Early education will help build better future

Earlier this year, the Obama administration rolled out a plan to expand access to high-quality early education to more children in America; it is my hope that Hawaii rises to the occasion and invests in our keiki’s earliest years.

I know that Hawaii’s programs will be unique and culturally responsive, developed with input from kumu and the community. Under the president’s proposal, federal funds will be available to support state early learning programs; this can be very helpful to Hawaii, especially children from low- and moderate-income families.

A statewide preschool system for Hawaii would bring together the multitude of public and private providers under one umbrella, making it easier for parents to choose a learning setting for their children.

Though my field is secondary education, I know that early childhood education provides a solid foundation for a child’s future learning, career and life. I’ve seen the tremendous benefit a quality learning environment and encouraging atmosphere can have on a child’s ability to learn, and how early childhood education is a pathway to peaceful and productive communities.

As parents, my husband and I watched our daughters’ language, reading, social and critical- thinking skills grow by leaps and bounds during their own time in preschool. As an educator, I want all children to enter kindergarten ready to learn, with high self-esteem and full of curiosity.

In addition to drawing on my first-hand experiences, I pull my beliefs from numerous studies that show that an early childhood education offers extensive, long-term benefits. Children who have attended a quality preschool program are more likely to graduate from high school, commit fewer crimes, earn higher salaries and become homeowners; they are also less likely to depend on social services or go to prison.

Investing in quality, early education is a matter of equal opportunity.

Too often, a child’s socioeconomic status determines the quality of his or her educational beginning and available opportunities that follow. Early childhood learning and universal preschool bridge this gap by helping teachers and schools to understand developmental differences and increase the chances for children of all backgrounds to begin the journey of lifelong learning in a more equitable and consistent way. All children should have equal opportunities for rich learning environments and caring, knowledgeable teachers.

Beginning with the school year 2015, children entering kindergarten must have made age 5 by July 31. This creates a gap group of about 5,100 children whose parents had assumed they would be in school. We owe them support. We need to listen to families who express a desire for early learning opportunities.

For Hawaii, the creation of a statewide early childhood program is an opportunity to honor young children as intelligent, curious people, to honor families and their home cultures and languages, and to honor early childhood teachers who inspire learning.

We get into disagreements about who should be responsible for a child’s early learning: The parent? The community? The government? The answer: We all are.

Parents need to take an active role in their child’s education.

Communities in Hawaii plant the seeds for education and should support schools and families. Communities can provide the resources and capacity for parents to help their children and can foster a culturally sustaining pedagogy.

Government should provide the funds necessary for program implementation and to financially aid those children who need it.

When these different facets come together on behalf of our children, early education is powerful. And costs our society less in the future.

I ask you to make early childhood education a top priority. It is our responsibility to provide our keiki with strong, beautiful and exciting futures, and it is my belief that a world-class education, beginning as early as possible, offers them the foundation for just that.