The United States currently trails behind many developed countries, ranking 26th in the world for the percentage of 4-year-olds enrolled in Pre-K. Yet, there's a strong case to be made for pre-kindergarten education:
- Students who enroll in high-quality programs can eventually earn as much as 23% higher incomes than if they'd foregone Pre-K. (1)
- Researchers have discovered that participating in Pre-K makes a difference in reading, writing, and arithmetic with long-term impact through eighth grade and perhaps beyond. (2)
4 Things to Look for in a Pre-K Program That Supports Student Success
Parents are faced with many options for Pre-K and author Suzanne Bouffard recommends four things to look for, among others, when identifying a successful program for their child:
- Spaces that encourage children to learn to be learners, how to be curious, about how things work and find answers to problems.
- Hands-on experiences and opportunities for children to learn about things that apply to their lives.
- Teachers engaging children in rich conversations, asking them open-ended questions, what they think and what they want to know.
- Classrooms with an appropriate focus on self-control and behavior in class, where students learn how to wait their turn, how to share, how to deal with frustration, and how to solve conflicts. (3)
If you're currently exploring Pre-Kindergarten, keep these in mind as part of your search.
Sources:
- Wong, Alia. “The Case Against Universal Preschool.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 26 Apr. 2018.
- “New Study Finds Pre-k Benefits Endure through Eighth Grade.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 20 Jan. 2019.
- Bouffard, Suzanne. “The Most Important Year: Pre-Kindergarten and the Future of Our Children.” Amazon, Amazon, 5 Sept. 2017.