Preschool should be more than babysitting

November 24, 11:07 AMColorado Education ExaminerTodd Engdahl

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What educators like to call “ECE” – early childhood education – has been a hot topic in recent years as more and more expects have concluded that giving kids a good start in school can reduce low-achievement and dropout problems later.

Of course, the idea that kids, especially ones from low-income homes, need an early boost isn’t new. The federal Head Start program has been around for decades.

But what’s new is the idea that the years from preschool through third grade (P-3 in educator jargon) should be a carefully planned part of an integrated education system that goes all the way up to the college years.

There’s been a lot of focus on P-3 in Colorado, partly because of a perception that the state is behind most of the rest of the U.S. in how it educates young children. Denver voters last year created a financial aid program for city families with preschoolers, and earlier this year the state legislature approved substantial funding increases for the state preschool program for low-income kids and for full-day kindergarten.

Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, former president of the Colorado Children’s Campaign, is leading the charge for better early education.

Now, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has released a new study, “P-3 Successful Practices,” which lays out successful early-education practices and what needs to be done to realize them.

Before you rush to click that link, I should warn you that the report is a bit jargony and probably more useful for educators than parents. (Click here for a story about the report.)

But, boiled down to its essence, the report stresses the point that preschool and kindergarten should educate children and prepare them for later grades, albeit in ways that appropriate for both individual children and for various ages.

Preschool also has become more important to families in recent decades, given the increase in both single families and families where both parents work.

It’s tough enough for parents to find preschool that’s affordable, reasonably close to work or home and that has hours that mesh with family schedules. Trying to meet those needs sometimes makes finding a quality program a lower priority, and too many families have to settle for, well, just babysitting.

But there is help for parents. Qualistar, an organization that works to improve early learning and which also rates programs, has information about finding good programs.

The CDE also has links to lots of early childhood information on its website.