KENDRICK, Idaho – A coalition is launching an effort to bring preschool to more Idaho kids, and kindergarten teachers say it could level the playing field for their students.

The Gem State is one of only five states that doesn't invest in preschool, and Angie Tweit, who teaches kindergarten in Kendrick, said preschool opportunities are rare in rural towns such as hers. After years of waiting, Tweit had an epiphany in 2016 and realized she would have to step up to get preschool in her community, so she started an early-learning collaborative.

"It just dawned on me, 'I can't wait any longer.' I mean, the students are coming in and they only have one shot at that," she said. "So, another class would go through and no preschool, and it felt like we were starting off day-one 'kindergarten intervention.' "

Tweit said the most helpful group in this effort has been parents. Her district offers preschool at no charge and, in return, parents volunteer once a month in the classroom. She said the collaborative is supported by a patchwork of funding from businesses, education foundations, the district and a federal Community Learning Center grant.

The Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children is to launch its "Preschool the Idaho Way" project today in Boise. According to Idaho AEYC, every dollar invested in quality early-learning programs could save taxpayers $7 to $13 in costs of children repeating grades and special-education services.

Kuna kindergarten teacher Alyssa Townsend said she is convinced that investing in preschool would ensure long-term success for more students. She said kids come to her class without many of the basics - including academic, social and fine motor skills.

"If kids come to us at five years old still at a three-year-old ability level – which we get very, very often – they're trying to catch up those last two years," she said, "and they can't do three years worth of growth within the year that we have them."

Affordability and cost remain big barriers. Tweit said the idea isn't mandating that every parent put their child in preschool - but rather giving every kid a chance at the benefits of an early-learning program.

"We just don't want to have the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.' As a kindergarten teacher, I see children who come who have received early-childhood education, and then there are the children who come who have not," she said, "and we just want to make sure that everyone has access to quality preschool programs."

Information on the Preschool the Idaho Way launch is online at eventbrite.com.


get more stories like this via email

Nearly 60% of Nebraska three- and four-year-olds are not enrolled in preschool programs, which are associated with increased success in school and beyond.

But for at least a decade, most preschoolers on Nebraska's Winnebago Reservation have been part of the national Educare Learning Network.

Amy LaPointe-Houghton, education director for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, said the Educare program was once described to her as "Head Start on steroids." She noted in their years with the Educare system, Winnebago children have gone from testing near the bottom to being "right in line" with children in the 24 other Educare centers across the country.

"We've made that huge leap and it's all around the data," LaPointe-Houghton explained. "We have our data compiled in a book every year, and things that are identified in that book, that's something we make improvements on."

She noted evaluators from the University of Nebraska Medical Center assess the children at the beginning and end of each school year. Educare Winnebago is the only Educare program in the country on an Indian reservation.

LaPointe-Houghton attributed their success to Educare's four pillars: data utilization, professional development, high-quality teaching and intensive family engagement. She pointed out one focus of their program is a social-emotional curriculum, teaching skills like identifying and expressing emotions in acceptable ways.

"To be able to better handle situations when they're encountering some kind of traumatic event, or a stressful event," LaPointe-Houghton added. "They have some tools to be able to help themselves."

LaPointe-Houghton emphasized research about the negative effects of stress and trauma on physical health makes them hopeful if their children learn how to manage stress, they will have better overall health, as well as more success in school.

"We have high numbers of diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease," LaPointe-Houghton observed. "It makes me think it could be contributed because of all the traumatic things that happen in people's lives and you don't even realize that it's doing damage to your body."

To enroll in Educare Winnebago, children must live in Winnebago but do not have to be tribal members. The program has eligibility requirements to ensure they're serving the children with the highest needs.


get more stories like this via email

Oregon is poised to distribute funds for early childhood learning and literacy. In 2023, lawmakers passed the Early Literacy Success Initiative, in part because only about half of the state's students were proficient in reading through third grade. School districts have since applied for grants with the Oregon Department of Education and funds are expected soon.

Marina Merrill, director of research and strategy with the Children's Institute, said the investments are exciting because brains develop faster in a person's first eight years of life than at any other point.

"Those years are just so critical, especially that 90% of a child's brain is developed by the age of five. Yet most of ur investments in young children start at age five," she said.

Grant applications from more than 200 districts and charter schools have focused on building capacity for early literacy through professional development and coaching. The Children's Institute is holding a webinar tomorrow about the state's investments and evidence-based early learning practices.

Herb Turner, founder of ANALYTICA, will participate in the Children's Institute webinar. He said evidence-based practices are ones that have been studied and shown to improve students' outcomes, meaning they can be used with confidence in the classroom.

"Oregon deserves a lot of credit for taking this on and for creating this emphasis on evidence-based practices and strategies, and getting behind evidence-based reading initiatives," he explained.

Cesiah Vega-Lopez, a pre-k teacher at the bilingual school Echo Shaw Elementary in Cornelius, outside Hillsboro, said she's used different practices to teach literacy, such as highlighting each letter of the alphabet with an animal that starts with that letter, and added that this is a critical time for kids.

"For them to be able to have this knowledge early on really helps support their learning as they move on through their trajectory of school, especially as they move on to kindergarten. So I think the focus on them learning or being aware of language is very important in their overall development," Vega-Lopez explained.

The Beaverton School District is blazing a trail in early education through bilingual learning labs, which emphasize playful inquiry and habits of mind.

School officials said the Early School Success initiative is designed to showcase the power of early learning and help make the case for expanded public investment in preschool.

Monique Singleton, principal at Vose Elementary in Beaverton, said the program helps children, many from immigrant families, successfully adjust to their new surroundings.

"I think the important part about the inquiry work that we're doing with Children's Institute, and I've talked about this with other principals and teachers, is that I think it's really important just to be exploring and listening to your community and be able to explore it," Singleton explained.

Vose Elementary hosted a learning lab earlier this week, showing participants in the district the transformative work the school is doing to improve outcomes for students and the community. The goals for the event were to hold space to nurture cross-district relationships and collaboration.

Singleton noted the emphasis is on teaching children life skills to help them cope with complex emotions and situations they either face at school, at home or both.

"The goal is to help them feel honored with a sense of belonging and a sense of safety around our emotions and a sense of identity," Singleton pointed out. "So they don't feel like they have to shut down a part of themselves in order to be successful at school."

Vose's faculty and staff are hands-on leaders who model empathy, learn alongside their staff, and consistently message the need for playful inquiry as an equity stance, Singleton added. They aim to provide children at Vose the same kind of learning experiences one might expect at an elite private school.


get more stories like this via email