NATIONAL: Quality of Public Preschools
What should be done about this issue?

Problem:Attracting and Maintaining Qualified Staff
Solution: The challenge of improving teacher quality is probably one of the most difficult problems to correct. Many teachers are unprepared for the challenges in their classrooms with diverse students and language barriers. Teachers themselves say that they do not feel prepared in their classrooms. This is not uncommon. Many teachers have not fully mastered their subject matter. States require teachers to pass a test in their subject area but the passing scores are so low that a teacher can pass without getting half of the answers correct. With such a low quality staff, children cannot be expected to reach their full capabilities.
The quality of a teacher is one of the key components of how much a child can achieve. To improve the quality of teachers, all states need to start raising teacher qualifications. It is unacceptable for states to allow teachers to teach something they don’t fully understand themselves. Currently, only one third of preschool teachers have B.A.s. There should be a push for an expansion of teacher training and education. Increased wages and benefits could encourage teachers to become more qualified and will help to maintain preschool staff. In the nation, about 22 percent of public teachers leave the teaching profession after their first three years. Compensation initiatives would interest more people into the preschool teaching profession and help retain the staff.
Another thing that the government should implement into public preschools are professional development opportunities. If there were more classes and seminars on early childhood education there would be a vast improvement in the understanding of early childhood education. Preschool teachers need to learn how to reach younger children and interest them in and out of the classroom. Seminars could teach classroom activities and other learning devices to help further these young children throughout the nation.

Problem: Little Guidelines for Public Preschool Programs
Solution: Preschools around the nation don’t have strict guidelines for learning. There is no clarity when it comes to preschool preparation goals. If there were a set of guidelines for the skills and behaviors that children must have to perform well in school, preschools would know what they need to teach. With set guidelines, the preschools would know where they can set the bar for their children’s learning. They know what kinds of pre-reading skills the children should have and the kind of social and emotional competence the children should have.
Lately, children entering kindergarten are behind in their learning. Once children get behind, they stay behind. It is hard to speed the children up unless they are given special attention and learning opportunities. If the teachers can recognize which children are behind they can take extra care to ensure that the child is not left behind. There are so many opportunities for children to fall behind that the guidelines would hopefully remind the teachers of their jobs. This ties in strongly with the need for quality teachers. With quality teachers, the children would have a greater opportunity to learn from the best and retain more knowledge than if they had second-rate teachers.

Problem: Little Public Information about Preschool Education
Solution: Many people are not aware of the importance of a good preschool education. More and more research is showing how important it is for children to acquire pre-reading and number skills early on in life. The earlier children start learning the better prepared they are for kindergarten and all the grades to follow. The government should start making communities aware of the importance of preschool education. This could easily be done with pamphlets made available to all families or public service announcements. If the nation can easily access this information they could easily find contacts for Head Start and other government early childhood initiatives.
Before, parents were relied on to prepare their children for kindergarten. This is not the case anymore. Many parents are too busy with their jobs that they cannot find time to teach their children. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that parents learn of the opportunities of public preschool education. If there was more public information about preschool and activities that prepare children to be successful in school, children could get a jumpstart into learning.

What should be done on the governmental level to help alleviate the “problems” this issue is creating?
-Set better guidelines for school preparation goals
-State accountability programs
-Maintain and increase funding for preschools
-Raise the salary of preschool teachers
-Start having compensation initiatives in all preschool programs
-Recruit preschool teachers
-Professional development for preschool teachers
-Build and renovate facilities
-Raise awareness of the need for early childhood education
-Get the communities involved

What should be done on a societal level to help alleviate the “problems” this issue is creating?
-Donate money to preschools
-Donate learning tools/supplies to preschools
-Volunteer at community preschools
-Pass out pamphlets on the importance of a preschool education
-Form associations advocating early childhood education


http://www.whitehouse.gove/infocus/education/teachers/background.html
http://www.ed.gove/print/news/pressreleases/2003/02/02032003d.html
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb/?p_action=print&f_docid=&s_doc_type=doc&p_queryname=800
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/