I hated first grade. I didn’t speak English, the teacher was frustrated with my constant confused doe-eyed stare, and the other kids thought I was really weird (my He-Man haircut and Communist-era overalls with checkered turtleneck didn’t help, either). When my family immigrated from Poland, we were in the process of learning English and school was a challenge.
Every day when my siblings and I came home, depressed and dejected from yet another day of lost learning, my parents assured us that everything would get better. And slowly, it did. My mom put in an incredible amount of effort into educating us outside of the classroom. She would help us practice the English alphabet (which she learned in ESL classes), sing American songs (which sounded awesome in her accent), and get down on the floor and play with us. At the grocery store she would hold up produce, at home point to inanimate objects to remind us the word for everyday items, and at night she would slowly read children’s books to us that we had chosen from the library earlier that day. In time, we were speaking basic English and doing well in school. Despite her own language barrier, my mother was an adept teacher. Not all children, however, have this kind of access to early learning. Some parents have limited literacy and education while others work two and three jobs, so childcare falls to older children, neighbors, or family members.
According to the United Way of King County, 50% of children entering kindergarten in Washington State are identified as “not ready to succeed” and are starting school as much as two years behind in language and learning skills. These are primarily low-income kids. What’s even more shocking is the disparity among low-income children and there better off peers:
– The average low-income child experiences approximately 25 hours of 1-on-1 reading from birth until entering kindergarten where middle and upper income children receive approximately 1,700 hours.
– The average low-income child has about 15,000 words by the time they enter kindergarten while middle and upper income children have approximately 55,000 words by that same time.
– The graduation rate for middle and upper income children is 84.1%, whereas for low-income children it’s only 53.9%.
These numbers tell a sad story, but the United Way of King County is trying to change the ending. The United Way created a program aimed at leveling the playing field called the “Parent Child Home Program,” a research-based early literacy and school readiness program for 2 to 4 year old children and their parents. Through this program, a trained home visitor provides twice-weekly home visits over a two-year period and brings gifts of books and educational toys. Home visitors coach parents by modeling behaviors that stimulate early learning. This is important because according to recent scientific studies, children begin to learn right out of the womb and parents are crucial in the first steps of their informal education.
“The Parent Child Home Program is a good forward thinking and helpful program that maximizes an investment in our kids and pays dividends for their whole life,” said Jared Erlandson, the Public Relations Manager for the United Way of King County. “With all of the talk and work across our country on education reform and the focus that is going into K-12 assessment and curriculum I think that it’s very important for us as a community to keep in mind the importance of the role that the parent plays in education,” said Erlandson. Because the achievement gap is rooted in being underprepared for learning, this program’s focus group is low-income children, students of color, and those with limited English proficiency. The program has been highly successful, raising participants’ high school graduation rates to those of higher-income students.
To help the Parent Child Home Program further grow, the United Way wants to get the word out that not only is the parent is the child’s first and best teacher, but also, that this program exists. They encourage all parents to read and play with their children, and if they don’t have children of their own, to consider volunteering for the Parent Child Home Program. Another option is organizing a book or toy drive to support the program and help fund it.
Every night when I see my husband rummaging through the giant mountain of books he has to choose from to read to our daughter before her bedtime, I think about the educational advantage she has over her low-income peers. She has all the fancy Manhattan toys, the Baby Einstein books and Bright Starts sensory games. Unlike 50% of her peers, my daughter will be school-ready when she enters kindergarten. But even if she didn’t have any of these things, all she would need was parents who understood the importance of in-home education, like my mom did when we first immigrated to the States. She was a great teacher and role model. Not all kids are lucky enough to have this advantage, but with programs like the Parent Child Home Program, maybe more children will be ready to succeed in school, and as a result, in life.
To learn more about this program or to volunteer, click here.