A child’s education doesn’t begin in first grade or even in kindergarten. It begins at birth. And the nature of that early education can help shape a life for good or ill.
Recognizing the critical importance of those first learning years, the Illinois House this week wisely approved legislation to fund more and better preschool programs in the state.
The measure, which now goes to the Senate, would provide money for the State Board of Education to offer grants to school districts for programs aimed at children from birth through 5 years old.
Districts could use the money for Head Start programs or to create partnerships with private day care agencies, which would agree to district supervision. Grant funds could go toward buying educational materials, hiring early childhood specialists or providing specialized training for day care staffs.
There is already a dearth of affordable, high-quality child care in the state. And as more mothers enter the workforce because of welfare reforms, more children will be placed in the care of others.
If that care consists of a stimulating educational environment, those children have a far better chance of becoming good students and productive adults.
A study by Syracuse University in 1988 found that low-income children who had full-time quality preschool later cost the juvenile justice system less than one-tenth of what those not in preschool cost.
Another study on the long-term effects of quality preschool found that it increases the IQs, literacy rates and high school graduation rates of low-income kids. In Illinois last year, the vast majority of third graders who had participated in state pre-kindergarten programs scored at or above average in reading, math, language skills and behavior.
It is far less expensive to bolster high-quality preschools now than it will be to deal with the myriad costs of educational failure later.
The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Frank Watson (R-Greenville), does not specify that grants must benefit underprivileged youngsters. That gives the state board the option of making grants to caregivers who serve a mixed-income population, which can be the best kind of environment for needy children.
But the board must also rigorously monitor the grantees to make sure the money is being used to enhance the early learning opportunities of poor children. Because that’s where the greatest benefits will accrue–and where the greatest need lies.
