Remarks Prepared for Delivery; Sue Williams Kindergarten Teacher at Winterset Elementary

DES MOINES, IA (01/19/2011)(readMedia)--

Remarks prepared for delivery by

Sue Williams

Kindergarten teacher at Winterset Elementary School

Public Hearing on House File 45

January 18, 2011

As a kindergarten teacher at Winterset Elementary School, I see firsthand how the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for four-year-olds has affected my classroom and my school district.

In Winterset we have 141 four-year-olds enrolled in the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program. All are being taught by licensed teachers with four-year degrees. When children attend kindergarten after attending quality preschool, they hit the ground running. They have had experience as students with such things as lining up, taking turns, and getting along with others.

The students coming into my classroom this year also showed improvement in vocabulary, math skills, and children's understanding of print concepts, and other literacy skills.

Vocabulary is important because the measure indicates general cognitive abilities and helps predict how successful a reader the student will become.

The gains in math skills include basic number concepts, simple addition and subtraction, telling time, and counting money.

Children who attend preschool know more letters, letter-sound associations, and are more familiar with words and book concepts.

But the benefits of quality preschool extend beyond the classroom and into the community.

Research shows the benefits of Statewide Voluntary Preschool Programs are long-term and far reaching.

Four-year-olds exposed to high-quality settings exhibit better language and math skills, better cognitive and social skills, and better relationships with classmates than do children in lower quality settings.

In particular, the "most practical and cost efficient way" of making an economic impact may be providing access for all children according to W. Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

The American School Board Journal mentions a study of the High Scope Foundation's Perry Preschool showing that at age 27, former Perry Preschool students' demonstrated positive differences from the control group in educational attainment, home ownership, incarceration, and employment.

A similar study of former Chicago Child-Parent Center Program students showed similar results to the Perry study. Both studies also pointed out that a dollar invested in preschool saved the taxpayers $7 in cost for later services such as jails and drug detoxification centers.

A study of New Mexico's state-funded prekindergarten shows the program produced an estimated $5 benefit generated for every dollar invested.

Evaluations show that children in quality learning environments were less likely to drop out of school, repeat grades, need special education, or get into future trouble with the law than similar children who did not have such exposure.

In a community the size of Winterset, if there wasn't a Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program, there would be few quality preschool programs available.

Please consider the positive impact the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program is having on our young students and continue to fund this program so all four-year-olds in Iowa have access to high-quality preschool.