Will the Early Learning Challenge improve early education programs?

A free public education is a huge part of what has made our country great.  In order to stay competitive, this education should start as early as possible.  Options should always be available, but for those who rely on the public school system, the sooner their children have access, the better, of course within reason.  The age options/requirements should be lowered by one year, and then time be given to adjust, before another year is considered.  In AL, for example, all children should be in school at age 5, but be allowed to enroll at age 4, instead of the mandatory 6, and 5 being allowed at this time.  Pre-K options should be inclusive to all those who wish to use them.

At present, most of our students attend some sort of preschool or head start program prior to beginning school at age 5 for kindergarten readiness or kindergarten. As a teacher of first grade some of my students have been in "school" for four years prior to coming to my classroom. So here it is not how early they begin that is the issue, but rather  their physical, social, emotional, and academic readiness and the age appropriateness of the goals and expectations.  Other vital issues are class size, exposure to print, parent involvement, and, of course, funding.

 When are we going to catch up with other developed countries and offer universal preschool at age 3?!

It is shameful. I have lived in England and France where children start public school at age 3. There is more than enough research to show the need for and the effectiveness of early education.

Head Start is one thing, but it needs to be across the board. It needs to be diverse. Whose idea was it to group 20 underprivileged 4-year-olds in a class? It doesn't work. It is not a balanced group. You have 20 extremely needy children, many with language delays and no children as language and social models for them to learn from. Also the staff is often not well-trained - through no fault of their own. It's not the best recipe.

I am a preschool teacher and I have seen it firsthand. I have also seen the positive results of a quality early education firsthand. Those kids go off with a solid foundation socially, emotionally and cognitively.

 I agree.  We need to have pubiically funded pre-school starting at age 3.  We have pre-schools in our community but parents have to pay and many can not afford it.  There is a Headstart program, but it has a long waiting list.  

Another issue is well educated preschool teachers who are well versed in motivating young children to learn, explore, cooperate, and build those important oral language skills that we know are needed to succeed.

 We must not take away the responsibility of parents.  If we would (as educators) we would be required to educate from womb to tomb!  Also, I think we should look at Early Childhood Curriculum.  Does anyone remember Piaget?

Notice how money is never discussed when it comes to offering breakfasts and free/reduced lunch. That money comes out of the educations funds. That's a HUGE amount of money NOT being used for education. If schools are becoming more and more of a day-care system, then more money needs to be put into the system offset the added responsibilities.

Preschool and earlier learning environments are essential in preparing children for expectations of learning and social skills. If they are ready, most will learn to read by grade 3. But if they don't, they begin to level off and by high school, are falling behind. These are the students who desperately need to read more but in reality don't like to read because they can't read as fast, or comprehend as well as their peers. These are the students we lose. Early childhood education is critical to success later in life.

 Try to educate a hungry child.  It's not possible.  We must feed them breakfast.  Many of my students haven't eaten since lunch time the previous day.

I agree wholeheartedly. In a nation of increasing poverty, I think schools should make food more accessible to these kids. I also think that in trying to increase learning in the schools, parents should feed the kids the understanding of "respect your teachers and elders"!! This is seriously lacking when the kids come to school. Their rights are more emphasized by their parents than that of respecting their teachers.

On the other hand, there are a lot more teachers out there who have just lost sight of being "nice and kind" to their students. Teachers treat their students with such disrespect and then wonder why the students are "acting up".

In response to little education prior to 1st grade, I am currently a 1st grade teacher and in the state of IL, students don't need to attend any prior schooling.  However, the expectations consist of the the assumption that students have had early childhood experiences.  How do we work with this challenge?