Agenda - 01-28-2010 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A-4a c h rfl e-e)t -L 3 Voluntary, Universal Pre-kindergarten in Orange County...An Action Plan Created by the Orange County Child Care Coalition Back&Lgun : With greater attention on the achievement gap between majority and minority children and children of wealth versus children of poverty, attention has been focused on the research evidence on the effectiveness of high,quality early childhood education as a mechanism to level the playing field. The Chicago Longitudinal Study found that Chicago children who attended pre-k were 29% more likely to graduate from high school.and 41% less likely to require special education services than children who did not have pre-k. A study done by Yale University Child Study Center, "State Efforts to Evaluate the Effects of Pre-Kindergarten", found that Michigan 0' graders who had attended pre-k passed the state's literacy and math assessment tests at higher rates than those who had no pre-k and Maryland fifth graders who attended pre-k were 44% less likely to have repeated a grade as those who did not attend pre-k. Authors of a study out of The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M UniversityEl report: "Our analysis of the relative costs and benefits of a high-quality universally- accessible pre-kindergarten program suggests that even under very conservative assumptions,the benefits of such a program in Texas greatly outweigh its costs." A number of states are moving in the direction of universal pre-kindergarten, including Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma. Oklahoma and Georgia will soon reach more than two-thirds of 4-year- olds between the state pre-kindergarten program, Head Start and preschool special education. North Carolina has chosen the targeted approach with More at Four.Voluntary universal pre- kindergarten shows high participation rates. However,North Carolina has failed to pay the full cost of a More at Four slot, forcing communities to find matching dollars. When those dollars are not available,the More at Four slots go unfilled or are given to other communities. Head Start has long served as an intervention strategy for very poor low income 3 and 4 year old children. However,the income cut off is so low,many low income families in Orange County are not eligible. More at Four income eligibility is higher,but funds for child care for infants and toddlers have been diverted to pay for the match for More at Four. And sufficient match dollars are not available to reach every eligible child. The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) reports that middle income families are often the least likely to have their children access high quality early childhood settings. They often are not eligible for help through Head Start, More at Four or child care scholarship programs, often relegating their children to less than quality preschool education. High income families can afford high quality part-day preschools. Very low income ncome families can receive help paying for it through targeted programs like Head Start and More at Four. Voluntary, universal pre-k would insure that all children in Orange County would have at least one year of high quality preschool education before school entry. Rationale: Orange County has been a leader in education since the inception of the first state university system, The County is known for having the best schools in the state, with the highest proportion of teachers who have National Board.Certification. In addition, Orange County has some of the very best child care settings in the state and some of the highest quality child care available. Orange County can again become anational leader by investing in its children through a voluntary, universal art at pre-kinderen program. By partnering with high quality child care programs in the community to serve as qualified pre-kindergarten sites, children.and families can receive a high quality early education at community sites at a lower overall cost. High quality pre-kindergarten classrooms in child care settings can achieve the outcome of