Lynchburg Business

Early Childhood Education: Why and How

Issue: May 2010 by Daniel T. Richardson in Education, Inside The Magazine

“I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. All reforms which rest simply upon the law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile…. But through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with definiteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move…. Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art conceivable in human experience.” -My Pedagogic Creed, John Dewey

What John Dewey stated in 1897 still holds true today. There is little doubt that the process of education is very valuable to our society as a whole. However, does early childhood education make a difference? Simply put: Yes. According to Zero to Three, a national non-profit that exists to “inform, train and support professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers,” by the time a child reaches the age of three, a major portion of the brain has been formed. A baby’s brain is 2.5 times more active than an adult’s brain and by the age of 5 the brain is about 90 percent the size of an adult brain. Because of this, high-quality early learning experiences at this time are critical.

The National Institute for Early Education Research states, “Research demonstrates that high-quality preschool education can substantially increase children’s chances of succeeding in school and in life. Children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten programs are less likely to be held back a grade, less likely to need special education and more likely to graduate high school. They are less involved in crime and delinquency. They also earn more as adults and are less likely to become dependent on welfare. Several studies (including those of the Perry Pre-School in Michigan, the Abecedarian Project in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the Chicago Child-Parent Centers) have documented the value of high-quality programs for disadvantaged children. While the strongest results have been shown for at-risk and low-income children, at least some positive effects extend to middle- and higher-income children.”

Further proof of the benefits of early childhood education comes from Mission: Readiness, a nonprofit, bi-partisan organization led by senior retired military leaders who advocate for “smart investments in the upcoming generation of American children,” 75 percent of all young adults from ages 17 to 24 are unable to join the military due to a lack of proper education, being in poor physical shape, or having a criminal record. Research was conducted in Michigan comparing children who attended pre-school with those that did not. The researchers followed these young people over decades.

“Compared with those who did not attend, the at-risk children enrolled in the program were 44 percent more likely to have graduated from high school, and those left out were five times more likely to be chronic offenders by age 27,” according to the results of the study.

With all this research showing that high-quality pre-school programs make a substantial difference in the futures of students, the question is: What is the Lynchburg area doing to support strong pre-school programs?

Enter Smart Beginnings, the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF), a public-private partnership founded in 2005. This organization operates across the state to improve the quality of early childhood care and education. The cities of Lynchburg and Bedford and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell are members of Smart Beginnings Central Virginia, a Partnership Grantee of the VECF. The VECF has established four broad, but realistic, goals for building a quality, statewide early educational system. The four goals are: 1) Infrastructure, where the VECF works with the state government to provide grants and assistance to create quality local pre-school programs, 2) Communication, in which the VECF strives to build public awareness of issues which specifically affect early childhood education, 3) Innovation, which entails the VECF working to foster best practices statewide, and 4) Evaluation and Accountability, where the VECF works to provide evaluation strategies and measurable objectives to meeting those goals on both a state and local level.

One of the initiatives that the VECF plays an integral role in is that of the Virginia Star Quality Initiative, the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System, which was specifically created to assess and communicate the level of quality of early care and educational facilities across the state of Virginia. In November 2009, Lynchburg Business covered the Randolph College Nursery School, which was one of just 31 childcare providers in the state to be awarded four stars—the highest scores given to date statewide.

But the VECF doesn’t just evaluate early care and education programs; it also actively seeks financial support for these organizations. In October 2008, the VECF gave a $400,000 grant to local early childhood programs. Combined with local matching funds, that amount went up to $600,000. In the same year across the state, the VECF awarded $1.3 million to 17 cities, towns and counties in the Commonwealth. In 2009, the VECF awarded eight new grants totaling $500,000 to 25 cities and towns. Furthermore, the VECF is constantly looking for partnerships and support for early childcare and education initiatives. As part of this initiative, they’ve hired a new Marketing Communications Manager, Charles Edward “Eddie” Williams, to work at their office in Richmond.

Even in these uncertain financial times, and perhaps because of them, it is increasingly critical to emphasize the importance of early childhood education. Like a house needs a strong foundation on which to build floors, children need a strong beginning to advance their educational careers. As many a wise leader would contend, any change that we would create as a society begins with education, and that education should begin with the very young.