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Fort Worth Star-Telegram

High-quality preschool programs can help children from low-income communities be more successful in elementary school, initial results from a study show.
Researchers found that students in the Dallas school district who had received services from certain early childhood education programs outperformed their classmates from similar backgrounds, officials said.

“What it told us was that first- and second-graders were not only on task but exceeded the average in math and reading. That was critical to us because we know that just because they’re poor doesn’t mean they can’t learn,” said Merriott Terry, president and chief executive officer of Educational First Steps, a Dallas nonprofit organization that sponsored the study.

The study was conducted by the University of Texas at Dallas, and more complete results are expected next month.

Background

The study looked at students in kindergarten through second grade who had attended preschool centers affiliated with Educational First Steps.

An analysis of data showed that those students scored higher on standardized tests in reading and math than their peers, said Richard Scotch, professor of sociology and public policy at UT-Dallas.

Educational First Steps supports early childhood education for disadvantaged children up to age 5.

The group works with about 70 Dallas-area child-care centers to improve educational programs by providing one-on-one mentoring and training to teachers, supplying learning tools and materials, and giving teacher scholarships for certificates and degrees in early childhood education.

Summit

The impact of high-quality early education, particularly for lower-income children, will be a key topic Friday at the Early Education Summit at the World Trade Center in Dallas. The event is expected to draw more than 150 community leaders, elected officials and child-care administrators.

On Saturday, nearly 350 area caregivers and early education providers will meet for a daylong conference at the trade center. Registration is closed for the summit.

Online: www.childcaregroup.org , www.educationalfirststeps.org

http://www.star-telegram.com/dallas_news/story/882756.html

Posted on Thu, Sep. 04, 2008
By JESSAMY BROWN – jessamybrown@star-telegram.com

Most early brain development disorders now come under an umbrella called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  One in every 68 children is said to have some form of it.  These disorders are more prevalent in boys (1 in 44).

It is critical that the parent/teacher begins an intervention program with these children immediately.  The earlier you begin the more success you will have.  Too often parents send so much time with doctors and tests that this incredible “window of opportunity” to take corrective measures is missed.

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

How do children learn?  Scientist and educators tells us how children learn and process information for the rest of their lives depends on how we stimulate their brains in the early years, ages 0- 5.     When we stimulate the brain of the young child and the neurons fire often enough, a permanent connection is formed. Connections used regularly become stronger and more complex.  Connections not used are pruned away. The brain is built on a “use it or lose it” basis especially in the early years.  The more connections, the more work the brain can do.  It is called hard-wiring the brain.  These early years are the greatest learning potential of a person’s life and  the foundation of all future learning.

Case Study

Over the last 20 years, we have taught children who  had various degrees of Autism at the Be Smart Kids Center. They were not drilled.  They only received the lesson once a week for 30 minutes.    I remember one case in which I am extremely proud.   He had just turned 3 when he came to me in 1998.    I always say that he taught me more than I taught him.  He had no speech except for whining, had glazed over eyes with no interaction to any other person, walked on his tiptoes bringing his feet up very high when he walked, and did a lot of flapping with his arms. He would sometimes put his hands over his ears and scream. I would think time and again that he would not be able to accomplish something but I kept going.  He proved me wrong in every instance.  This child graduated number one in his high school and is now attending college.

The same process that I used is available to you.  The Be Smart Kids Learning Process has instructions and tutorials for each weekly lesson.  It is important that you do the computer-based product because the interaction between the computer, adult, and child will produce the best results.