"Future Educator of America"CA Politics Universal Preschool is imperative for California. Currently all early childhood education (ECE) and Pre-K is not mandatory and only available to individuals who can afford it. Because it is not required, many children do not get the opportunity to attend and are set up for failure upon entering Kindergarten. There are no standards for teacher quality within ECE programs. Teachers do not need a degree or a teaching credential. Because of this we have many ECE
teachers with little to no education in the field of child development. Since these programs do not require higher education they do not pay very well, thus attracting low quality teachers to fill these rolls. A reason why this is an issue is that infancy to age five, children experience the most dramatic cognitive development in their lives. Their experiences during that time affects them in a huge way and can pave the way for future success. If universal pre-k was instated, the state could increase the standards for these educators, improving teaching quality which would in turn provide children with a better educational experience. The education and experiences children receive within the first five years of life is crucial. According to First Five California’s program, “the brains primary foundations are constructed very early in life. While many factors influence brain development, the early interactions have the most impact – and they include talking, reading, and singing.” The programs we place children in should be of the highest quality to ensure that the child’s rapid brain development is being impacted in a positive way. There are many types of programs for young children and preschool. Some of these programs include, private, public, state funded, early intervention, child care, home-based, Montessori and more. To help keep all of these programs at standards there is the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) which is the guidelines for programs to practice developmentally appropriate practices. The DRDP focuses more specifically on the child’s learning based on observation and assessment since young children do not take tests as in grade school. The purpose of the DRDP is to measure children’s learning within these programs. High quality programs provide rich learning environments for children to expand upon their existing knowledge and construct their own learning through experiences and interactions with adults and peers. The biggest quantifier of a high quality program is the teacher. Currently in California preschool teachers only need 12 units of child development to work in a classroom with students. They must also apply for a teaching permit through state which they receive after working the required 12 units. Preschool teachers are not required to have a bachelor’s degree or a teaching credential. This is a huge cause for alarm, because we are having underqualified teachers instructing our young children during the most crucial time of brain development. Preschool teachers make an average of $30,000 a year. Since this is a low paying career it attracts individuals with little to no education and experience. The field of Early Childhood Education affects everyone in one way or another. It affects parents whose children are going to school. It affects the individuals who are attending these programs. It affects educators, administrators, policy makers and the work force. Whether you are a parent or work in the field of education, the impact that high quality universal preschool would have is insurmountable as it would create a lasting positive change in our state by improving our education system and in turn our workforce. In the last election the Governor Gavin Newsom had a big statement on the focus of “cradle to career.” This is a focus on expanding education services for children before they enter kindergarten. He has pledged to introduce to California, Universal Preschool. He is very passionate about children’s early years and said, “beginning learning at 3 years old is already too late, we need to double down on the readiness gap by emphasizing prenatal care and the first three years of a child’s life when nearly 85 percent of brain development occurs,” to EdSource during his campaign. He is very excited to tackle the issues in early childhood education with the newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond who is focusing on prioritizing early childhood education to close the achievement gap. The achievement gap in California is the “persistent disparity in measures of educational performance among subgroups of students, especially groups defined by socioeconomic status,” (EdSource 2013). By providing universal preschool both Newsom and Thurmond believe it is the first step in closing that gap for students. Governor Gavin Newsom’s education budget focuses on a three-year phase plan to enact universal preschool. His goal is to provide full-day and full-year care programs to help working parents. There is a $500 million one-time fund to invest in the child-care workforce. This will work with educating new teachers as well as work alongside current teachers with the support of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond along with First Five California and their Early Childhood Educators Competencies policies (2011.) Thurmond intends to revisit the California Preschool Program Guidelines (2015) which focuses on the role of the teacher and the integrated curriculum approach to learning to make sure it is aligned with increasing quality and standards to preschool programs. Thurmond also plans to update the California Learning Foundations (2008) which hasn’t been updated in over a decade to reflect the needs of the current population. The 2018 election only passed three education bills, none of which had to do with Early Childhood Education. Even with no current bills passed, the passion Governor Newsom has along with the support and belief of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Thurmond, Early Childhood Education quality and the need for Universal Preschool have become hot ticket items and I believe we are going to see some real change soon.
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AuthorUndergraduate student generated content. Blog posting and updating done by Kristina Flores Victor, Assistant Professor of Political Science at CSUS Archives
March 2020
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