U.S. must invest in preschool programs

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Updated: May 16, 2011 2:06PM

For Samuel Betances, it’s all about words.

At a recent conference on education in Chicago, the Harvard-educated and now-retired college professor pointed to a startling fact: By the time disadvantaged kids get to high school, they know considerably fewer words than middle-class children.

A limited vocabulary and lack of other educational skills translate into a 50 percent high school dropout rate for Latinos, a seemingly permanent crisis in education nationwide. President Obama was the latest public official to address the problem in a recent nationally televised forum on Latinos and education. He pointed to the importance of early childhood education to help kids graduate from high school and go on to college. His education secretary, Arne Duncan, also was promoting it Wednesday during a visit to Chicago.

The problem is compounded because preschool enrollment rates of Latino children fell considerably during the recent recession, according to a recent study from the University of California, Berkeley.

According to the researchers, Latino preschool enrollment declined nationally between 2005 and 2009, while attendance rates held for African-American and white kids. The authors claim that this reversal puts in jeopardy efforts to close gaps in children’s early school achievement.

One reason for this, as the study points out, is that joblessness rose from 6.3 percent to 10.6 percent between 2005 and 2009 for Latina women 20 and older. As a result, families most likely took their children out of preschool programs.

Also, there are fewer slots for pre-kindergarten because of cuts in state funding.

Sandra Warner, coordinator of early childhood education for West Chicago Elementary School District, told me that the district serves 80 at-risk students — mostly low-income, immigrant Latino kids — while the year before 342 students were enrolled.

She said there is a waiting list of 100 students. And if the state funding is further reduced next year, more kids will lose out.

“There are 900 kids who will need these services,” Warner said. “The impact will be tragic. These kids will fall behind in literacy and vocabulary by the time they get to elementary school.”

Educating Latino kids is a critical issue for the country. A 50 percent high school dropout rate is unacceptable. The responsibility falls on all of us to improve the graduation rates of Latinos and other minorities.

By 2050, one-third of all Americans will be of Latino heritage. If the current high school dropout rate continues, this group will not be ready for the demands of an economy that will depend greatly on new technologies and a highly educated work force.

Discussions are under way at the federal and state levels to reduce spending and balance budgets. Funding for early childhood education is relatively safe, but all programs are subject to scrutiny.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told me that while funding for many important programs is still being negotiated at the federal level, he is working to ensure programs such as Head Start receive the necessary funds.

Gov. Quinn is proposing a partial restoration of state funds that were cut from the early childhood education programs.

“This is not about baby-sitting,” said Reyna Hernandez, education policy analyst of the Latino Policy Forum, a local advocacy organization that participated in the study. “This is an investment in Illinois that would set up kids for success.”

James J. Heckman, professor of economics at the University of Chicago and a Nobel Laureate, puts it simply: Early childhood education programs pay dividends for life.

Investing in early childhood education will not only provide all kids with the opportunity to learn as many words as they possibly can, it will also help prepare the work force of the future — in Illinois and the rest of the country.