Reply to Would free Pre-K in East and North Moco improve the school system?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I work in a school in North MoCo where we have Pre-K. The majority of the students go to our Kindergarten and the data is pretty shocking. It's not good. A few come in knowing their numbers and letters but not many. Pre-K is only about 3 hours a day. The morning class eats breakfast, has a little bit of academic time, goes to specials, plays outside and then eats lunch and goes home. The afternoon class comes in, eats lunch, has a little bit of academic time, goes to specials, plays outside and packs up to go home.

Is it better than nothing? Sure, I guess. But I don't see the kids who had Pre-K coming into K with any huge advantage over the kids who didn't have Pre-K, especially since absences aren't counted in Pre-K and parents get in bad habits of arriving late and keeping their kids home whenever they feel like it and then act very surprised when those same habits have consequences the next year. [/quote]

Thank you for an insightful observation. So Pre-K exists but just doesn't do anything... I guess I was comparing it to my DD's Montessori half day Pre-K - I am completely out of touch. [/quote]

I work at a focus school. Many of the preschool teachers hate the Big Day curriculum because it's too fast paced for their students.[/quote]

"Big Day" is what is followed during the "little bit of academic time"?[/quote]

Yes[/quote]

Curious to hear more about why it's inappropriate?  It seems to be a research-proven program in kids in the New Haven school system.  Are MCPS students different in some way?  Is the program administered differently?  Is the academic time too short?

As a parent who moved to MCPS from DCPS, I think it's important to look at the DCPS experience in terms of offering free preK4 and preK3.  IMO, that shift contributed significantly to young parents staying in DC for "free daycare" and once they had committed to the neighborhood, had a decent school experience and kids made friends at school, parents were inclined to stay.

As a parent, even though I am from MoCo, I am NOT happy to have moved back in terms of style of living in the community (too suburban, too car driven).  I was not happy to have to pay for preK4.  I moved back to MCPS solely for the educational opportunities for my kids (both gifted opportunities and SN support) at a time when these programs were not available in DCPS.

I think MCPS could really benefit economically from free, universal preK3 and preK4 that is all day.  Many wealthy parents would still use private nursery schools, but many lower and middle class  families would use public.  It would really help women go back to work or stay at work, which would be good economically for the county.  It also might allow middle class families redirect income to consumption or buying a home, which would also be better for MoCo.   Lower class families would have educational opportunity they might not otherwise have, better work opportunities for low SES moms, etc.[/quote]

Where does mcps host the free preK?  Most of the ESs in mcps are burst in the seem.  You need special classroom and may be bathroom for the preK.  Could mcps afford to build them? And where?  Who is going to pay for it?  The tax revenue is declining because MC is not business friendly.  Homeowners just saw a property tax hike  and would not be able to afford another one.   What will happen to all the people who run or work in daycare in mc?  Are you going to put them out of job?  Most of them will not be qualified to teach in public school.  
Everyone wabts free things from the government but who is going to pay? There are nearly 40% students in mcps qualified for reduced and free lunch suggest at least 15-20 % families in mc are not paying taxes at all.  Will you be happy to pay more tax so your kid can go to free preK?[/quote]

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