EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The ultimate goal of our early childhood program is to ensure that all children in Illinois will start school ready to learn. Participating in quality early childhood programs is critical for young children. Research shows that half of a child's critical brain development is completed by the time she/he begins kindergarten. The impact of a stimulating early environment on brain development is long lasting, and it influences future academic success.Unfortunately, young Latino children are less likely to participate in preschool programs than non-Latinos. This low participation puts Latino children at a great disadvantage within their age group and undermines their ability to achieve their full potential. Entering school without the fundamental skills necessary for learning makes it harder for Latino children to succeed in school because children who start behind stay behind.
The low academic achievement of Latino students across the educational spectrum contradicts the high value that Latino families place in education. In meetings that the Latino Policy Forum organized with 600 Latinos in the Chicago metropolitan region, education consistently emerged as the number one priority issue. Families expressed great concern about the failure of the education system to successfully teach Latino children and engage their families. Many systemic and environmental factors contribute to this failure, which include: a) teachers are not prepared to teach students of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, b) schools and programs lack strategies to engage parents in their children’s education, c) classrooms are overcrowded and inadequately resourced to provide quality education, d) poverty makes it hard for many Latino families to provide resources at home to stimulate learning such as computers, books and educational toys and materials.
Policies and practices in education to address the needs of Latino students are urgent in the state of Illinois and the nation. The continued failure to educate Latino children affects society as a whole, considering the impact of the growth of the Latino population. Latino children represent the largest segment of the U.S. population under 18 years of age. In Illinois, Latino children account for 67% growth compared to an overall increase of 10%. In the Chicago region, 90 percent of all Latino children are U.S born. This reality has critical implications for present and future economic and social policy, especially for education. In addition to the moral responsibility that any society must have toward protecting and providing opportunities for its children, educating Latino children is a sound investment, considering that a substantial proportion of tomorrow’s workforce, tax payers and leaders will be Latino. New education policies are imperative to building education models to address the needs of Latino children.
For Latino children, participating in early childhood education programs, which are competent to teach English language learners, is an important building block in the continuum of education. The Latino Policy Forum works toward achieving the goal to close the education achievement gap of Latino children with policies that improve access to and quality of early childhood education programs. To achieve this goal, the LPF focuses on eliminating the obstacles that Latino families encounter in four areas:
Increase the pool of highly qualified bilingual teachers and personnel with expertise in working with Latinos and English Language Learners (ELLs).
Quality instruction begins with well-prepared teachers, including teachers who possess the necessary linguistic skills demanded by an increasingly diverse child population. Bilingual teachers can help to engage parents in their children’s education and drive instruction that builds on and supports a child’s home language. Therefore, the LPF works toward policies which invest in a bilingual teacher career ladder program and build the capacity of higher education institutions to prepare preschool teachers to serve ELLs.
Build the needed infrastructure in communities with large numbers of underserved preschool-age children.
A main barrier for Latino families in Illinois seeking to enroll their children in preschool is the lack of early childhood education facilities in their communities. In the City of Chicago alone, 6,000 Latino preschool children are on waiting lists, largely due to the lack of space in public schools. Reports from IFF and Metropolis 2020 show that the areas with the largest numbers of underserved children are the ones with large Latino populations, such as Cicero, Berwyn and Aurora. The LPF advocates for a greater investment of public and private funds to build or renovate facilities in underserved communities to build equity and opportunity for Latino children.
Develop understanding and support for parental involvement in their children’s education.
Parents are the first and most important teachers. Parental involvement and meaningful parental participation is critical to enhancing parents’ capacity as advocates for their own children. The preschool years provide an important opportunity to give parents the necessary tools to support learning at home, and inform them about their rights and responsibilities concerning the education of their children.
Promote affordable full-day programs to meet the needs of working families.
The State of Illinois funds the 2 1/2 hour Preschool For All program. Many Latino parents who work full-time are not able to enroll their children due to their work schedule or because of the high cost of full-day programs. In order to make preschool programs fully available to working class and low-income Latino families, more affordable full-day programs must be made available.
In conclusion, the growth of the Latino population is increasingly changing the fabric of our nation’s schools, and challenging the assumptions of some education models. Linguistic and culturally relevant practices must be incorporated in the programs to address the needs of Latino children and families.
