Access to early learning is a challenge across the country — and many parents scramble to find a space for their children. But there are some programs that are readily available and accessible to all children in their catchment areas.
EXPANDING PUBLIC EDUCATION
Evidence: Research with Additional Links
What to Look for in Quality Pre-Primary Programs (2022)
Ten Reasons to Expand Public Kindergarten (2020)
An increasing number of jurisdictions are following the research and committing to a two-year kindergarten experience for four- and five-year-old children in a play-based curriculum.
The Rationale for Expanding Public Education to Include Preschool-Aged Children (2019)
We all want our children to have the best chance at a good life. Fifty years of research shows participation in a high-quality preschool program benefits children’s development and reduces gaps at school entry.
Quality Early Learning Lowers Special Education Enrolment (2019)
If a formula existed for giving children something that reduced the need for, or intensity of, later special education that can be both emotionally and financially costly, wouldn’t it be excellent?
Full Report on Lowering Special Education (2019)
The Preemptive Nature of Quality Early Child Education on Special Educational Needs in Children
Given the growth of scholarship in ECE as well as the rapid emergence of the sector as an area of academic inquiry, a team of special education/mental health scholars opted to explore its preemptive nature.
A significant part of the solution to early learning and child care resides in our schools by offering universal pre-kindergarden for 4-year-olds as an extension of public education.