|
Goal #2: Prepare Students for a Lifetime of Success
All students deserve a strong foundation of early childhood education and sustained support that leads to graduation
and success in college and the workforce.
The Problem
Louisiana has made great strides toward implementing accountability in education in recent years. However, student achievement continues to lag well behind the
national average. To provide a stronger educational foundation for our children, Louisiana has recently expanded LA4 – a nationally recognized pre-kindergarten
program shown to dramatically improve student achievement. Yet thousands of children still do not benefit from outstanding pre-kindergarten, and “Louisiana
is missing an opportunity to intervene early in children’s development to prevent later problems and reduce future expenditures.”
At the other end of the spectrum, 72,000 students have dropped out of high school in Louisiana since 2002. Furthermore, 75 percent of Louisiana’s
employers report difficulties finding applicants with adequate problem-solving
skills, and nearly half cannot find applicants with sufficient reading skills.
“Simply put, a willingness to work hard on the job is no longer enough to
earn a living wage or climb the economic ladder…All adults need solid
reading, writing, mathematics, and problem-solving skills.”
The Solution
First, the legislature should take strategic action to increase access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs for four-year-olds. While this will
require additional resources to continue expanding the program’s reach, the state can also leverage its investment through coordination among public
schools, Head Start, and the child care industry – a “best practice” model of efficiency and effectiveness in states across the country. Louisiana should seek to
maximize resources, elevate quality, and promote strong principles in order to establish a proven early learning foundation and prepare students to succeed in school.
According to Nobel Laureate James J. Heckman: “Early investments need to be followed by later investments if the early investments are to pay off.” Therefore, the state
should also do more to decrease the drop-out rate and prepare students for careers and college. Courses that prepare students for post-secondary schooling must be
offered in high school, and students should be able to simultaneously enroll in workforce training or post-secondary courses in the state’s community colleges and universities.
Building on the commendable work of the High School Redesign plan, Louisiana must expand dual enrollment, articulation, and Industry-Based Certification in high-demand
occupations and engage and encourage employers to participate and partner with these programs.
Childhood is a multistage process where early
investments feed into later investments.
Skill begets skill; learning begets learning.
– Dr. James J. Heckman, Nobel Prize winning economist,
University of Chicago, 2006
The Blueprint for Action
- Expand pre-kindergarten access to all four-year-olds, and coordinate early childhood programs to establish one high-quality system. Approximately 60
percent of Louisiana’s four-year-olds will be enrolled in pre-kindergarten in the 2007-2008 school year, leaving thousands of children without access to this nationally recognized
program. The legislature should expand voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten to provide access to all four-year-olds in the state. In close partnership with Head
Start and the child care sector, school districts should expand the number of pre-kindergarten classes, recruit and hire new teachers, and fund support services such as
transportation. Accompanied by accountability mechanisms, an additional phased-in investment will guarantee access to pre-kindergarten to all of our four-year-olds.
 |
| Source: Southern Education Foundation, 2007 |
It is not the LA4 classroom itself that increases achievement among students, but the principles of the
program. To cost effectively scale up the benefits of high-quality pre-kindergarten, strong standards and
program features should be made available across public schools, Head Start, and willing child care
providers in Louisiana through a single, coordinated system.
As a first step, an advisory council of stakeholders should be established to better coordinate early childhood
education programs operating in Louisiana. Regular dialogue, shared mandates, and pilot programs at the
state and school district levels will increase information sharing, promote awareness of the possibilities and
benefits of collaboration, and establish a foundation for effective partnerships.
The legislature should encourage interagency agreements and contracts that deliver pre-kindergarten in both
schools and community-based settings, such as Head Start and child care facilities, to provide choices to working
families. Collaboration between school districts, Head Start, and child care providers should be incentivized as this
partnership will help build a viable and successful system of high-quality opportunities. Ultimately, students benefit
when early childhood education reaches children where they are.
In this way, a broader, stronger, mutually supportive pre-kindergarten system can be created that builds on the
resources and strengths of each sector – such as certified teachers in LA4, comprehensive health services in Head Start, and the new Quality Rating System for
child care facilities. Integrating and elevating curriculum, principles, and qualifications across early childhood programs will allow us to cost effectively guarantee access
to exceptional, research-proven pre-kindergarten for all Louisiana four-year-olds.
We can enhance the achievement of children immediately and throughout their academic career by increasing access to exceptional early childhood education.
Evaluations of LA4 show monumental improvements on test scores, fewer referrals to costly special education programs, and a shrinking achievement gap. For every dollar invested in pre-kindergarten in Louisiana, the state will re-coup an estimated $2.25 in direct benefits, such as savings in health and welfare budgets, and up to
$8.20 in total, long-term benefits including higher personal income levels and increased tax revenues. This strong early learning foundation will equip our children for
success in school and beyond.
Investment in our future: $90.7 million
- Prepare high school students for success in college and the workforce. To enhance
employment opportunities and decrease the poverty rate, Louisiana’s students must graduate
from high school well-prepared for further education, skills training, and diverse career choices.
Early investments need to be followed by later
investments if the early investments are to pay off.
– Dr. James J. Heckman, Nobel Prize winning economist,
University of Chicago, 2006
The state’s High School Redesign plan begins to address this issue and is on track to make a
major impact for Louisiana’s young people. To immediately implement a critical component of the Redesign proposal, the legislature should allocate sufficient funding
for career pathways that begin in high school and continue in four-year and two-year colleges. Louisiana should scale up articulation agreements, dual enrollment, and
Industry-Based Certification, which provide vital assistance to students as they move from one level of education and training to the next. Due to a lack of resources,
these initiatives currently rely on ad hoc partnerships between school districts and local colleges or universities. Dual enrollment, in particular, faces a funding crisis as
school districts do not transfer Minimum Foundation Program dollars when a student receives post-secondary credit.
To encourage these successful programs and meet growing demand, the legislature should build on the Board of Regents $2 million pilot program to scale up statewide
dual enrollment and articulation agreements and broadcast their benefits and availability. In this regard, an exciting new development is the new Louisiana eportal for high
school students, parents, guidance counselors, and businesses. In only a few months since the launch, nearly 10,000 students have registered at the one-stop website
for college, career, and workforce readiness. Additional resources for this innovative initiative are critical, and efforts to inform parents and engage businesses should be
expanded to encourage them to contribute, access, and promote the eportal.
Finally, to specifically counter Louisiana’s drop-out problem, school districts, universities, and colleges should partner to focus best practices and resources on developing
pathways and “on-ramps” to reclaim and educate these young people. Through the forum provided by the Centers of Excellence (see Workforce recommendation #2),
employers can provide regular input on curriculum for Industry-Based Certification and convey market demand and employment opportunities for youth who
re-enter Louisiana’s education pipeline.
Investment in our future: $4.2 million
|
