Time is now for preschool for all

A major issue in public education today is closing the achievement gap so that all kids are college, career and life ready. This goal requires high quality early education for every child. Research repeatedly confirms that students who attend a high quality preschool perform far better than those who do not.

They are more academically successful, able to persevere through adversity, and more likely to graduate from high school. In addition to increased graduation rates, access to high quality early education has been linked to decreases in crime and delinquency rates.

As a state, Washington is making progress in early learning, but further advancements are needed to ensure that early learning programs are effective and available to ALL children. These advancements are needed now. Not in five years. Not in one year. The time is now.

Preschool programs do exist; excellent ones in fact, but families must qualify based on low income or disability status, or pay out of pocket for a private preschool. This leaves a huge gap for many Washington families searching for high quality early learning. We need to fund preschool for all children, not just select groups.

In a time when “equity” is not just a buzzword, but a priority as well, why do not have preschool for all?

I am a preschool teacher. I work in a school district of 23,000 students, and I teach our sole, district-funded, general education preschool program. You read that right. One. District. Preschool. Program.

Repeatedly, families who cannot afford tuition-based preschool and/or do not qualify for a federal- or state-funded preschool program contact me asking for assistance. Time and time again, I add names to my ever-growing wait list, wishing I could do more, knowing we can do more. Children are falling through the cracks. As a teacher, this is heartbreaking. As a community member, this is infuriating. As a parent, it is inexcusable. When families seek help for their early learners, it is our responsibility to respond and, ultimately, deliver.

Early learning programs should reside in every neighborhood school. Imagine an elementary school home to preschool through fifth grade where students, staff and families learn, collaborate and celebrate together. I don’t have to imagine it. I live it every day. My preschool students attend an elementary school with their grade school-age sisters, brothers and neighbors. Many walk to school together, wave to one another or exchange quick hugs in the hallways, and play together at recess.

Year after year, I witness my preschool students build confidence through familiarity and strengthened relationships. When students and their families become familiar with a school at an early age, it builds trust and commitment for future years.

We know that a remarkable proportion of learning occurs in the early years; this is not a debate. Ninety percent of brain growth happens before age 5. We as professionals, community members, and advocates need to work together to nourish this critical learning period by creating high quality preschools in our neighborhood schools for all children. Every child, regardless of race, religion or income, has the right to preschool. Our investment in these early years will amount to huge payoffs in later years. Our earliest learners are worth it.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Time is now for preschool for all."