachers, we used to talk about play; now we talk about how you're going to teach reading," said Claire E. Hamilton, an associate professor of teacher education at the University of Massachusetts School of Education in Amherst.

Children who enter kindergarten without a solid preschool background may be at a deficit.

"It appears that children who have attended high−quality preschools are better to able to meet the social and academic demands of kindergarten," said Judith A. Goodwin, the Springfield School Department's early childhood supervisor.

The city has about 800 children in free pre−kindergarten programs at its public schools, most for just 21/2 hours a day. However, half of these spots are reserved for children with special needs, while the rest are filled on a first−come, first−served basis, Goodwin said. Closing gaps

Universal pre−kindergarten is also seen as a possible means of solidifying bedrock learning skills for the state's minority children, who lag behind whites on standardized tests.

"I think that universal pre−K can actually help close achievement gaps," Hamilton said.

In June, Governor Patrick outlined a plan to dramatically expand public education statewide, called the "Readiness Project." Its goals include pre−school for all 3− and 4−year−olds, full−day kindergarten, extended learning time, and two years' free community college or vocational training after high school.

A 21−member leadership council is working to develop a 10−year strategy, including cost estimates.

Universal pre−kindergarten "is the foundation upon which we need to introduce systemic and sustainable change," said Bridgewater State College President Dana Mohler−Faria, who is Patrick's education adviser.

A report last year by the Boston−based Early Education for All campaign estimated that it would cost Massachusetts $600 million more a year, or about $3,000 per child, to make high−quality free preschool available. The figures, based on findings from Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies, include one college−educated teacher per classroom, along with child health and dental screening.

In Springfield, the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation is leading a coalition which hopes to make the city a pilot for universal pre−kindergarten, a move that may require private−sector support.

To engage the business community in dialogue, the Davis Foundation's Cherish Every Child Initiative has organized an invitation−only conference for Nov. 19, called "Building the Future Workforce: Investments in Early Development and Education." The keynote speaker will be Nobel laureate and University of Chicago economist James J. Heckman.

In Massachusetts, funding to help launch the universal pre−kindergarten initiative rose from $4.6 million to $7.1 million for fiscal 2008, while state investment in Head Start climbed from $8.5 million to $9 million.

Holyoke−Chicopee−Springfield Head Start is one of 131 child−care agencies which received fiscal 2007 quality grants from the Department of Early Education and Care, to improve existing programs with an eye toward future expansion. The local agency got a total of $562,000, including $215,000 in one−time start−up funds, to aid nine of its full−day pre−school classrooms.

It is also is seeking fiscal 2008 funds for two additional classrooms, said Michele Snizek, program operations director.

Holyoke−Chicopee−Springfield Head Start serves just under 1,300 children, the majority of whose families meet federal poverty guidelines, at 16 sites across the region. The children include about 1,225 aged 3 to 5, plus 73 infants and toddlers. However, there is a waiting list of about 500, about half for the infant and toddler slots, Snizek said.

Children attend half−day Head Start programs for free, and parents pay for full days on a sliding−scale.

The grant allowed for nine assistant teachers to be upgraded from part−to full−time.

"There's more support for children in the classroom," said Head Start Universal Pre−Kindergarten Specialist Mary Horn, whose position was established through the grant. A new language and literacy−based curriculum was bought, plus computers for each classroom and an on−line child assessment program.

Snizek said she believes Head Start could handle the demands of a major expansion, should universal pre−kindergarten become a reality in Massachusetts.

"We have the foundation in place − it's just a matter of having appropriate facilities for children," she said.

However, Snizek said there will be a need for more preschool teachers, and to improve the low salaries common at child care centers, even as the academic qualifications for pre−school teachers are rising. The Department of Early Education is targeting 2017 for the highest−level staff members at pre−schools to have bachelor's degrees, although Holyoke−Chicopee−Springfield Head Start has required its teacher directors to have at least an associate's degree since 1976.

Family day care centers in Easthampton, along with the Frontier Regional School District, and the Smith Child Care Center, are also boosting pre−kindergarten programs with pilot funds.

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