Tucson preschools: Uh oh. We’re very sorry.
Top 10 Best Private Preschools in Tucson, AZ (2022-23)
School
Location
Grades
Students
Anshei Israel Preschool & Kindergarten
Daycare / Preschool (Jewish)
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5550 E 5th St
Tucson, AZ 85711
(520) 745-5550
Grades: NS-PK
| 56 students
Desert Christian Schools
(Christian)
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(43)
7525 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 901-5499
Grades: PK-12
| 402 students
Faith Community Academy
(Christian)
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(2)
2551 West Orange Grove Rd
Tucson, AZ 85741
(520) 742-4189
Grades: NS-6
| 139 students
Hermosa Montessori School
Montessori School
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(1)
12051 E Fort Lowell Rd
Tucson, AZ 85749
(520) 749-5518
Grades: PK-8
| 305 students
Immaculate Heart School
(Catholic)
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410 E Magee Rd
Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 297-6672
Grades: PK-12
| 249 students
International School Of Tucson
Special Program Emphasis
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(4)
1701 E Seneca Street
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 406-0552
Grades: NS-8
| 284 students
Our Mother Of Sorrows School
(Catholic)
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1800 South Kolb Road
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 747-1027
Grades: PK-8
| 406 students
Pusch Ridge Christian Academy
(Presbyterian)
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(5)
9500 N Oracle and 6450 N. Camino Miraval
Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 797-0107
Grades: PK-12
| 722 students
Redeemer Lutheran School
(Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod)
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8845 N Silverbell Rd
Tucson, AZ 85743
(520) 572-8136
Grades: PK-8
| 170 students
St. Ambrose School
(Catholic)
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300 S Tucson Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 882-8678
Grades: PK-8
| 314 students
St. Andrew’s Preschool & Kindergarten
Alternative School (Presbyterian)
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7650 N Paseo Del Norte
Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 742-2969
Grades: PK-K
| 260 students
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Preschool
(Catholic)
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8650 N Shannon Road
Tucson, AZ 85742
(520) 797-7327
Grades: PK-5
| 316 students
St. John The Evangelist Notre Dame Ace Academy
(Catholic)
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600 W Ajo Way
Tucson, AZ 85713
(520) 624-3865
Grades: PK-8
| 339 students
Tucson Hebrew Academy
(Jewish)
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3888 E River Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 529-3888
Grades: NS-8
| 150 students
Tucson Jewish Community Center
Daycare / Preschool (Jewish)
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3800 E River Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 299-3009
Grades: NS-PK
| 375 students
Al Huda Islamic School
(Islamic)
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2800 E River Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 624-8182
Grades: PK-5
| 38 students
Ascension Lutheran School
Daycare / Preschool (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod)
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1220 W Magee Road
Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 742-6229
Grades: PK-K
| 122 students
Beautiful Savior Academy
Alternative School (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (formerly AELC, ALC, or LCA))
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7570 N Thornydale Rd
Tucson, AZ 85741
(520) 579-1453
Grades: PK-K
| 93 students
The Beginning School
Daycare / Preschool
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5061 N Camino Sumo
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 299-6066
Grades: PK-K
| 40 students
Carden Christian Academy Central
(Christian)
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(1)
2727 N Swan Rd
Tucson, AZ 85712
(520) 318-3824
Grades: PK-8
| 72 students
Casa Ninos School Of Montessori – East Campus
Montessori School
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8655 E Broadway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 751-1454
Grades: PK-3
| 82 students
Castlehill Country Day School
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(2)
3225 N Craycroft Rd
Tucson, AZ 85712
(520) 795-0008
Grades: NS-5
| 156 students
Desert Skies
Daycare / Preschool
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7730 North Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 297-6121
Grades: PK-K
| 20 students
Desert Trail KinderCare
Daycare / Preschool
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8425 E Old Spanish Trl
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 722-8190
Grades: NS-PK
| 40 students
Family Life Academy
(Christian)
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7801 E Kenyon Drive
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 296-8989
Grades: PK-8
| 160 students
First Southern Christian School
(Baptist)
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445 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85705
(520) 624-9797
Grades: PK-6
| 69 students
Golf Links KinderCare
Daycare / Preschool
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8277 E Golf Links Rd
Tucson, AZ 85730
(520) 296-9087
Grades: NS-PK
| n/a students
Happy Trails School
Daycare / Preschool (Methodist)
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3255 N Campbell Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 325-7556
Grades: PK-K
| 88 students
Ina KinderCare
Daycare / Preschool
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7277 N Oldfather Dr
Tucson, AZ 85741
(520) 744-3084
Grades: NS-PK
| n/a students
International School for Peace
Special Program Emphasis
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(2)
4625 E River Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 299-9808
Grades: NS-PK
| 80 students
La Canada KinderCare
Daycare / Preschool
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10455 N La Canada Dr
Tucson, AZ 85737
(520) 742-6298
Grades: NS-PK
| n/a students
La Casita Daycare And Preschool
Daycare / Preschool
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1440 W Ajo Way
Tucson, AZ 85713
(520) 807-1770
Grades: PK-K
| 26 students
Lamb’s Gate Christian School
(Christian)
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4700 N Swan Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 299-2151
Grades: NS
| n/a students
The Little Ranch School
Special Program Emphasis
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1125 E Glenn St
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 884-9893
Grades: PK-5
| 67 students
Mis Manos Montessori School
Montessori School
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100 W Magee Rd
Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 498-1700
Grades: PK-1
| 67 students
Show 19 more private schools in Tucson, AZ (out of 54 total schools)
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Preschools in Tucson | TucsonTopia
There are dozens of preschools in the Tucson metro area.
In general, “preschool” in Arizona refers to any program for young children who are not yet eligible for elementary school.
According to Arizona Education Code, “a child is eligible for admission to kindergarten if the child is five years of age. A child is deemed five years of age if the child reached the age of five before September 1 of the current school year. The governing board may admit children who have not reached the required age as prescribed by this subsection if it is determined to be in the best interest of the children. Such children must reach the required age of five for kindergarten…by January 1 of the current school year.”
Most preschools offer programs for ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. Occasionally, preschools will offer infant and toddler care as well.
In Arizona, “preschool” is the most common term that is used for schooling prior to elementary school. Other terms that may be used include: early childhood education (ECE), nursery school, or PreK (pre-kindergarten).
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DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRESCHOOLS
Although there are many preschools, there are a number of different focuses that you will be able to choose from.
Some preschools are half-day, whereas others are full-day. Some are play-based; others are more academic. Some are five days per week; others offer 1, 2, 3, or 4 days per week as an option.
If you have a particular type of preschool in mind, rest assured that there a variety of options in Tucson – bilingual preschools, Montessori preschools, Waldorf preschools, Christian preschools, preschools for children with learning disabilities, preschools for gifted children, and more.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Are there any preschools in Tucson that are free?
The state of Arizona does not currently offer free preschool. That being said, some public school districts do offer free or very low-cost preschools – especially for students with disabilities and/or students who meet low-income requirements.
A good starting point if you are in need of free or low-cost preschool in Tucson is the Arizona Head Start Association.
Do tax credits apply to preschool?
Only preschoolers with disabilities are eligible for the Arizona Tax Credit program.
Can ESA be used for preschool?
ESA stands for Empowerment Scholarship Account. It is a program that is administered by the Arizona Department of Education.
In essence, parents can choose to opt their child out of the public school system and instead receive funds to enroll their child in a private school or to homeschool.
There are very specific eligibility guidelines for this program. Your child may qualify if he/she falls in one or more of the below categories:
- Preschool student with a disability
- K-12 student with a disability
- student with a parent who is active duty military
- student with a parent who was killed in the line of duty
- student with a parent who is legally blind, deaf, or hard of hearing
- student attends a D or F rated school
- student resides within a Native American reservation
- student is a sibling of a current or previous recipient
- student was a ward of the court
- student was a previous ESA recipient
There are application dates each quarter. If your child is approved for the ESA program, you may be able to use the funds for preschool type programs (specific guidelines apply).
What is the average cost of preschool in Tucson?
At most preschools in Tucson, the tuition rate ranges between $150-$900/month or $1800-$10,800/year. The average cost probably hovers at around $450/month or $5400/year – but tuition rates vary greatly depending on facilities, class size, special programs, included meals, etc.
If the cost is prohibitive for your family, you may want to inquire about scholarships and/or financial aid at the preschools you are interested in.
What questions should I ask on a preschool tour?
In order to find a program that is safe for your child and that is a strong fit for your family, it is important to ask good questions at any tours or information meetings.
Here are ten questions you may want to ask prospective preschools:
- Do you offer a play-based or academic curriculum? If academics are part of the curriculum, what skills do you teach at each age level?
- During a typical day, what percentage of the day will my child be outside?
- What percentage of the day is structured versus “free play”?
- What teacher credentials do you require? Bachelor’s degree? Certification? CPR/First Aid?
- Have all teachers been background-checked? Does the screening process apply to all employees (janitors, lunchroom staff, security personnel, bus drivers, etc.
)?
- How are students supervised during visits to the restroom?
- How much “screen time” (movies, apps, games, etc) is part of the day, if any?
- How is discipline handled?
- What is the average class size and student/teacher ratio?
- What makes this preschool special?
What is the best preschool in Tucson?
Great question! With dozens of preschools in Tucson, it’s hard to pinpoint just one. Each preschool has a unique community, curriculum, and focus.
The best way to find a preschool in Tucson is to ask friends and family members for recommendations. You can also check yelp and google reviews.
Other Schools in Tucson
You may also be interested in the following resource pages:
- Kindergarten in Tucson
- Catholic Schools in Tucson
- Charter Schools in Tucson
- Christian Schools in Tucson
- Classical Schools in Tucson
- High Schools in Tucson
- Homeschooling in Tucson
- Language Immersion Schools in Tucson
- Montessori Schools in Tucson
- Waldorf Schools in Tucson
***Watch this page for new and updated information about preschools in Tucson.
How Perverted Early Childhood Education Has Become – From Child Development Expert
(Original article: Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post, November 24, 2015)
at the forefront of the debate about how best to educate – and not educate – the youngest learners. She is Professor Emeritus of Education at Leslie University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she has taught teachers for over 30 years and was the founder of the university’s Center for Peace Schools. She is also a founding member of Defending the Early Years, a non-profit organization that commissions early childhood education research and advocates for smarter policies for young children.
Karlsson-Paige is the author of Childhood Revisited. The mother of two artist sons, Matt and Kyle Damon, she is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Corps Legacy Award for decades of work in interests of children and families. She just received the Deborah Meyer Award from the non-profit National Center for Fair and Open Testing.
In his speech accepting the award (named after renowned educator Deborah Meyer), Karlsson-Page describes what has happened in the early childhood education world in this era of high-stakes testing, saying: “Never in my wildest dreams could I foresaw the situation we are in today.” Here’s the speech I’m posting with permission:
Thank you FairTest for this award to Deborah Meyer – Hero of Education. FairTest does a lot of advocacy and education about fair and fair testing practices. This award bears the name of one of my heroines in education, Deborah Meyer, who fights for justice and democracy in education. It is my hope that each time this award is given, it will allow us to once again pay tribute to Deb. In addition, it is a great honor for me to accept this honor along with Lani Guinier.
When I was invited to be here tonight, I thought of the many people who work for fairness and equity in education who might also be standing here. So now I think of all of them and accept this award on their behalf – all educators dedicated to children and what is fair and best for them.
It’s great to see you all here – so many relatives and friends, comrades in this fight to get back an excellent public education for all, not just some of our children.
I have loved my life’s work of teaching teachers how young children think, how they learn, how they develop socially, emotionally and morally. I have been fascinated by the theories and science in my field and have seen them expressed in the actions and games of children.
So never in my wildest dreams could I foresee the situation we are in today.
Where educational policies that do not reflect what we know about how young children learn can be enforced and enforced. We have decades of research in child development and neuroscience that tell us that young children are active learners – they have to move, use their senses, pick up things, interact with other children and teachers, create, invent. But during this challenging time, young children entering public preschool at age 4 are expected to learn through “strict instruction. ”
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that we would have to protect children’s right to play.
Play is the main engine of human growth; it is universal – the same as walking and talking. Play is how children build ideas, how they make sense of their experiences and feel safe. Just look at how all mathematical concepts work in the intricate buildings of kindergarteners. Or watch a four-year-old put on a cape and pretend to be a superhero after witnessing some scary event.
But the game is disappearing from the classrooms. While we know that play teaches young children, we see it being pushed aside to make room for academic learning and ‘rigor’.
I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams that we would have to fight for developmentally appropriate early childhood classes. Instead of active, hands-on learning, kids now sit in chairs for too long, practicing with letters and numbers. Stress levels among young children are on the rise. Parents and teachers tell me: children worry that they don’t know the right answers; they have nightmares, they pull out their eyelashes, they cry because they don’t want to go to school. Some people call this child abuse and I can’t help but agree.
I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams that we would resist the pressure to test and evaluate young children throughout the year, often in large numbers – often doing multiple tests on children in kindergarten and even preschool. Now, when young children go to school, they often spend their first days without getting to know their class or making friends. The first days they spend on testing. Here are the words of one mother at the start of this school year:
“My daughter’s first day in kindergarten – her very first exposure to elementary school – consisted almost entirely of assessment. She was supposed to go to school at 9:30, and I picked her up at 11:45. Meanwhile, she was being assessed by five different teachers, all of whom were strangers, and asked to complete some task.
“By the time I picked her up, she didn’t want to talk about what she was doing at school, but she said she didn’t want to go back. She didn’t know the teachers’ names. She didn’t have any friends. Later that day, when she was playing with her animals in her room, I heard her drilling them with numbers and letters.”
It is impossible to test the most important skills of young children – we all know that. The names of the letters and numbers are superficial and have little to do with the abilities we want to help children develop: self-regulation, problem-solving ability, social and emotional competence, imagination, initiative, curiosity, original thinking – these abilities create or hinder success in school and life, and they cannot be reduced to numbers.
However, these days, all the money and resources, and time spent on professional development, goes towards preparing teachers to use the necessary assessments. It is somehow assumed that the data generated by these tests is more reliable than the teacher’s own ability to observe children and understand their skills in the context of their entire development in the classroom.
I first saw what was happening to many early childhood classes in the country when I visited a program in a low-income community in north Miami. Most of the children ate the free or reduced price lunch.
There were 10 classrooms – kindergarten and preschool. Funding for the program depended on test scores, so, not surprisingly, teachers taught on tests. I was told that kids with low grades get extra reading and math skills and can’t do art. They used a computer program to teach 4-5 year olds to “bubble”. One teacher complained to me that some children are out of line.
In one of the kindergartens I visited, the walls were empty, as was the whole room. The teacher was checking one little boy at the computer at the side of the room. There was no assistant in the class. The rest of the children sat at the tables and copied the words from the blackboard. These were the words: “No talking. Take your seat. Hands to yourself.”
The teacher shouted to them from her test corner: shut up! Don’t talk!
Most of the children looked scared or upset, and one little boy was sitting alone. He wept softly. I will never forget what these children looked like or what it was like to watch them suffer, I would say, in that context, which was such a profound inadequacy of their needs.
It is in low-income, resource-poor communities like this where children are most exposed to heavy doses of teacher-led training and tests. Unlike more affluent suburbs where children have the opportunity to attend early childhood programs that include play, art and project-based learning. It is poverty – the elephant in the room – that is the main reason for this inequality.
A few months ago, I was dismayed when I read a report from the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education showing that more than 8,000 children from public preschools across the country were suspended at least once a school year, and many more than once. times. First, who suspends a preschooler? Why and for what? The concept itself is strange and terrible. But 8,000? And then continue reading the report and see that a disproportionate number of suspended preschoolers were low-income black boys.
I know that there is a connection between these suspensions and educational reform policies: children from disadvantaged communities have to endure the inability to play in classes where they receive heavy doses of direct instruction and testing. They must sit still, be silent in their places, and obey. Many young children cannot and should not do this.
I returned home from that North Miami class visit in desperation. But, fortunately, desperation was quickly replaced by organization. Together with other educators, we founded our non-profit organization Protecting the Early Years. We have amazing early childhood leaders with us (some of them here today: Deb Meyer, Geralyn McLaughlin, Diane Levine, and Ayla Gavins). We speak with one voice for little children.
We publish reports, write articles, shoot videos and share them on YouTube, we speak and conduct interviews whenever possible.
We did all this in a very short time. It’s almost comical: The Gates Foundation has spent over $200 million just promoting Common Core. Our budget in Defending the Early Years is 006 percent of that.
We cooperate with other organizations. FairTest was very helpful to us. We also partner with the Community Education Network, United Opt Out, many parent groups, Citizens for Public Schools, Badass Teachers, Busted Pencils Radio, Save Our Schools, Alliance for Childhood and ECE PolicyWorks – there is a powerful network – of educators, parents and students – and we see what we are doing.
We all share a common vision: education is a human right and every child deserves it. An excellent free education where learning makes sense – with art, games, interesting projects and the opportunity to acquire civic skills so that children can one day participate – actively and consciously – in this increasingly fragile democracy.
(Go to original article)
How investing in preschools beats the stock market
How Preschool Investing Outperforms the Stock Market, Hands Down
Eric Westervelt – NPR
year, you would be very happy, right? Remember, historically, the average S&P 500 index, adjusted for inflation, has been around 7 percent.
What if the investment is in children, and the return on investment not only makes economic sense, but leads to a richer, more fulfilling and healthier life for the whole family?
That’s the essence of Monday’s new paper, Lifecycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program, co-authored by Nobel Laureate James Heckman, professor of economics at the University of Chicago and director of the Center for Human Development Economics.
There’s a growing body of research on the value and importance of high quality early childhood education programs – especially for disadvantaged children.
But there is surprisingly little research on its effects over time. This document helps change that. Heckman and his co-authors explore the many ways these high-quality programs have helped participants succeed throughout their lives.
This article analyzes two North Carolina programs founded in the 1970s that worked with infants aged 8 weeks to 5 years. Challenge for researchers: The programs involved collecting data from birth to age 8 on a wide range of factors in school and family life. as a long-term follow-up up to 35 years.
Quality early childhood education programs are expensive upfront. But, as Heckman argues, the payoff is huge; the investment is worth it.
Your research has shown the enduring positive impact of quality Pre-K programs on many things, including future earnings, health, IQ, and crime reduction. Is the net profit here stronger, fuller, richer than lives?
Yes, but more than just children’s lives are stronger, richer and fuller. It is also stronger, richer, fuller for the mothers of their children. Let me explain why. There are many incomplete families in America today. We have many working mothers.
What we have done has demonstrated the benefits of two generations of research into these expanded early childhood care programs. Not only providing childcare for working mothers, allowing them to get more education, but above all more work experience, higher incomes through participation in the labor force, but also the creation of a high-quality childcare environment that turns out to be rich with development point of view. It promotes social mobility within and between generations. I believe this is an important finding of this study.
Tell us about two programs you studied that are primarily for low-income, predominantly African-American families.
The program starts very early. Babies are 8 weeks old. He stays with children up to 5 years old.
This is a program that lasts nine hours a day, so it is very convenient for childcare in the sense that women can leave their children at the childcare center and then continue to work. They provide these disadvantaged children with a richer family environment: more verbal attention, more opportunities for enrichment and parenting resources available to disadvantaged, predominantly African American women, as you say, and single women. It complements the early years of life.
In addition, medical examinations are carried out for children from 0 to 5 years of age. The pediatrician has access to the treatment group. The pediatrician will then recommend which indications should be taken into account for the state of health. What steps, what treatment can be taken. Does not pay for treatment, but in fact checks on children and warns parents about the need for treatment.
Is it a true one-stop service and personal attention?
Yes. It turns out that one of the most effective ingredients in these early childhood care programs is interaction with the child. By interaction, I mean compromise. Child development professionals use the term “scaffolding”, such as creating a sculpture – in this case – of a person. Stay with the child, take the child to the next step, encourage the child. In that sense, it’s a very personalized learning experience.
This is a very laborious education, but it is the education that stays with the child. It also has another effect, which is that through increased stimulation of the child, it engages the parent. Parents themselves visit the center to also stimulate parent-child relationships that continue long after the program itself formally ends at age 5.
Does such a comprehensive program cost more in advance?
For sure. The main benefit of this study is that if you count all the benefits this program brings in terms of reduced health care costs, reduced crime, increased earnings, more education, higher IQ – the list is quite long. All of them are monetized. We can calculate the rate of return, dividends will be from investments. You get about 13 percent per annum. Much higher than the annual return on stocks in the post-World War II US stock market after the 2008 crash.
Yes, I would like 13 percent on my 401(k) every year.
Exactly. That’s a huge return on investment. It competes favorably with almost any other public program.
What is the (annual) cost per student while these children are in the program?
It’s probably between $16,000 and $18,000 per year. It depends on what (annual) dollars you use. It is expensive.
That’s quite a lot. Are you saying you get what you pay for?
Yes, that’s a lot. But what do you get in return? You get hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Return of seven to eight hundred thousand dollars, which, in fact, is from 80,000 to 85,000 thousand dollars. Yes, it costs more, but we can go back and think: once upon a time, the transcontinental railroad that Abraham Lincoln launched, the Hoover Dam, the transcontinental highway system that Eisenhower launched. All of this was very costly, but also brought enormous social benefits.
These programs are of great social benefit. They help solve many social problems. In this country, public policy is often discussed in a fragmented way. People say, “We want to reduce crime. We want to promote health.” I think we’re doing what is a very limited concept: looking at one problem at a time and looking at one solution that is very closely related to that problem. I would advise people who see the price tag to also pay attention to the price tag. They are well documented.
Did you follow these young people into adulthood?
This is the advantage of research. The children in the study are, in fact, much healthier than their peers who were not in the study. This came as a surprise to some, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Not only did they get tested, but they also developed these social and emotional skills: self-control, the ability to control. They had more education, therefore they had more information. In many ways, these children became more involved, more in control of their lives, and this showed in their adult health.
The results of this study show that promoting children’s engagement, their cognitive and non-cognitive skills, increasing their IQ, while at the same time increasing their social engagement, their willingness to participate in society, monitoring their health from an early age, receives huge benefits from processing for the rest of your life.
You mentioned ROI. But you’ve also documented health benefits, reduced crime, and parenting benefits, including increased income and lower obesity rates. Let’s talk about it a little.
This is what we have to measure the rate of return. In fact, you can monetize the cost of the criminal justice system, the cost of putting people in jail, and so on. You can also talk about the benefits of cutting healthcare costs, improving quality of life, and more. These are all included in our rate of return and benefit-to-cost ratio. The identification of these components is one of the most surprising results of the study we published in Science magazine a couple of years ago. We have shown that children participating in this program are much less likely to suffer from obesity, hypertension, and precursors of an environment conducive to the development of diabetes.
You mentioned the poisonous effect of silification, so to speak, in the fight against poverty. Consideration of social problems is mostly isolated. This is also a hyper-guerrilla age. What do you think politicians and politicians lack when it comes to preschool education?
Some leading politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, are not missing. They understand this very well. What’s really interesting is that if you go to those red states that were called “transitional states” in the last election, you end up in the Midwest and the ones that people often ignore. States such as Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska have been among the most active in promoting early childhood development.
The reason is that it is based on the cost-effectiveness argument and also promotes what is often a very common family values agenda in some of these states. It’s really about helping to strengthen the American family, which I think is under attack, is in the process of being transformed. We just have a lot more broken families. We have many more mothers who work because they have to support their families.
You said that the main risk factor in the complex equation of poverty is the lack of parental involvement. Talk about it and what did these programs you studied do in terms of parent involvement?
It’s not about buying toys that change or running a certain online program to stimulate your child. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s not a story. It’s an engagement. It’s “Johnny or Sally, let’s look at this together, let’s go to the zoo, look at this book, see what we’re doing.” It’s that engagement. When you involve parents in this process, you help them to strengthen their agreement, then I think you actually maintain a very strong, very supportive environment throughout the child’s life. The central core is interaction. If you think about it, good teaching is the same thing.
I don’t think I’m saying something revolutionary, but I feel like I’m saying something that is often ignored by public policy. We are thinking of a brick and mortar approach to what education is. This is completely the wrong way to think about it. It’s not a teacher lecturing a student, it’s mostly teachers or childcare workers who bring in the students or these young children and provide age-adapted, individualized interventions. I think this is the key.
What about these programs helps to encourage such participation?
It turns out that many dysfunctional families have a way to dissuade a child. Saying, “Don’t do this, don’t do that,” etc. The alternative is to create a family that encourages and supports the child in making mistakes and learning from mistakes, and in engaging the child in learning about the world. I think that it is this attachment and this support that plays a fundamental role in the structure of the main programs. This is an example where you literally take the child, read to him, engage the child, and then you show the parent by placing him in the center. Show how successful the child was and then send him home. When the child goes home, he is more interested and therefore infatuated with the parent. We found it. We found this as a by-product: much greater parental involvement among those who received treatment compared to those who were randomized to a control group. And these were lifelong effects.
If you look at children from disadvantaged families, you will find that they receive about a third or a quarter fewer words per hour than children from more affluent families. The environment is fundamentally different. Throughout their life, in their young childhood – from 0 to 5 years – you get a deficit of millions of words between the rich and the disadvantaged. In fact, this is one way to close the gap. Literally reading to a child, encouraging him.
As you know, a lot of attention is paid to quality childcare facilities. What elements are vital to the creation of these great centers of early learning?
There is a huge body of evidence for parent-child interactions. The structure of a successful [centre] should encourage those interactions that have contributed to this.
Are we talking about empathy?
Well, yes, we are talking about empathy, and we are talking about the structure of interaction with the child, and at the heart of successful programs is raising children.