Are Current Government Programs Enough? July 4, 2009

It is clear from the research that Head Start has been a successful program for the last forty or so years.  http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/early-childhood-programs-and-evaluation It is not clear as to why this program or similar ones have not been made available to toddlers who are not from low income families. It seems that the government – who regulates who is eligible to receive these services – feels that if you make over a certain amount of money you are capable of educating your child without assistance from anyone on their payroll.  Just because you can earn a decent wage doesn’t mean that you will or can devote the time necessary to insure that your child will enter school with the skills necessary to succeed.  In a world that is as competitive and fast paced as we currently are if a child enters kindergarten without having attended some kind of preschool they are at a real disadvantage.  As a mother that was able to stay home until my youngest was in fifth grade (eleven years ago) I would be the first to advocate a child not being put into daycare, but as an elementary school employee I would argue that it is necessary for every child to receive some kind of schooling before entering kindergarten. Many schools offer full day kindergarten and starting approximately the third week of September there is daily learning taking place.  By this I mean everyday something new is introduced.  If a child has never been in the school setting prior to entering kindergarten they are just starting to feel comfortable by the third week of September and by no means are ready to start learning.  The current administration should consider that just because you earn a livable wage doesn’t mean your child would not benefit from attending a preschool program at no cost to the parents.