Reply to Can achievement gap be closed with extra tutoring?

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[quote=Anonymous]Universal preschool could be beneficial for these children.
There is a 2017 OLO report on the costs and benefits of such a program.  The benefits are massive but the costs are also really high 
(full day PreK for 10,000 students in the county would cost around $120 million).  Right now only 3300 get county funded preK, mostly in half day programs.
see page iii of the report
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/2017%20Reports/OLOReport2017_7PreKinMontgomeryCountyandinOtherJurisdictions.pdf[/quote]

And the studies show those 3300 kids do no better than those who do not have it.  This should not be based on the school budget.  There is no room, there is no time to make more room, there is no busses to get these kids.  So that $120 million is a small number in the total costs to even start a program that high and there is no legit study that shows that one year is a difference.  We used to have part time K and not it is full time and the numbers are worse.  Why is that?

Learning starts at home.  It always has.  And I hate to say this but when woman decided they needed to be in the workforce and not at home raising their kids, the economics of this country went crazy.  Unemployment went up, home values soared, cost of college skyrocketed, and more.  We are now a 2 income society to even survive for the most part.  Add technological advances that have taken away normal work hours and you have parents that are completely disengaged with their children.  Kids as young as 6 weeks being raised by strangers for 10 hours and both family members are working 10 hours minimum with commute, and then even more on their home computer and phone.  Single parent families is now almost automatic poverty.  Impossible to live in a world on your own when 2 income is the majority.  The kids that are thriving in school either have a parent at home full or part time, or have enough money to place them in a well regarded preschool at a young age.  The rest of the kids in low income daycare or at home with random neighbors, family, or sometimes on their own, have no shot.  Their parents or parent are exhausted after working 2 measly jobs in one day and no way out.  They sure as heck can't afford college.  Parents need to have options.  Not just rich parents.

Other countries have incredible maternity and paternity leave issued by the government, but they don't have the level of poverty and teen pregnancy we do.  So people who complain about how great Sweden is with their year maternity leave, have no clue.   Finland has wonderful daycare/preschool options paid by the government, but again - they don't have millions of illegal immigrants or poor uneducated families.  The sheer number makes it impossible.  Trying to work on a state level is possible, but is it fair?

There has to be a way to start moving in a better direction for our kids in this country.  Hogan signing free college was a great start, but we need to do more in the ages of 0-5yrs old.  That is where it counts.  Also, the amount of immigrants, legal and illegal in this country makes it very hard to help these kids in the early years.  The language and cultural barrier is extreme.  There need to be programs in place that assist LEGAL immigrants with assimilating as well as their children.   [/quote]

Your second point is a good one.  The race for two-income households has been devastating to children.  But don't blame women entering the workforce.  The two-income households have been a necessity because our public school system is based on location-specific resource allocation.  This drives up property prices and forces both parents to work to be able to afford the real estate to even get a shot at the American Dream.  MCPS does a better job at re-distribution than many other jurisdictions.

But to OP's point, we need more resources to reach children who need tutoring/remediation.  Not just on the weekends.  We need more teachers/aides to help kids who are behind.  But, resources are scarce in such an over-populated area.  Can we start blaming the developers now?  County planners?  Mixed-use, high-density living can't work if you are not prepared with resources. [/quote]

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