Early Childhood Center Experts

Susan Gold, Ed.D.
Archived Questions

I am doing a report on the major benefits of daycare for children. Things like learning proper interaction with other, rules, etc. Can you help me?

Is there a particular pre-school curriculum on the market that ’s better than others? Or are they all about the same? Any ideas?

Can a school system place a child in a private pre-school program rather than set up their own?

Is Head Start supposed to accept kids with disabilities? We keep hearing that we are, but we don't have any kids like that. Are we going to get into trouble?

Q: I am doing a report on the major benefits of daycare for children. Things like learning proper interaction with other, rules, etc. Can you help me?

A: When considering the research on the benefits of day care for children, it is important to include the issue of the QUALITY of that day care. High quality day care has been shown to enhance the intellectual and social development of disadvantaged children. Several major longitudinal studies you might want to look at include:

1. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study - Lawrence Schweinhart and David Weikart - carries out in Ypsilanti, Michigan between 1962-1965

2. The Carolina Abcedarian Project - Craig Ramey - a multi-year program beginning in infancy and carried out in Chapel Hill, N.C., between 1972 and 1977

3. The Infant health and Development Program - (Pediatrics;1990) a five year study of low birthweight infants carried out in 8 university settings across the U.S. Each of these projects has generated numerous articles, books and book chapters.

However, the majority of young children in our country actually spend their time in settings that are of poor or mediocre quality. Children in these settings either receive no benefit or can actually be harmed.

You might want to consider whether you are interested in the short-term versus the long-term benefits of day care. Also, you need to consider that family characteristics such as maternal education and socio-economic status interact with child care variables to influence child outcomes.

Several good references on this topic include: Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes Study Team, et. al., (1995) Cost Quality and Child Outcomes in Childcare Centers. Denver, CO: University of Colorado at Denver, Department of Economics

Kagen, S.L. & Cohen, N.E. (1997) NOt by Chance: Creating and Early Care and Education System for America's Children. New Haven, CT: Yale University, The Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy Ramey, C. T. & Ramey, S.L. (1992) At Risk Does Not Mean Doomed. Birmingham, AL: University of Alabama, Civitan International Research Center.

Q. Is there a particular pre-school curriculum on the market that ’s better than others? Or are they all about the same? Any ideas?

A. Curriculum is the total of all the activities that take place in your program. Being able to articulate the curriculum you use is often described as one of the elements of a quality preschool program.

Should you have a curriculum? Yes, it shows good planning on your part. As a parent, I would be wary of a program that says it doesn't have a curriculum, or that they are eclectic.

Since programs vary as much in goals, organization and philosophy as they do in size, shape and location, there are different types of "good" curricula on the market. Some have a stronger focus in one domain than another, but most of the valid curricula promote all the domains; physical, social, emotional, language, cognitive and self-help. Research suggests that is it not so much which curricula you use, but that you, the teacher, believe in the curriculum you are using.

Q. Can a school system place a child in a private pre-school program rather than set up their own?

A. Each state has the authority to decide at what age a child must enter public school. I know of no school system in the country that is required to enroll and educate preschool children. However, school systems are responsible for services to preschool children with disabilities.

School systems are not supposed to "place" students. Rather, students enroll in their neighborhood public schools. In many states, public schools are offering pre-school classes for normally developing young children, sometimes just for disadvantaged children, and sometimes as "fee for service" for children whose parents choose this option. In these cases, inclusion can be achieved within the public school system.

In some communities, public schools contract with neighborhood pre-schools to provide pre-kindergarten classes. In these cases, a cooperative agreement or contract exists between the school system and the private pre-school. The conditions of the agreement vary from community to community, but this is another opportunity to achieve inclusion.

If a child with disabilities is enrolled in a private pre-school program, the tuition is most likely paid by the family of the child. However, the related services listed on the IEP must be provided by the Local Education Agency (LEA). Hopefully, there are supports and services in place at the preschool so that the child can receive the maximum benefit from this placement and in order to facilitate the pre-school's ability to meet the needs of the child and family.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which was re-authorized in 1997, is a Public Law (105-17) that requires each school system to serve children with disabilities, ages 3-21, with a free and appropriate education. The law also states that children must be served in the "least restrictive environment." If the local school system does not serve three and four-year olds that are developing normally, the least restrictive environment may be a classroom with other children with disabilities.

When a child is diagnosed with a disability, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting is scheduled. This meeting includes the family and a representative from the school system and may also include doctors, educators, therapists, psychologists and social service providers. The IEP is a legal document and the school system is required to provide the services listed, regardless of placement.

Q. Is Head Start supposed to accept kids with disabilities? We keep hearing that we are, but we don't have any kids like that. Are we going to get into trouble?

A. Head Start, founded in 1965, is a comprehensive program for preschool children of low-income families. It is a federally funded program, and each local grantee must adhere to performance standards that were first adopted in 1975 and have just been revised. Since 1972, Congress has required that at least 10 percent of its enrollment must be available for children with disabilities. In order to assure compliance, grantees are monitored yearly and the site is visited every three years.

It has been my experience that many mild forms of disabilities are not readily noticeable and that you may have some children in your care that have an undiagnosed disability. Help in identifying children with disabilities can be found from your local school system and technical assistance is available from your regional office and from your Quality Improvement Center for Disabilities.

As to whether or not you will "Get into trouble", it depends on how long your local grantee has been out of compliance. Perhaps your particular classroom does not meet its 10% goal, but the grantee as a whole may be serving children with disabilities and you are not aware of it.

I recommend that you attend some training on disability issues.