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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.
Scott Elliott is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He writes about education, city and suburban issues, politics, business, workforce and consumer issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > December > 11
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Editorial: Early schooling can’t be an afterthought
Money will be hard to come by in the two-year state budget the new governor and legislature are getting ready to decide in 2011. But Ohio must find a way to prioritize early childhood education.
More research comes out all the time showing the incredible importance of early learning to the long-term success of children. Other states understand this and have found ways to include preschool and even infant learning in their education systems.
Meanwhile, Ohio is moving in the wrong direction. In the last state budget, early learning programs took a devastating cut. The 22-percent reduction in funding was the worst cut to early childhood education of any state in the country. With a huge budget deficit looming, early learning advocates fear an even bigger step backward could come next year.
The legislature and Gov.-elect John Kasich have a tough job ahead. There are more priorities than there is money. But Ohio simply can’t slide further behind in efforts to make sure that young children get the foundation they need to do well in school and in life.
The Ohio Business Roundtable, an organization of business leaders, is behind efforts to support early learning initiatives. The group has set an ambitious goal for the state — raise the percentage of kids entering school ready for kindergarten (as measured by a state readiness test) to 90 percent by 2020 from 40 percent today. The roundtable argues that focusing attention — and money — on the youngest learners has the highest return on investment.
In a Dec. 6 briefing in Dayton sponsored by ReadySetSoar, a group that advocates for better early childhood education, proponents of early learning asked local legislators to support their cause. The question that was probably on a lot of minds was asked by Mike Henne, an incoming Republican state representative from Huber Heights. Given the fiscal environment, he asked, is there any way lawmakers can help that doesn’t require money?
Here’s one way that wouldn’t cost very much — raise the profile of early childhood education by following through on the state’s own plan for doing just that.
In 2009, Gov. Ted Strickland proposed, and the legislature enacted as part of House Bill 1, a center for early childhood development. The idea was to unify disparate programs for young children — now housed within a variety of state departments — under one roof with a director who reports to the governor and the state superintendent of instruction.
The center and the director have never gotten off the ground. Part of the problem is practical. It’s complicated to consolidate services. Some changes cost money.
But now there is even more uncertainty about whether the center will ever come to fruition. Early learning advocates worry that Gov.-elect Kasich and the new legislature will be less committed to their programs.
Getting the center off the ground would be a good show of support for early education by the new crew of state leaders. With a director and a unified program, early learning would at least have a presence and a voice in state policymaking.
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