Saturday, April 01, 2006
This article is not an April Fool's joke. Yeah, I know that you've seen it hundreds of times here already... but I'm going to keep repeating it until it's ingrained in everyone's mind... I want everyone to remember... Repeat after me three times, "High quality early care and education is important for children and their future, and vital for our economy and our society!!!"
First, a couple more things I want you to remember...
Don't forget that tomorrow is Daylight Saving Time. You know: "Spring ahead, fall back"... Set your clocks one hour ahead at 2:00 am Sunday morning, April 2nd. If you forget Saturday night before you go to bed, you might just be late to church... Maybe this is the origin of April Fools ;-) If you are having trouble adjusting to losing the hour of sleep here are some tips that may help. And remember that this weekend is not only the time to set your clocks forward an hour for Daylight Saving. It is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detector. Changing the batteries twice a year will make sure that the detector(s) will be working in case there is a fire. Some inexpensive detectors also need to be replaced completely about every five years or so. Also make sure you dispose of the old batteries and alarms properly.
AND don't forget that the Week of the Young Child starts tomorrow!
Here is the commentary from yesterday in the Tri-Town Transcript in Massachusetts.
link
Commentary: The importance of high-quality preschool
By Barbara A. L'Italien
Friday, March 31, 2006
With high-stakes testing starting as early as third grade and a global economy that is demanding more from our students and workers, Massachusetts parents, school officials and elected leaders are searching for ways to enhance and optimize our children's early learning experiences. In recent years, researchers have confirmed that the human brain develops more rapidly between birth and age five than during any other subsequent period. It has also become clear that the educational investment with the greatest return - for children, families and the economy -- is high-quality preschool.
Acting on these facts, the Massachusetts House of Representatives took an important step towards ensuring that every young child in the commonwealth has access to high-quality preschool by unanimously passing legislation, An Act Relative to Early Education and Care, which creates the statutory infrastructure for a new universal high-quality pre-kindergarten program in Massachusetts. This action builds upon the progress the House made on prioritizing high-quality early education with the creation in 2004 of the independent board and consolidated Department of Early Education and Care.
Why focus on early education? The research is clear:
- Children who participate in high-quality early childhood education develop better language skills, score higher in school-readiness tests and have better social skills and fewer behavioral problems once they enter school.
In addition to being the right thing to do for children, high-quality preschool also is good for our economy. Several longitudinal studies have shown that high-quality programs for children as young as three can return more than $7 to society for every dollar initially invested in increased earning for participants and reduced costs on special education, welfare dependency, and crime. As for Massachusetts, a study by Dr. Clive Belfield of Queens College and Columbia University in collaboration with Dr. Patrick McEwan of Wellesley College, found that for every $1 spent on two years of preschool, the state would recoup $1.18 in savings and additional revenue.
This is why the action that the House of Representatives has taken is so important. The new Massachusetts Universal Pre-kindergarten Program has a number of critical provisions, including: voluntary participation for programs and families; a focus on high standards designed to meet and enhance the child's ability to make age-appropriate progress in the development of cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and physical capacities; inclusion of educationally sound, evaluative tools to assess age-appropriate progress and kindergarten readiness of preschool-aged children; the creation of a comprehensive system for measuring the performance and effectiveness of programs providing early education and care; and a mandate that the early education and care program be delivered through a mixed system of public and private providers and programs. The legislation is now awaiting action in the Senate.
Massachusetts has always been a national leader in public education, from Horace Mann through the Education Reform Act of 1993. Creation of a universal high-quality preschool program will continue this tradition of leadership and give our kids an early start on success.State
Rep. Barbara A. L'Italien, D-Andover, represents the 18th Essex District on Beacon Hill.
Have a nice weekend, I'll talk to you on Monday.
