In 1982, when Gov. William Winter marshaled the will to create kindergartens in every public school in the state, critics assailed his initiative, calling it just an effort to "add another grade" and "rock the boat." To the state's benefit, Gov. Winter responded boldly: "Maybe it's boat-rockin' time for Mississippi."
The governor knew that Mississippians had languished for decades under an education system incapable of preparing all its citizens for success. Though his forward-thinking, common-sense approach ushered in much-needed change during his administration, I fear his work has been abandoned. Currently, Mississippi 4th-graders rank last in the nation in mathematics and reading skills according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which also reports that, by 4th grade, poor students nationwide already read about three grade levels behind non-poor students - a gap nearly impossible to overcome.
How do we tackle educational problems that may seem intractable? Once again, we need fundamental change and visionary solutions - and ambitious leaders willing to put themselves on the line for them.
We must first acknowledge that many educational problems are present before students set foot in school. In a study entitled "The Black-White Test Gap," three Harvard researchers found that half of the gap in 12th-grade test scores that exists between black and white children was already present at first grade. Advances in neuroscience in the last decade give us an indication as to why this is true. In the groundbreaking From Neurons to Neighborhoods, scientists at the National Research Council estimate that 85 percent of brain development occurs by age five. We would be hard-pressed to find a more compelling reason to support pre-kindergarten.
Just as Mississippi was once the only state without public kindergarten, today finds us far behind when it comes to providing quality Pre-K. Meanwhile, the rest of the South - Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina - and many other states have had strong programs in place for years and continue to expand them. Republican and Democratic governors alike are finding the revenue in states with similar financial circumstances as Mississippi to fund Pre-K because they understand that it is among the best long-termeconomic investments a state can make.
Pre-K has been one of the most rigorously researched education solutions of the last 40 years; the overwhelming majority of these studies show lasting benefits and unparalleled returns on investment. For example, the High/Scope Perry trials, conducted over the course of four decades, found that every $1 invested in Pre-K for low-income, minority children resulted in $16.10 in return through higher earnings and savings on crime, welfare, and special education costs. In addition, High/Scope found that students participating in Pre-K were 26 percent less likely to be placed in special education services, 13 percent less likely to be held back in school, 44 percent more likely to finish high school, 46 percent less likely to be incarcerated by the time they were 40 years old, and 17 percent less likely to rely on welfare.
Business leaders across the country are responding to this compelling data. Blueprint Louisiana, a group of the state's most influential bankers, energy magnates, construction company CEOs, and other leaders in the private sector, came together last year and named pre-kindergarten its first policy priority when lobbying state government. Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and other key legislators responded by passing legislation that committed Louisiana to providing Pre-K for all four year olds by 2013.
Given the overwhelming support of Republicans, Democrats, educators, and business leaders across the country, how has Mississippi avoided starting its own Pre-K program?
The key criticisms of Pre-K in Mississippi are twofold. First: "The place for young children is in the home." To be sure, no school program or curriculum can replace a good parent; parents are always the first and most important teacher. Yet many parents are not financially able to spend the kind of quality time that their child needs to be prepared for school. Pre-K is a strong complement to the learning that takes place in the home.
As a Republican, I believe we must each take responsibility for our own lives. A parent living check-to-check cannot simultaneously take financial responsibility for his or her family and still spend the same amount of time reading and talking to their children that a wealthy parent can. To help today's children from low-income families become successful, financially-stable parents in their own right one day, we must invest in Pre-K now.
The second criticism: "We already have Pre-K - in fact, 80 percent of children in Mississippi are in an early care environment." Yet only quality early learning environments - with researched-backed curricula, well-trained teachers who specialize in early childhood education, small child-to-teacher ratios, and several other key elements - provide proven benefits to children. We cannot be sure the 80 percent of children currently in some form of early care are being prepared for success in school if the state does not provide funding to ensure these daycare sites are transformed into places of early learning.
We can look to Alabama's example of how to create strong Pre-K programs in existing faith-based, private, and federally-funded care facilities to ensure all young learners are in quality early education environments. In a state with similar population demographics, Alabama's Republican Gov. Bob Riley has acknowledged that a high percentage of students in early care do not signify that all students are being prepared for school. In response to this dilemma, Gov. Riley started one of the highest quality Pre-K programs in the country, supplementing the services that were already available with a program that is quickly becoming the envy of the nation.
Moreover, the 20 percent of students that are not in early care in Mississippi are likely in hard-working, middle class families. Many low-income students are served by Head Start programs and many upper-income families are able to afford private pre-k for their children, leaving middle-income families without access to this critical learning opportunity - a phenomenon called the "Pre-K pinch" by Pre-K Now in a recently released a report. Pre-K Now's study noted that 36 percent of all three and four year olds in Mississippi fall into the "pinch," meaning their middle class families earn too much to qualify for Head Start but are struggling to find or afford early learning for their children.
Given the multitude of facts and the overwhelming support for pre-kindergarten in states similar to Mississippi, state leaders should acknowledge that it is again, boat-rockin' time in our state. In the upcoming session, legislators have the opportunity to demand better for our state and for our children, and enact these changes through the Mississippi Early Learning Collaborative Grant - a $3 million request. Notably, business leaders are again leading the charge.
On Dec. 15, the Mississippi Economic Council will host a summit in Jackson on the importance of early learning, and funding for the Early Learning Collaborative Grant will undoubtedly be discussed. The MEC's event signals the beginning of a time when political leaders in Jackson must be willing to take a bold stand on this issue. We can no longer afford to neglect this critical economic development strategy. I can almost hear Gov. Winter now... "Grab an oar, or get off the boat."
Shad White
State Policy Fellow
Pre-K Now
Washington, DC
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