The first bullet in the State Board of Education’s new outline of a “base” level of learning in Michigan is “universal access to quality early childhood programming for all four-year-old children.”
That new “basic,” is far from reality. But this is one of the most prominent pieces of advocacy yet within the walls of Michigan government for universal preschool.
The science is clear… Study after study points to preschool education as one of the highest returns on investment the public can make, as the Center outlined last month in our Education Issue Guide.
But, in reality, public funding for preschool has gone in the opposite direction, with the Michigan Senate last year actually proposing to zero out the program.
Michigan spends about $100 million a year now to provide preschool to about one-fifth of the state’s most vulnerable four-year-olds. Publicly funded universal preschool would cost up to another $300 million per year, according to this week’s state board report. To put that $300 million in context, the state budget now allocates more than 40 times that amount each year to fund K-12 education.
It may sound daunting to actually expand early childhood learning programs in this age of downsizing. But other states are finding ways to do it.
In Washington state, the responsibilities of the state’s “Department of Early Learning,” just grew to include a statutory requirement to provide services to infants and toddlers.
In Kansas, the legislature has created an early childhood block grant program with millions of dollars in new investment.
Early Childhood.
It’s the first bullet point in the Michigan Board of Education’s blunt assessment of what the future learning system should look like.
As the state board summarized in their report… “To do less delays the chance that Michigan will return to the high prosperity it enjoyed in the last century.
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I am reading this post at a gathering of all the Great Start Collaboratives (every Michigan County now has one). These are a great base upon which to build a universal program for early learning that could include not only preschool, but also familly programs like Parents as Teachers, playgroups, and higher quality inhome day care. Let’s expand state funding for preschool, but let’s engage local communities to get the right programs at the best cost.
Yes, early childhood investment has the greatest payoff.
Yes, we should do more for 4 and 5 year old disadvantaged students.
But please remember that early childhood education includes Kindergarten through Grade Three. In most school districts we could improve outcomes for children in this age range, with very little cost, and with incredible long-term benefits. Take the time to follow best practice and keep class-size small during this phase, and you will avoid letting children fall into patterns of failure for life.
Much criticism has been pointed at HeadStart because measured gains from this preschool intervention quickly diminish as we track these children in K-12 education, and the gains are usually gone by the end of third grade. This should be a critism of the lack of good practice and appropriate follow-up in the K-3 public education that was given to these kids.
K-3 is still an optimal phase for intervention. Let’s use it well!