Why preschool matters

Indiana is currently one of only 11 states that provides no money for early childhood education. This makes the bill currently being debated in the Indiana General Assembly — which would create a two-year, $14 million preschool pilot program — all the more important.

Partly because of Indiana’s decades-long resistance to expanding pre-k funding, approximately only half of preschool-aged children in Indiana don’t attend public school. This rate is topped by only six other states in the country.

The proposal in the Indiana General Assembly is supported by Gov. Mike Pence, although he has repeatedly emphasized his desire to see private businesses and organizations kick in funding.

But even model pre-k programs, like The Busy Bees Academy in Pence’s hometown of Columbus, Ind., and which he has previously praised as an example of a local solution, will face cutbacks soon without public money.

These cutbacks will mean staff reductions and fewer school days for the already small group of Indiana children that receives vital pre-k teaching.

If we want to talk about fixing education problems in this state, we have to recognize that pre-k has become a crucial element in children’s future success.

Even without the numerous studies that point to this important element, anyone who spends time around children near pre-k age can testify to the amount of brain development that occurs during this period. Society will get left behind the longer we devalue early education.

Children who attend high-quality pre-k programs are less likely to be held back a grade, more likely to graduate from high school and more likely to have higher earnings as adults.

Children who don’t know the letters of the alphabet when entering kindergarten still show significantly lower reading skills by the time they graduate first grade, setting them on a limited track for the rest of their lives.

These programs don’t just benefit the individual student. Studies show that every dollar invested in early learning brings more dollars down the road.

It’s time Indiana recognized the importance of pre-k education. High-quality early education programs help children do better in school and in their later careers, as well as potentially strengthen the economy down the line.

Indiana students are getting left behind because of politicians’ reluctance to accept the decades of positive data on early learning programs. It’s high past time for the Indiana General Assembly to start moving forward on improving our educational system.

­— gwinslow@indiana.edu