You may have heard the news last month about the bill signed into law expanding on Maryland’s pre-Kindergarten accessibility. This is another step in a long road to creating exceptional students here in Maryland.
Since 2000, the state has been following a defined strategy to improve the education success rates for all Maryland students. This included regulatory changes in 2005, which created a new governing body for child care centers and defined curriculum expectations for all licensed facilities. The state currently provides half-day pre-K for 29,000 students and with the new law, this will increase by 1,600 in the 2014/2015 school year. Since 2005, the percent of students entering Kindergarten fully ready has increased 38%. This is a great improvement in a short period of time.
So what does this mean for you as parents and for us at Celebree? The benefits of pre-Kindergarten education are clear and have been studied extensively. By having your child participate in a pre-Kindergarten program, research shows they are:
- More likely to graduate from high school
- Have higher cognitive test scores
- Less likely to repeat grades
- Less likely to have problems with the law
- On average, earn $2,000 more per month
Beyond the personal achievements, there are societal and economic benefits as well. Less crime, higher incomes resulting in more money put back into the community and decreases in welfare programs are all things communities strive for.
At Celebree, we continue to lead the way in helping kids to be Kindergarten ready. The Creative Curriculum, which is state approved and focused on the Our Seven Domains of Learning, curriculum and our individual student assessments and plans ensure that each and every Celebree student is ready, and then some, when Kindergarten starts. We are passionate about building early learners who become life-long learners, and pleased to be headquartered in a state that has that same passion.
If you have questions or thoughts about the latest expansion law, please leave comments below. It would be great to get a conversation going amongst our parent community.