Should the US adopt univeral preschool

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Dec 6, 2023

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1 Should The US Adopt Universal Pre-K? Shanya Hendrickson Wilmington University English 121 Dr.Evelyn Baldwin November 26 th 2023

2 Should The US Adopt Universal Pre-K? In today’s society, we can all agree that having an education is a foundational part of our lives, especially if we want to succeed later in life. Education for many of us in the United States starts at around the age of 6 when a child enters kindergarten. However, according to an article from American Progress (2013), the US is far behind many other countries when it comes to early education. In countries such as France, Norway, and Italy the amount of 3-year-olds who are enrolled in pre-K is around 90% with universal pre-K while the US is hardly hitting 50%. If we want our citizens to have better education, then we should be adopting the universal pre-k system in the US. In 2020 Multnomah County, a city in Oregon, 64% of citizens voted to begin a new program that they called “Pre-School for All”. This program began in the fall of 2023 and will ensure that children ages 3-4 years old have free access to culturally responsive and inclusive preschool experiences according to the Multnomah County website. This program will be paid by a large tax on the county’s highest earners. This program could be extremely beneficial, especially to families who have difficulty accessing private early childhood education. Not to mention that there are requirements for children to be accepted into kindergarten and not all families have the availability or ability to ensure that their child meets these requirements. Education is for all and we as a community should help each other ensure a brighter future. There are many beneficial reasons for this program to boost our education system, including the impact this would have on our teachers. The program rolled out by Multnomah County requires that teachers have a college degree or equivalent and that assistant teachers have an associate degree in child development. While this may be an inconvenience it will give the

3 teachers time and money to make sure they have these qualifications, the program also includes a plan to partner with local colleges to train new teachers according to a New York Times (2020) article on the subject. Not only will this program help teachers acquire more training, but it will also ensure that our educators are paid more. At the time this article was published preschool teachers made an average of $31,000 a year, the universal pre-k program plans to ensure that the teachers are paid around $74,000 a year. Paying our educators a living wage is important if we want to continue giving our society a proper education. Another reason that universal preschool would help our country is that it is not aimed at low-income families. These children benefit from this because they are not segregated, and research shows that children learn from time with peers that come from other backgrounds. According to the New York Times (2020) article this holds programs to a higher standard and families become more involved and invested in them. While there are many reasons why this program will be monumentally beneficial there are also reasons why it could also be harmful to our society. One reason that we could argue against this program is that we may end up losing childcare for toddlers and infants not old enough to enter the program. An article written by Emily Tate Sullivan for EdSurge in 2021 highlights the Universal pre-k program that was rolled out by New York City in 2014. This program led to fewer spots for children 2 and under, leading to the loss of childcare for many families in the city. Another reason stated by Sullivan is the loss of teachers for private institutions in the city. Private institutions could not afford to pay teachers at the same rate the government was paying. This program led to many great teachers leaving private education for better pay and many private institutions ended up closing their doors.

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4 Universal preschool may not be the perfect system yet, as demonstrated by the program rolled out in NYC, however, I believe that the program from Multnomah County could be a great roadmap for the rest of the United States. There could be some flaws to work out but ultimately in order to give our citizens the education they deserve, this is a great place to begin.

5 References Preschool for All . (2022, February 7). Multnomah County. https://www.multco.us/preschool Shibboleth Authentication Request . (n.d.). Login.mylibrary.wilmu.edu. Retrieved November 26, 2023, from https://go-gale-com.mylibrary.wilmu.edu/ps/i.do?p=OVIC&u=new90507&id=GALE %7CA640983254&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-OVIC&asid=1022840 Sullivan, E. T. (2021, May 10). The Unintended Consequences of Universal Preschool - EdSurge News . EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-05-10-the-unintended-consequences-of- universal-preschool

Should the US adopt univeral preschool

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