Edutopia - September 2007 - (Page 8) Letters Preschool Studies In “Preschool Comes of Age” (June 2007), Michael Lester writes, “It’s difficult to dispute the positive effects of preschool,” claiming that those effects exist for middle- and upperincome children as well as low-income children. He then goes on to cite three studies that looked only at low-income students. The Abecedarian Project studied a very small group of economically disadvantaged black children who entered the program at an average four months of age and were provided educational day care eight hours a day, five days a week, as well as free medical care, dietary supplements, and social service help for children from birth through age five. The High Scope/Perry Preschool Project involved 123 preschoolers deemed to be at risk for “retarded intellectual functioning and eventual school failure.” All of the children were of low socioeconomic status, had IQs of 70–85, and had to have a parent home during the day. In forty years, no other study has replicated the results, and Head Start cofounder Ed Zigler noted, “The Perry sample was not only not representative of children in general; there is doubt that it was representative of even the bulk of economically disadvantaged children.” The Chicago Child-Parent Center Program included a parent-resource room with educational workshops, reading groups, and craft projects. Parents were required to volunteer in the classroom (so no working parents were allowed?), attend school events, and participate in field trips and were assisted in completing high school if they had not done so. The program included home visitations by staff and provided health screening, speech therapy, and nursing and meal services, and many children received tutoring in reading and math until third grade. These services and requirements are far more extensive than those for the kind of universal preschool Lester advocates. And although he claims “many” studies show the same benefits for middle-income kids, he doesn’t cite any. Nor does he note any of dozens of studies (including a recent one by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development) demonstrating significant behavioral issues for students who spend large amounts of time in child-care centers. Preschool advocates (of which I count myself one) would do well to stipulate something important: High-quality preschool can have a demonstrably positive effect on a lowincome child’s preparedness for school and ability to learn, and ought to be widely available to that cohort of children. But to repeatedly claim results for middleincome children for which there is no evidence succeeds only in diverting scarce funding away from the populations that need it most. Christian N. Braunlich Vice president Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy Springfield, Virginia PUBLISHED BY ™ The George Lucas Educational Foundation Milton Chen PhD, Executive Director Cindy Johanson Chief Operating Officer Todor Grigorov Director of Finance Sheila Tuck Staff Accountant Colleen Reichling Finance & Grant Administrator Sharon Murotsune Executive Assistant & Office Manager Sandy Miller Administrative Assistant Suzi Stadelman Product Associate Advertising Sales Chip Fesko Senior Director, Advertising Sales & Strategic Alliances chip.fesko@edutopia.org (415) 662-7612 Katie Sullivan Director, Advertising Sales (West) katie.sullivan@edutopia.org (415) 662-1637 Gerry Woodworth Consultant, Advertising Sales (East) Bloomsday Marketing gerry.woodworth@edutopia.org (607) 264-3362 Michele Yoskovich Production Supervisor For advertising inquiries, please call (415) 662-1674 or email sales@edutopia.org Marketing Sara Inclenrock Senior Marketing Manager Diane Stefani & Rachel Levy Konik Public Relations, The Rosen Group Board of Directors George Lucas Chairman Stephen D. Arnold Vice Chairman/CFO Milton Chen Secretary Micheline Chau Kim Meredith Kate Nyegaard Marshall Turner Back to the Drawing Board “The Fine Art of Choosing an Architect” (July/August 2007) provides school committees a useful set of tips. Though cost and aesthetics are important, the real bottom line is related to the primary role of the school as a home for learning. To that end, I suggest a few additional tips. First, in addition to an architect who understands the developmental and distinct needs of K–12 students, add an understanding of current and relevant learning theory. An architect’s body of work should demonstrate how design supports the best elements of educational programming and the impact on learning. Second, ensure the architect has a proven record of collaboration with all stakeholders. This includes not only the “many voices at the table” for the community and school but also the team of construction managers, general contractors, engineers, subcontractors, and others affiliated with the project. The vision of the design and its purpose should be clear to all involved and to the extent that they are aware that they are important members of a team doing noble work, quality is assured. Finally, the passion for great design and for insisting that the great design facilitate the greater good of educating children well into the future should be evident in everything the architect says and does. Gary S. Prest, EdD Executive consultant, Cuningham Group Architecture Minneapolis, Minnesota National Advisory Board Ninive Clements Calegari Cofounder, 826 Valencia Chris Dede Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education Patricia Harder English Teacher, Henley Middle School, Virginia Ted Hasselbring Professor, Vanderbilt University Jason Kamras 2005 National Teacher of the Year Larry Leverett Executive Director, Panasonic Foundation George Miller (Ex Officio), U.S. House of Representatives Susan Patrick President, North American Council for Online Learning Will Richardson Learner in Chief, Connective Learning Steven Sanchez Educational Consultant, New Mexico State Department of Education THE GEORGE LUCAS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION Established in 1991 by filmmaker George Lucas, GLEF is a nonprofit operating foundation that produces and distributes materials that share hundreds of powerful examples of learning and teaching from our nation’s schools. We hope this information will stimulate active involvement and guide choices in redesigning schools. www.edutopia.org 8 EDUTOPIA SEPTEMBER 2007 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/edutopia/0607/index.php?startpage=42 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/edutopia/0707/index.php?startpage=32 http://www.edutopia.org
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