As mentioned in earlier blogs, I am highly interested in the definition of “high quality.” I know that the USDOE and USHHS departments will determine a definition once the Early Learning Challenge bill is final. I hope decision makers in these departments will look to research and this Head Start discussion that is occurring in New America Foundation’s Early Ed Watch. Lisa Guernsey has a very rich, balanced discussion regarding the path Head Start has been on for the last decade or so. The discussion spans from the theory that it was inappropriate for children to see a letter in their Head Start classroom to the current path of seeing letters on the walls, and other literacy activities for Head Start children.
Ms. Guernsey quotes Dr. Timothy Shanahan, the Chair of the National Early Literacy Panel (NELP). He says, “I do think right now we’re at a stage where there is a lot more literacy instruction going on in preschools than there was five years ago, but that also means there is a lot more bad instruction than was going on five years ago as well. You have a work force that hasn’t had a lot of training.”
Yes, many teachers in Head Start do not have early childhood degrees. They must be encouraged toward that education path. However, Susan Landry at the Children’s Learning Institute in Houston, Texas has proven in a number of research studies following Head Start and child care children into kindergarten that with intentional teacher training, mentoring, curriculum and materials with a pre-literacy and mathematics focus; these teachers are able to prepare children for kindergarten. The teacher training and mentoring has a strong focus on developmentally appropriate and playful ways to recognize letters and numbers, sounds of language, etc.
In the National Reporting System (NRS) we learned that 95% of Head Start children could identify at least 10 letters in 2006. By the way, that is the number of letters that was part of the Head Start Framework and the same number used in many state Pre-K standards. Their middle class and upper class counterparts were able to identify 25 letters. The gap starts early.
When the two federal agencies determine the definition of “high quality” I wonder if mathematics will be mentioned as well? Is having only literacy enough?
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