In
a recent article posted on the Channel-13 website, a new program will
hopefully give students from low-income houses a head start in early
education. The program is called the Advanced
Start STEM Preschool Program
and will provide parents with lesson plans and materials for
monitoring student progress throughout the time they are in the
program. The program targets three and four year olds that are
getting ready to enter pre-school or kindergarten.
Bob
Singer-the creator of the program-says the emphasis will be early
math skills with other lesson plans that focus on vocabulary and
reading. Because of the need for math skills at an early age, the
lesson plans in math will be more common and focused. The goal of
the program is to have kids enter school a full year ahead of where
they should be. This will help these students get a head start and
start off strong in the school.
By
focusing on low-income kids-this program is helping kids that might
otherwise be at risk when they started school. Many students that
come from low-income families have less support at home since their
parent(s) are typically working more hours to make end meet. In the
article, the family they were focusing on was a single parent home.
The mother in the article was thankful because the program allowed
her to start her child off sooner and allowed her to be more involved
in the learning.
I
think this program is a good idea for many families. I do think it
should be expanded and be available for all families. To assume that
families where the parents make more money are better off is
incorrect. Although these children might have the opportunity to be
involved in more early education programs-the parents may not be
enrolling their children in these programs for other reasons. I
think that once this pilot study is concluded, the program leaders
should also look at expanding to middle income families and families
where English may not be the language spoken at home.
I
also think that this program allows for more families to start their
students off on the right foot in their early education. Because the
lesson plans are provided I think this program allows for these
students to receive a more uniform early start into education. I
think some of these families with lower incomes might try to do more
work with their kids at home and may need more help to get their kids
started in the right way. This program allows these families to
learn good practices, monitor their performance, and makes sure that
their kids are learning the right material.
The
best way to get kids used to working with ideas in school is to get
them exposed to it as often and early as possible. The article
focuses on a family where the mother works and attends school so she
may not have the time to find material for her student to work on.
This program not only gives her the lesson plans, but also a way to
monitor her student’s progress. The Evelyn Davis Learning Center
is the lead academic partner in this project and will provide support
for the parents that are part of this pilot study.
Programs
like this help increase a student’s confidence before they enter
the school. Feeling more confident will help them be more successful
in different subjects in school. I think this is one of the most
important functions on this program. Whether these students are
actually a year ahead or not, just being exposed to the information
will help them feel more comfortable working with it again in school
and will help them be better learners.
Resources:
Towe,
J. (2013, June 26). Advanced
start: Families test new education program.
Retrieved from
http://whotv.com/2013/06/26/advanced-start-families-test-new-education-program/
