Original Source | Springfield News
By Ben Raymond Lode, Wednesday September 14, 2005

Pre-school advocates welcome "Ready for School," a group of business leaders, philanthropists and children's advocates who've gotten together to stress the importance of getting kids into good prekindergarten programs.

In Lane County alone, nearly 49 percent of three- and four-year olds living in poverty can't get into Oregon's public pre-K program because there isn't enough room.

This year, Head Start of Oregon received $206 million short of what it takes to ensure that the Oregon youngsters who are eligible for it get access to Head Start services.

The funding gap closes the door of Head Start classrooms to 20,356 children in Oregon -- many of whom are located in Lane County.

"Let's phase this in (a universal preschool) but let's first fully fund Head Start, so that children who live in poverty and need preschool get it," said Karen Hamilton, a program director at Head Start of Lane County, which is headquartered in Springfield.

Head Start is a national program which provides comprehensive developmental services for America's low-income preschool children (ages 3 to 5) and social services for their families.

Specific services for children focus on education, social and emotional development, physical and mental health, and nutrition.

According to Swati Adarkar, executive director of the Children's Institute, which is part of the Ready for School initiative, research shows that 90 percent of brain development occurs in children by age six.

Those who go without early childhood education miss the opportunity for cognitive development and may struggle to catch up once they enter school, according to Adarkar.

Hamilton agrees with the brain development research, but would nonetheless like to see the most disadvantaged children get what they desperately need first.

"I still think there is place to make sure that children that are most vulnerable, who come from lowincome families, have access to that preschool education first," she said.

While Hamilton said she would like to see more dollars spent on Head Start, she is glad to see that stakeholders are getting involved in the early childhood education debate.

Studies, in fact, show that there is nearly a $13 return for every $1 invested in a quality preschool program.

The return, according to Ready for School, "is money saved on future public expenditures like special education, welfare and crime."

"I really appreciate that some business leaders are getting behind the discussion and are beginning to see that it's really important, that preventative (early childhood development programs) can do a lot in the long run," Hamilton said.

An opportunity to discover what financial impact high-quality early childhood can have on children will happen locally on Tuesday.

Judy Newman is co-director of EZ Cares, an early childhood intervention program based at the University of Oregon. She's also a co-director of Lane County's "Success by Six" initiative.

According to Newman, Rob Grunewald, a regional economic analyst with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, will show how investing in early childhood education gives the best return on investments.

"Starting early does make a difference. From a financial point of view, it's the best investment you can make," Newman said.

One study done in Kansas that tracked students over time showed that by age three, the children who grew up in Welfare homes had half the vocabulary of peers who grew up in non-Welfare-dependent families where the parents were educated.

Newman said the difference typically grows without some kind of professional intervention.

Former Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey is a strong advocate for preparing all children to learn by the time they get to school.

From a personal perspective, Torrey said investing in early childhood development "pays enormous dividends, both economically and socially."

Unfortunately, according to the former mayor, only a limited number of low-income students have an opportunity to participate in Head Start.

"Those kids end up being lower producers," he said, adding: "We're in a future world here where we cannot afford our children to not be prepared."

According to Torrey, education advocates should continue the effort to educate citizens about the importance of giving all children the tools they need to be successful in school.

"We just have to talk to the public what it means if we are not prepared," he said.

For more information about the Tuesday conference, call United Way at 741-6000.

You can reach reporter Ben Raymond Lode at 746-1671 Ext. 316 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .