As the American people endeavor to extend early education opportunities to every child, the Biden administration must work to preserve locally owned preschools, and the advantages of community driven education.

At 6 years old, the trajectory of my life was changed forever by a box of colored pencils.

I was labeled disabled and peppered with multiple behavior diagnoses by the time I started school. But my teacher, Ms. Suzie, looked past the wall of stereotypes and saw me as a person, with a soul and a future. She spent time with me, noticed a pattern, and gave me the tools I needed to succeed - a simple, $2 box of colored pencils. With her kindness forming the foundation of my self-confidence and world view, I went on to break the generational cycle of poverty in my family, and became the first to graduate from college.

In today’s hyper-standardized institutional education, Ms. Suzie would never have the time or tools to spend on noticing each of her students. Lost under the pile of standardized testing requirements, stereotypes, and other inequities, simple solutions to complex learning differences go unnoticed in our children every day. The results are heart breaking.

1.     Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s a student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day.

2.     About 25% of high school freshmen fail to graduate from high school on time.

3.     A high school dropout will earn $200,000 less than a high school graduate over their lifetime. And almost a million dollars less than a college graduate.

4.     Almost 2,000 high schools across the U.S. graduate less than 60% of their students.

5.     1 in 3 minority students (32%) attend a dropout factory, compared to 8% of white students.

6.     In the U.S., high school dropouts commit about 75% of crimes.

Statistics also show that children with access to high quality early education programs have higher rates of success later on in their academic journey. Will that be the case if early education becomes an extension of the institution so many young people are struggling within already?

Universal access to early education is a great opportunity for America's children. However, locally owned preschools must be preserved as new programs are implemented. No one is better equipped, more knowledgeable of local issues, or more intrinsically motivated to provide high quality early education than preschool owners serving their own community.

Protections, training, and other opportunities should be extended to established early childhood educators first. If our top priority is to give children the best shot at a bright and productive future, then we must support the local preschool owners and early education leaders with the deepest investment in those children first. 

*Statistics accessed through https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates#fn1 Accessed 5/7/2021.