The impact of early childhood education is widespread, so why doesn’t every city offer it?. “What serves my children best is play-based learning that allows kids the space to learn in the place where they learn best. Play is the language of students, it’s where they’re the experts and it’s where they’re able to have a lot of fun and have a lot of joy, but also develop the critical executive functioning skills that determine life outcomes,” Baltimore prekindergarten teacher Berol Dewdney told NPR in 2022.
The word “education” is often associated with high school or college, where students develop key skills that will serve them for a lifetime. Still, research has long shown that early childhood education, where children learn comparatively less in academics, can be just as important.
However, despite decades of research showing the long-term benefits of early childhood education, government-funded preschool and pre-K programs are still limited in the U.S. While state-run pre-K programs exist in all but four states, they are far from universal. Only a handful of states offer universal pre-K programs, including Florida, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Washington D.C. Elsewhere, programs vary in scope, with priority typically given to communities vulnerable to being overlooked for key resources and programming.
Studies have consistently shown that quality pre-K programs can improve children’s readiness for school, enhance their social skills, and even lead to better life outcomes in adulthood. Early childhood programs are particularly beneficial for children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, helping to level the academic playing field and reduce educational inequalities from an early age. An investment in pre-K education is increasingly seen not just as an educational policy but as a powerful tool for social and economic development.
For that reason, HeyTutor analyzed academic research to better understand the importance of pre-K education.
The Lordstown Teachers Association (LTA) has provided the Lordstown Board of Education with a 10-day strike notice, indicating a planned work stoppage by teachers scheduled to begin on August 29. The District will remain open and fully operational on that date and thereafter for the duration of any strike. A comprehensive plan is in place to provide a safe, secure and fully compliant educational environment for our students when classes resume on September 3.
Given that the Board offered our teachers an above-average wage increase (3% in each of 3 years) and proposed no changes to a highly competitive health insurance program - despite significant cost increases to the District - we are disappointed that the leadership of the LTA has decided to strike. Our offer, characterized by the union’s labor relations consultant as “great,” maintains our teachers in a competitive position in our area, particularly when combined with the robust health insurance benefits.
The Board of Education is scheduling a meeting to provide specific direction to the administration to terminate teacher pay and health insurance benefits effective on the first day of the strike and authorizing the Superintendent to take all necessary steps to continue normal operations during the work stoppage.
The Board will continue to provide our community with information relating to the strike as it becomes available.
Aaron Moody is a sports and general reporter for the News & Observer. Here is a second sentence for the bio because it will probably be longer than this. Maybe even longer I don't know.Support my work with a digital subscription
