Kindergarten

Unless there is a solid kindergarten curriculum, there is no point to having full day kindergarten except for the fact most parents work and need full time care.

Few schools if any teach more than reading skills, writing skills and math skills. While law makers are busy trying to get more kids into more time, perhaps they should think more skills into more time.



Indystar.com
January 2, 2006
Let's Get Early Start on Early Education

Our position: Lawmakers should begin making preparations to add full-day kindergarten to the next budget.

It's not the right time for the Indiana General Assembly to act on full-day kindergarten, but it is the right time to prepare to act.

State legislators open a short session this week that is constrained by the fact that the two-year budget, in effect until July 2007, remains tight. The lack of cash negates the prospects of adding expensive programs, including the $150 million a year needed to run full-day kindergarten.

Lawmakers, however, have shown that they love to create summer study committees. Here's an opportunity to launch one that really matters, a panel made up of key legislators, top educators and others with the interest and expertise needed to plan an essential step in the journey toward higher student achievement in Indiana.

The panel's primary mission shouldn't be to determine whether full-day kindergarten is necessary. The research is pretty clear on its importance. But the committee could look at how best to roll out the program around the state, where it should be implemented first and consider options for paying for it.

While Indiana has dithered over kindergarten, other states have been racing ahead to improve early childhood education. Forty-one states already offer some form of preschool. Back home in Indiana, we don't even require parents to send their children to school until they're old enough for first grade.

The results? About a third of Indiana students drop out of high school before earning a diploma, a crisis that falls especially hard on poor and minority students. Achievement gaps widen at an early age, with many fourth-graders already on track to fail and drop out when they reach their teens.

Another sign Hoosiers haven't made education enough of a priority? Indiana ranks 46th in the nation in the education attainment level of its work force.

The good news is that the state has adopted higher academic standards and educators are pushing students to meet higher expectations. The best students in the state are doing better than ever, scoring well on standardized tests and excelling in Advanced Placement classes.

A substantial percentage of students at the bottom, however, are not progressing. Attacking the achievement gap early is essential to help more of those students stay in school. It's also vital for a state that must build a stronger work force.

Now is the time to prepare for an important step forward. A year from now lawmakers will be writing a new budget and early childhood education needs to be high on the list of priorities.