Pre-K Education Seen As Key To Hispanic Achievement
WASHINGTON
Providing Hispanic children with access to high-quality pre-kindergarten education is an important first step toward closing the achievement gap, a new report suggests.
Drawing on previous research on the benefits of early childhood education and bilingual education, authors of the report, “Pre-K and Latinos: The Foundation for America’s Future,” call on policy makers to improve Hispanic accessibility to preschool programs.
The report, released Monday by the advocacy group Pre-K Now, suggests that states adopt at least one bilingual or Spanish-language pre-K curriculum. The authors also say that programs should be assessed to determine how well they are serving children, with a particular focus on first-language development and second-language acquisition.
This report followed a recent survey in which 95 percent of Latinos indicated their belief that children who attend pre-kindergarten have a strong educational advantage over those who don’t. The national poll was conducted by the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute and Pre-K Now.
“Latino families not only believe Pre-K is important but they also think elected officials should make Pre-K a priority before taking on new responsibilities in K-12,” says Danielle Gonzales, deputy state program director for Pre-K Now. “When it comes to raising Hispanic educational achievement, Latinos understand the urgency and importance of Pre-K.”
