Please read the important article linked here, shared by MSCCA Board Member Ruthie Claytor and MSCCA Anne Arundel Chapter President that sheds light on the issues with many kindergarten classrooms and how policy makers and public institutions with little knowledge of the benefits of true early learning and wonder children so deserve are going to recommend Universal Pre-K initiatives in Maryland. The Kirwan Commission has recommended public schools can do our job better and push to move three and four year olds into the “public “ system, which is very similar to the classroom addressed in this article. Kirwan does speak to diverse delivery and partnering with community based programs to provide public Pre K, but many of the details are not addressed and will lead to many businesses providing child care/early learning having to close their doors and/or charge more for infant/toddlers/twos making child care the first 3 years less affordable for working families during a critical time of development including, the majority of brain development, bonding and attachment, most language skills, which will not address the achievement gap, is not best practice and not fair to children. Read this article and many more like it. We need to make our voices, along with our parents heard to the legislators and the Governor to allow early childhood programs to stay in business in Maryland and not take our 3 and 4 year olds because we already have capacity, developmentally appropriate settings (including playgrounds) we are open 10-12 hours a day or more for working families (less need for any babies on buses with fourth and fifth graders and less need for wrap around care in cafeterias that will change ratios and push our school agers out). The Majority of our teachers who are trained in early childhood and are working with or towards various levels of early childhood credentials and degrees with many years of expertise are diverse women who are strong, nurturing role models who are poorly compensated because we cannot charge parents more they they can afford and are bound by strict regulations.
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