It is Time for High Quality-Free Universal Pre-K in Arizona

The benefits of high quality and free Universal Pre-K where every child across Arizona and the country starts to attend school at age four have been evident for some time.

Studies from the Brookings Institute on the effectiveness of Head Start programs since its creation in the 1960’s and the National Bureau of Economic Research on children who attended Boston pre-schools from 1999 to 2003, have shown that children who get a head start by enrolling in Pre-Kindergarten Programs have a greater chance of:

• Graduating high school
• Attending college.
• Graduating from college.
• Not having behavioral or economic problems in school or after graduation. Less arrests have been noted as have lower welfare enrollments and unemployment rates. That is because the children are given an opportunity to develop social and emotional intelligence and skills earlier.
• Having successful lives after graduation.
• Economically helping the community. The National Bureau Study found that for every dollar spent on Pre-K, the return to the community was $13.

High Quality and Free Pre-K Education in Arizona is Far from Universal

Once upon a time (before 2010,) Arizona funded some free Pre-K programs across the state. It also funded full day Kindergarten.

Unfortunately, conservative legislators, more committed to preserving tax cuts for the wealthy and other special interests, stopped funding those initiatives under the guise of cutting spending due to the aftershocks of the Great Recession.

Fast forward to 2022 and the picture of Pre-K education in Arizona is far from ideal.

Consider these crucial statistics:

• Only 17 percent of Arizona three and four year old children attended a quality pre-school or preschool-type setting in 2020.
• Of that 17 percent, only 30 percent attend a high quality-pre-school program.
• The average monthly cost for enrolling a child in pre-school in Arizona was $787 a month.
• Arizona is one of only six states that do not have some form of state funded pre-school education programming.

Is it any wonder Arizona cannot produce a vibrant and stellar public education system staffed one hundred percent by highly qualified instructors when the states commitment to nurturing three and four year old’s in successful Pre-K programs is so abysmal?

Being at the bottom in the nation for compensating teachers is not helping either.

How can every child in Arizona be successful in school when everyone who enrolls in kindergarten has not been exposed to the same high quality Pre-K benchmarks?

Fortunately, in many cases, students who have been denied the advantages of high-quality Pre-K have been able to catch up to a large extent because of committed, imaginative, and hard-working kindergarten instructors.

However, when the resources are available, the data is conclusive, and the support is widespread, children should not have to play catch up in kindergarten and their teachers, with class sizes in some cases approaching close to 30, should not have the added burden of dealing with students who either did not attend pre-school or went to a low quality one.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman Supports Universal Pre K.

In a May 23, 2021 Op Ed to the Arizona Daily Star, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman expressed her support for Universal Pre-K and the Biden/Harris Administration efforts to formalize it through Congressional Legislation.

In the Op Ed, Superintendent Hoffman wrote:

“Any educator will tell you that the impact of high-quality early education on a student’s life cannot be overstated — and that it’s easy to tell which of our students had access to preschool, and which did not. Studies show children who attend a universal pre-K program reap the benefits as late as the eighth grade and continuously outperform their peers in reading and math.”

 The Superintendent blasted Republican reluctance to fund early education programs, stating:

“Unfortunately, here in Arizona, our Legislature has failed to even fund all-day kindergarten, let alone preschool of any kind. Communities are lucky if there is a federal Head Start program available to them, but many Arizona children, disproportionately low-income children and children of color, do not have access to preschool at all.”

 “Currently, only 16% of 3- and 4-year-olds in our state are enrolled in publicly funded preschool. This means that the majority of kids are starting kindergarten already behind their peers through no fault of their own.”

 Ms. Hoffman also noted the economic benefits of Universal Pre-K as well, relaying:

“There’s a reason why so many in the business community support investments in high-quality early education. For decades, research has shown the ROI on early learning: for every dollar we invest, we see anywhere from $4 to $16 in return.”

 “Some studies estimate that the benefits of a universal preschool system will boost the U.S. GDP by more than three times our initial investment — showing us just how deeply our country’s economic success is tied to our willingness to invest in our youngest learners.”

“Offering every child access to free, high-quality and inclusive preschool is estimated to save each family an average of $13,000. This will level the playing field and give every Arizona child the opportunity to succeed inside and outside the classroom.”

Two of the Democratic Candidates Running for Arizona Governor Support Universal Pre-K

Two of the Democrats running for Governor in the Grand Canyon State, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Former Legislative District 28 State Representative Aaron Lieberman, have expressed support for Universal Pre K.

In a recent interview with Blog for Arizona, Secretary Hobbs commented:

“Yes. Every single child in Arizona deserves access to quality public education, no matter where they live in our state and universal pre-K is necessary to help students start their education on their right foot. High quality preschool benefits children from all backgrounds and it helps level the playing field. investing in universal pre-K also gives working families an option for free early education and gives employers a workforce that’s more stable and more qualified.”

Mr. Lieberman has made expanding High Quality and Free-Universal Pre-K a major theme of his Let’s Grow Arizona Program.

He relayed:

“The most important lesson I’ve learned during my career working in the early childhood realm, is just how essential Universal Pre-K is. The average cost of preschool in this state is nearly $7,000. For many families this high cost has been a barrier, keeping one parent out of the workforce. Arizona is one of just six states that make no investment in this crucial area. We have the ability to fund Universal Pre-K here, we just need to make it a priority and that’s what my Pre-K for All plan will do.”

 

 

School Board Members Offer Statements of Support for Universal Pre-K in Arizona.

 

Chandler Unified School District Board Member Lindsay Love expressed her support for Universal Pre-K, stating:

“Pre-K is valuable in shaping social emotional intelligence that gets students to graduation and higher education. We are able to identify students who need additional supports early on, decrease suspensions rates and reduces behavioral issues that lead children down that path of the school to prison pipeline. The science is there for us to all support and get on the pre-k bandwagon. When it’s not universal, we know that this disproportionately impacts students of color and students from less affluent areas. So we are continuing to create unnecessary barriers that harm certain kids when we don’t provide something we know works.”

Sunnyside Unified Governing Board President Consuelo Hernandez relayed:

“The American success story is the success of our public schools.

 From the moment our kids enter our public school system, it is incumbent upon all of us from educators and administrators to parents and community leaders to help them realize their full potential.

Part of that “path to full potential” begins with universal Pre-K. 

Most experts in the field of early childhood development agree that critical language, social interaction, and social-emotional skills are learned in the first five years of life. This is the foundation of a healthy, lifelong learning process that can make a difference in a child’s future. The better we prepare our next generation the likelihood of having more productive, and healthy adults.

As the President of the Sunnyside Unified School District, I have always believed in and supported Universal Pre-K. Particularly in many at-risk communities, universal Pre-K serves as an important entry into a formal education process leading to better long-term outcomes for our kids. In total, SUSD has over 200 students enrolled in our pre-K program.

Unfortunately, in spite of the myriad of statistics supportive of this vital program, state funding has failed to keep up. For example, with over 5,000 students enrolled in the state’s Pre-K program, the state cut almost $3,000,000 from the education budget dedicated to early education. This is simply unacceptable.

To be clear, Arizona’s future depends on a well-funded, vibrant public education system. And that future begins with a successful, fully-funded Pre-K program that focuses on getting our kids started off on the right foot in school.”

Casteen and Torres express support for Universal Pre-K

2020 Maricopa County School Superintendent Candidate, former Creighton Elementary School Board President, and LD Two State Senate Candidate Jeanne Casteen expressed her support for Universal Pre-K in Arizona, saying in an interview with the Blog for Arizona:

“The outcomes when a child has access to a Pre-K Education are staggering. The amount of vocabulary that those kids have. The fact that it helps the parents out, to be able to provide their kids with that opportunity. It should be for every child and specifically for kids who are living in poverty and whose parents struggle and who work two and three jobs. They need access to Pre K so that they have stronger outcomes later in life.”

Ginger Skyes Torres, a House of Representatives Candidate in the new Congressional District One, offered:

“I believe Congress needs to pass universal pre-k. It will alleviate financial burdens on families and help our economy. Furthermore, universal pre-k will decrease achievement gaps and increase educational success among our children, this is arguably the most important investment we can make for this nation’s future.” 

Providing all children a head start on their education where most children start off kindergarten on a more equal footing.

A program that has shown, where it has been attempted, that it raises high school and college graduation rates as well as reducing crime, welfare dependence, and the unemployment rolls.

A great economic return on the investment of a Universal Pre-K program.

Who, with any sense of forward vision, would be against that?

If the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress are unsuccessful in enacting Universal Pre-K across the country, a new legislature and governor in Arizona should make enacting it one of its first priorities in 2023 along with fully funding all aspects of public education including full day kindergarten.