Early Childhood in Illinois by Deanna Durica

Illinois has been at the forefront of early childhood education for the past 20 years, beginning in 1985 with the Prekindergarten (Pre-K) program for children at risk of academic failure. Recognizing that learning begins at birth, Illinois lawmakers created the birth-to-three set-aside within the early childhood funding stream, allocating eleven cents of every dollar to programs serving children aged birth to three.

When Illinois enacted Preschool for All in 2006, it became the first state in the nation to offer voluntary access to high-quality preschool to all three- and four-year-olds whose parents choose to participate.

The state’s preschool funding can be accessed by a variety of entities, including school districts, child care centers, park district preschool programs and faith-based programs. Funding enables programs to hire certified teachers with training in early childhood, buy supplies, implement appropriate curriculum, and participate in professional development programs so that early childhood practitioners continue to grow in their knowledge of best practices. Current preschool programs can apply for funding to enhance or expand their early childhood offerings. Additionally, because the state’s early childhood funding stream sets aside eleven percent of its total for infants and toddlers, funding is available to reach out to the most at-risk families with young children through center-based and home-based child development services, helping to mitigate delays and deficits in children who may otherwise start school behind their more advantaged peers.


With the support of the Governor and the General Assembly, early childhood funding has grown by almost $165 million over the past five years. Some people wonder at the increase in spending on early childhood when budget times are so tough. The truth of the matter is, though, that this type of funding is precisely what is needed, because such investments pay significant dividends throughout a child's school years and beyond. Thirty years of research underscores how high-quality early learning programs prepare children for success in school and later life - a critical undertaking,

as national surveys of kindergarten teachers report that one out of three children enters school without basic social and emotional skills critical to school success.

Research also demonstrates that the achievement gap between low- and middle-income children and between majority and minority students is already in place before kindergarten. Investment in high-quality preschool education is a promising strategy for reversing this trend.


What about Berwyn?

The South Berwyn Grade School District received $240,000 in preschool funding for the 2006-2007 school year, providing access to a high-quality preschool program for 80 children.

The North Berwyn Grade School District has not been funded for Pre-K by the state.

With over 1,700 children aged three and four in our community, however, the need for services far outstrips the current supply. In fact, the Illinois Facilities Fund has identified Berwyn and Cicero as an area of the state most in need of early childhood services. The Illinois State Board of Education agrees, and in the hopes of encouraging more funding applications from our community it conducted special outreach meetings in Berwyn and Cicero in 2005 to teach providers in the area more about funding opportunities available through the state.

Preschool is also a priority for Berwyn educators and parents. Last January, more than 20 early childhood care and education providers, including representatives from both Berwyn school districts, parochial schools, the Catholic Charities Family Center, child care centers, and local preschools attended a meeting sponsored by State Representative LaShawn Ford to learn more about accessing funding through the state and to discuss collaborations that would enable programs to provide services more effectively. Additionally, community members and educators involved in District 100’s strategic planning process named preschool as their single biggest "instructional strategy" priority.

Clearly, though, with less than five percent of our community’s three- and four-year-olds served in a program funded by the state, Berwyn has a long way to go before it meets the need of its youngest residents.


Ask your school or child care center about their plans to enhance their programs through the state’s early education funding. Encourage them to apply to participate in Preschool for All and bring expanded, high-quality services to our community. Berwyn’s schools are making gains every year, with test scores rising overall. Investing in early childhood education is one strategy to support those gains, helping all children to be ready to succeed in school and in life.

Please contact Deanna Durica at 708-822-6653 or deanna.durica@gmail.com for more information on opportunities for accessing state funding for early learning.


Resources


The following books and publications were used as references for this newsletter article:
Illinois Facilities Fund (2003). Moving Toward a System: The Community Profiles Fact book. http://www.iff.org/content.cfm/ratl

Shonkoff, J.P., Phillips, D.A., eds (2000). From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press http://books.nap.edu/books/0309069882/html/1.html#pagetop

Schweinhart, L.J., Montie, J. Xiang, Z., Barnett, W.S., Belfield, C.R. & Nores, M. (2005) "Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40"
http://www.highscope.org/Research/PerryProject/perrymain.htm

Ramey, C.T., Campbell, F.A., Burchinal, Skinner, M. L., Gardner, D.M., & Ramey, S.L. (2000). Persistent effects of early intervention on high-risk children and their mothers. Applied Developmental Science, 4, 2-14. http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~abc/

For more information on Preschool for All and the infant and toddler programs funded through the Early Childhood Block Grant, go to: www.isbe.net/earlychi