If you need one more reason to start your children in school earlier in their lives, you may want to consider Gov. Jon Corzine’s announcement about the advantages of early childhood education.
Recently, Corzine visited the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Center for Early Childhood Education in Union City to discuss the findings of a study called The APPLES Blossom: Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study (APPLES).
The study, conducted from pre-school through second grade, which was initiated by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. The study involved observing children who had taken part in Abbott school districts (low-income districts that receive special state funding). In this case, they studied the de Hostos Center.
What the study revealed
The study found that children that attended preschool performed better in oral languages and conceptual knowledge. The group of children who were in the Abbott preschool group had a more favorable difference in reading skills. The study also revealed that attending a preschool program improved achievement in math, and the number of children that were held back a grade was cut in half.
In other words, children who attended an Abbott preschool program outperformed their peers in first and second grades.
“Success long-term was correlated to the early childhood program.” – Angela Ottomanelli
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“I think the argument is that if you prepare your children at the earliest stages to be prepared for school and learning, then they will be better learners all the way through their whole career in the process,” said Corzine during a meeting at the school.
In the past year, Abbott pre-school programs were available in 31 districts that served 43,000 3- and 4-year-old children.
Eugenio Maria a model for Abbott program
Angela Ottomanelli, early childhood supervisor for the district and for the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Early Childhood Center, said that approximately 50 people consisting of parents, teachers, and members of the community gathered for nearly two hours to discuss the findings with Corzine
“The study validated what the parents had commented here,” said Ottomanelli. “Success long term was correlated to the early childhood program.”
A parent who attended the meeting said to Corzine and the group that because of the program, her daughter knew how to write her name when she was 3 years old. The mother then said that she herself could remember learning how to spell her name at the age of 5 or 6 and was amazed that the early childhood education helped her daughter learn things earlier.
She also remarked that her daughter is now in second grade and is reading full sentences and paragraphs.
The group from Rutgers that was involved in implementing the study visited schools throughout New Jersey.
The de Hostos Early Childhood Center contains approximately 300 students aged 4 and 5 in its pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes.
“We were a part of the study and we’re a model school where a lot of other Abbott Districts look at and try to model as well,” said Ottomanelli. “We’re always scoring very high and always showing long term success.”
To find out more about the study and to obtain access to the complete APPLES report, visit the news section of the governor’s website at: www.state.nj.us/governor/news.
Melissa Rappaport may be reached at mrappaport@hudsonreporter.com