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December 03, 2005
In Preschool Oklahoma Is Leading the Nation
Dr. Romona Paul, the Assistant State Superintendent, has become a real leader in the development of preschool programs across the nation. She admits it's unusual for a state like Oklahoma to be a leader. It's a bit like Glenn County being a leader in California. There are still lots of people who don't know there is a Glenn County in California, and even if they do they don't know where it is. Oklahoma's leadership in this area is a bit like that, but small or not, they've come out big in the preschool, and we're all trying to find out what they're doing.
Dr. Paul was extremely gracious with her time and passionate about what works and what doesn't in preschool education. The nice part about her expertise is she's had over a number of years to find out what's working and what isn't. Oklahoma started their program way back in 1980 with a pilot program. They are still using the same type model today with 70% of the 4-year-olds in the state attending a voluntary program funded by the state and operated by the public schools.
The were known as the "Nanny State" when they started the program. They took a lot of ribbing and problably, although she was very professional about saying so, a lot of criticism for their efforts. A study done out of Georgetown University in 2004 stopped the critics in their tracks. Without going into all the details (for those who wish more check the Georgetown website http://www.crocus.georgetown.edu/projects.html#ok)the results where exceptional. There were great gains in letter-word identification, spelling, and applied problems. That's test results, but more importantly were the vocabulary skills and the readiness and ease of transition to kindergarten. Children were ready for school, comfortable about learning, and making progress. And, as several others mentioned, parents have become more involved because they learned how to be involved in school when their children were in preschool.
The earlier group I had talked with, the curriculum folks, talked about kindergarten teachers having to adjust to children coming to them who already had the skills they used to teach. Kids came in knowing letters, numbers, and ready to learn more. What a shift for everyone to deal with, but what great abilities for kids to have at an earlier age.
Dr. Paul stressed over and over a collaborative approach. She talked about working with Head Start, the Department of Health Services, private day care providers, and schools as they developed their programs. Everyone was included as they developed the standards by which they were going to operate and instruct children. She insists that they could not have done this without collaborating a great deal on what they planned to do. The results have paid off big time for children.
California is talking about and getting ready to put an initiative on the ballot regarding universal preschool. I am grateful that we've had someone willing to be a "Nanny State" and stick their neck out to learn what works in this area. Our preschoolers deserve the best we can give them and I thank Dr. Paul and her folks for having looked ahead for all of us.
It was a great chance for me to learn so much. Thanks Oklahoma, Dr. Paul, Dr. Watson and the rest of your crew. I plan to keep in touch as we move into this arena.
Posted by Dr Joni at December 3, 2005 08:15 AM