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December 9, 2006

State touts benefits of early education

By Nancy Glasscock

Children who participate in Pre-K programs are better-prepared for school than those who do not, according to a study by an Auburn University professor.

The Alabama Office of School Readiness, which funds programs for four-year-olds across the state, recently released results of an evaluation revealing the benefits of Pre-K programs. According to the results, children made substantial gains in vocabulary and language skills over the course of the program; made significant gains in letter recognition, rhyming words, alliteration; and classroom quality was consistently high across all state-funded Pre-K sites, as well as parent satisfaction with the programs and teachers.

Tricia Culpepper, Cullman City Head Start director, said the Head Start program benefits entire families by preparing children for school, especially in reading and math.

“It benefits children in reading and math, as well as laying a foundation for readiness at school,” she said.

Culpepper said the program also offers advice for parents and on proper nutrition.

Results from the survey were based on data collected from 1,062 children in Alabama Pre-K between Aug. 2005 and May 2006, and included program quality assessments across 57 sites and parent satisfaction surveys. The statewide study was conducted by Dr. Alexander Vazsonyi, professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University.

Head Start, which is independent of the County and City school districts, operates under the Community Action Partnership of North Alabama, and provides preschool education for children three- and four years old in Winston, Blount, Lawrence, Marion, Cullman, Franklin, Colbert and Morgan counties. Services include education, parent involvement, health and dental care, nutrition, disability services and social services.

Culpepper said the Cullman City School Board applied for funding of a summer Head Start program in 1965. The first Pre-K program for Cullman City Schools was a six-week program at West Elementary School.

The Child Development Center was granted funding as an expansion into a full-year program in Jan. 1966, and began with 160 children in 10 classes housed in St. John’s United Church.

Now, the Head Start program has eight classrooms serving 144 children at Cullman Primary School, which also houses kindergarten and first-grade classes for Cullman City Schools. County schools offering Head Start programs include Welti, Harmony, Parkside and Hanceville.

According to the Alabama Office of School Readiness, plans are under way for a more comprehensive evaluation of Pre-K that will include randomization or treatment and control programs that will allow for stronger conclusions. OSR provides services for 1,080 children during the 2006-2007 school year in 53 of Alabama’s 67 counties.

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