Playtime important in preschool
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Children at the Early Childhood Education Center in Homewood kick up their legs as they follow the lead of Kerra Alexander of the Pittsburgh Ballet Co. -
DaNyah Henderson, 3, laughs as she raises her feet. -
Lauren Coleman, 4, puts her feet together while listening to instructions from Kerra Alexander, of the Pittsburgh Ballet Co., who recently visited Lauren's school, the Early Childhood Education Center in Homewood.
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In preschool, academic readiness for kindergarten often is measured in terms of how well a youngster can grasp basic concepts like counting and identifying shapes, letters and colors.
But how a child handles play time is another important marker, educators contend.
Can students sit still when told to do so? How well do they follow instructions or play with each other?
All of these are skills the Pittsburgh Public Schools tries to instill in the 2,500 children enrolled in its early childhood education programs at an annual cost of about $20 million in state and federal money.
The importance of social skills is borne out in the test results of children who are admitted to kindergarten even though they turned 5 after the Sept. 1 deadline.
In the 2010-11 school year, for example, 90 children who were born between Sept. 2 and Dec. 31 took tests in reading, language and math. The tests are difficult; only about 15 percent pass, but passing is no guarantee of success in school.
While their academic skills were strong entering kindergarten, it turns out about 20 percent of them are held back in first grade. By the time they hit second grade, 16 percent of them are held back at some point.
That's because they lack social maturity, an untested skill, said Carol Barone-Martin, executive director of early childhood education for the district.
Now Ms. Barone-Martin is recommending the school board consider allowing only children born between Sept. 2 and Sept. 30 to take the early admittance tests because, among those admitted early, that age group tends to do the best.
About half of the school districts in Allegheny County allow for early admittance by testing after a Sept. 1 cutoff. Philadelphia does not allow early admittance through testing.
Many see finding ways to enhance success in preschool as a major battle in the fight to reduce the dropout rate and boost academic achievement at all grade levels.
Speaking in New Mexico last week, President Barack Obama stressed that idea as he explained his school reform agenda.
"We've been helping make sure that more young people get early childhood education because studies show that if kids are well prepared when they get to school, then they are much [more] likely to do better," said Mr. Obama.
First Published October 8, 2010 12:00 am
