News Release
November 8, 2005
Community Task Force On School Readiness Urges Better Access To High Quality Early Childhood Education, Thorough Parent Outreach Campaign And All-Day Kindergarten To Prepare All Young Students For School
The 27-member Denver Public Schools Task Force on School Readiness - representing a broad coalition of community organizations, non-profit groups and the private sector - today recommended a major upgrade in services and programs to parents of young children as a key to closing the learning gap that is evident before students start kindergarten.
"Broad research has proven that quality early childhood education (ECE) programs with strong parent involvement and education can largely eliminate this pre-kindergarten gap," the report states. "Disadvantaged children who have had the benefit of quality ECE attend school more frequently, are less likely to need special education services, score better on achievement tests, and graduate from high school at higher rates than their peers who failed to attend such a program."
The report was presented today by the task force during a news conference at the Hope Center, 3400 Elizabeth St., including co-chairs Helen Thorpe, education activist and freelance journalist; Bruce Hoyt, member of the Denver Board of Education and partner with St. Charles Capital; City Council President Rosemary Rodriguez; and Hope Center executive director George Brantley. Superintendent Michael Bennet also attended the news conference and expressed support for the task force's findings.
"The conclusions provide overwhelming evidence that Early Childhood Education is one of the best investments any community can make," said Superintendent Michael Bennet.
The task force report includes a set of recommendations to improve school readiness levels in Denver and detailed strategies for developing the "Ready Child," the "Ready Family," the "Ready Community," and "Ready Schools."
Among the recommendations:
- Establish and aggressively promote what it means for children to be ready for school to parents, other ECE providers, and the community at large.
- Reach out to Denver parents of children birth through five with the intent of supporting and educating parents in getting their children ready for school. Key components of parent education activities shall be language development and early literacy.
- Work with the DPS/City of Denver Joint Council on Early Care and Education to expand the number of ECE providers who are participating in quality improvement programs such as the Qualistar rating system or accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
- Assess children appropriately once they enter DPS and set clear goals for progress.
- Reduce class size in preschool and kindergarten classes, and make all-day kindergarten available on a voluntary basis to all children.
- Guarantee language and literacy skills for all children.
- Develop a work plan by January 2006 that spells out how the district intends to implement these recommendations.
The task force was established by the Board of Education in the fall of 2004 and charged with recommending effective policies and partnerships that will guide DPS in its efforts to promote school readiness.
The report recaps two highly regarded studies that looked at the impact of quality early childhood education over time. The Perry Preschool Program demonstrated the positive effects of quality Early Childhood Education on children in poverty and tracked students for decades to show that students who receive quality pre-school programs fare much better in future learning years.
For instance, of those students who did not have access to quality Early Childhood Education, 16 percent were in the top 10 percent of their class for achievement by age 14. But those students who had access to an ECE program, 48 percent were in the top 10 percent for achievement by age 14.
High school graduation rates revealed a similar trend - students who attended a quality ECE program had higher graduation rates (65 percent) than those who did not (45 percent).
Similar results were apparent in the Abecedarian Project study. This North Carolina study tracked students into adulthood and looked at additional positive impacts of quality ECE programs. Students receiving quality ECE programs went on to college at a much higher rate (37 percent) than those who did not (12 percent). And 69 percent of students who had access to a quality ECE programs did not repeat a grade, while 46 percent of all others were required to do so.
DPS' own data detail the learning gap exists among students entering kindergarten. Students from higher income families recognize both uppercase and lowercase letters at a rate more than four and five times the rate of their lower income peers. The ability to recognize letters among students entering kindergarten is a strong predictor of future school success.
"It's this kind of compelling data that leads this task force to speak with one voice about this important issue," said task force co-chair Bruce Hoyt. "The need is significant, the data clearly point us to a solution, and we know the broader Denver community will back the effort to expand the quality and number of quality ECE programs so all children enter kindergarten with the same opportunity to succeed. There is no reason Denver cannot lead the way in approaching the entire student experience beginning in pre-school and right through college."
A complete copy of the final report will be available by the end of the day today (Tuesday, Nov. 8) on the task force's website at deesr.dpsk12.org. For more information, contact the DPS Communications Office at 720-423-3414.