Goals and Objectives
GOAL
The goal of the Starting Strong Preschool Initiative is to coordinate preschool services across South Dakota.
BACKGROUND
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
FUNDING
South Dakota will use a blended approach to funding preschool - one that will maximize existing resources. School districts could fund programs through a combination of Title I, Head Start, Special Education and state dollars. Eligibility for state funds would be determined by the same guidelines used for the National School Lunch Program. Funding streams will need to be identified at the state level.
Starting Strong
Preschool
GOAL
The goal of the Starting Strong Preschool Initiative is to coordinate preschool services across South Dakota.
BACKGROUND
- A landmark, long-term study of early education - the High/Scope Perry Preschool project - found that children who participated in this preschool program:
- Outperformed non-participants on achievement tests at ages 9, 10 and 14
- Graduated from regular high school at a significantly higher rate than non-participants (for females 84% vs. 32% and for males 65% vs. 45%)
- Had better attitudes towards school
- Had higher earnings later in life
- Committed fewer crimes
- The High/Scope Perry Preschool project, which targeted low-income 3- and 4-year-olds, documented a return on investment of more than $17 for every tax dollar invested.
- Preschool is not just for low-income children. According to the Trust for Early Education, almost 50 percent of children who do not know the alphabet as they enter kindergarten are middle class or higher.
- In a recent study by the National Institute for Early Education Research, South Dakota was identified as one of just 12 states nationwide that do not have a state-supported preschool program.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
- Under this plan, qualified 4-year-olds will have access to quality preschool programs.
- The approach to preschool will be a blended one, featuring partnerships between local school districts, Head Start and private preschool providers.
- The state will establish curriculum standards, accreditation standards and teacher certification requirements.
- The program will be designed to ensure a quality learning experience and to encourage partnerships with private preschool providers.
- Any preschool - public or private - would be eligible to seek accreditation under this plan, and any accredited preschool would be eligible to receive funding.
- Funding would run through the State Aid formula. Districts would be required to work with any accredited preschool - public or private - within its boundaries.
- Students that meet the income guidelines for the national free and reduced lunch program, but are not covered by federal programs such as Head Start and Special Education, will be eligible for state funds.
- An estimated 1,600 4-year-olds could be served by state funding.
FUNDING
South Dakota will use a blended approach to funding preschool - one that will maximize existing resources. School districts could fund programs through a combination of Title I, Head Start, Special Education and state dollars. Eligibility for state funds would be determined by the same guidelines used for the National School Lunch Program. Funding streams will need to be identified at the state level.
- According to the 2004 State Preschool Yearbook published by the National Institute for Early Education Research:
- State spending per child enrolled in preschool ranged from less than $1,000 in Maryland to more than $8,700 in New Jersey.
- The national average for state spending per child enrolled in preschool was $3,451.
- Estimated cost for South Dakota's program is $1,500 per student or one-third of the dollar amount given by the state, under the State Aid formula, for a full-time student.
