Students, Teachers & Parents Fight Proposed Preschool Cuts
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Preschool Programs
Students, teachers and parents head to the Statehouse to fight budget cuts.
NBC 4
Dozens of students, teachers and parents ask lawmakers to restore funding to early childhood education programs.
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Dozens of students, teachers and parents asked lawmakers to restore funding to early childhood education programs Wednesday.
The Ohio House has approved some $244 million in such cuts in the 2010-11 budget.
Some say these cuts will put thousands of children at risk.
Five-year-old Malachi Fulcher is in his second year at Columbus Montessori Education Center.
He wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for funding from the state’s Early Learning Initiative program, also known as E.L.I.
“This gives him an opportunity to really get a good foundation for later learning in a public elementary school,” says Venessa DeCree, Malachi’s teacher.
Twenty-nine other students at Columbus Montessori and more than 12,000 in Ohio take advantage of educational services offered by E.L.I.
But now, the program that supporters say has done so much for these children is at risk itself.
In the 2010-11 budget, the House has approved $244 million in cuts to programs such as E.L.I. and public preschool.
According to the statewide coalition group Groundwork some 130,000 children would be affected and it would eliminate around 4,000 slots for eligible children in E.L.I.
Columbus Montessori Executive Director Ann Timm says these cuts will put more children at risk for not developing essential skills, such as speech and problem-solving, before they enter kindergarten.
“This is where we need to spend money, at the beginning when students are just entering into school,” Timm says.
That’s the message they tried to convey to lawmakers Wednesday when they visited the Ohio Senate Finance Committee Hearing at the Ohio Statehouse to ask them to restore funding.
However, State Senator John Carey, who chairs the finance committee, says money to increase that funding doesn’t exist.
Meanwhile, these teachers and parents hope they find it.
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Reader Reactions
In regard to the comment about paying for preschool, it is that mentality that perpetuates the cycle of poverty. These programs are set up to reach at risk children whose parents are working or in school, so that the parents can work towards a better future for themselves and their families and the children become part of a safe, nurturing environment that is set up to instill a desire to learn. There are several safeguards set up in the ELI program that ensures teachers are running their programs correctly. Research in brain development shows that 0-5 is a critical period in development. This is taught in every developmental science course in colleges and universities. What point is there to do research and do nothing with the findings. Children need to learn and not everyone can afford a private preschool. Would you begrudge a child an education because they are born into an impoverished family, especially if members of that family are trying to find a way out of it. Break the cycle, stand for something more than what you see.
I have to admit that there was a time when I did not understand the value of programs such as the Early Learning Initiative. I have since worked a great deal with children and families that are involved in the program and now consider myself to be much more informed on the topic.
In response to the posts that preschool is not a necessity…I think it is important to note that this E.L.I. program often serves demographics that are either unable (due to work hours/limitations) or under-equipped to “school” their children in the ways necessary to prepare them for Kindergarten. Research has shown that the first 5 years of a child’s life are absoltutely CRITICAL in laying the foundation for later learning. Without these programs, and many like them a large amount of children will be entering Kindergarten without even the most basic of skills (i.e. knowing their colors, letters, numbers!!!)
As far as the argument goes that people don’t want to pay for these types of programs…I think this excerpt from the Columbus Dispatch totally hits the nail on the head…
“Katie Kelly, director of Groundwork, a statewide coalition of early-care advocates, said the cuts will mean that fewer at-risk children are prepared to start school and will lead to higher costs for the state down the road.
{The question is do we pay it now for an early-childhood system that we know can change the trajectory of these children’s lives, or do we pay it when these children repeat third grade drop out of high school have babies when they are teenagers and look to our public assistance system for support have costly mental-health treatment as adults for conditions that could have been treated when they were toddlers; or, worst of all, do we pay to support these children in our jails?}“
The bottom line is that these programs are DESIGNED to give these children a better foundation to build upon with the goal that they will be able to have a brighter and ultimately more financially successful future than their parents. Cutting funding to these programs will have a drastic effect on the future of the state of Ohio and ultimately on the nation as a whole!
I would have to agree. My oldest went to preschool but my youngest didn’t. My youngest is at the same level maybe even higher then my oldest was at that time. Schools are important but I don’t think preschool is a major necessity. If parents want their children to attend preschool pay for it. I did!
This opinion is from all sides of the spectrum—education, mother and career woman. I raised five children without preschool. My children are adults, educated and have great jobs. We are in a declining economy. We know what would be the best education for our children. Early childhood education is important, however, some sacrifices have to be made to balance the budget. Parents would love to send their children to camp, because it would be good socially, etc. for them. If they can’t afford it, the children do not go. The State is the same way. Once the economy picks back up many programs will return. We are a spoiled generation that whines everytime there are cuts. EVERYONE MUST CUT BACK AND QUIT SPENDING $ THEY DO NOT HAVE. NO MORE BORROWING. Again, champaign taste with a beer budget. That’s the good ole USA.
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