Henderson leads pre-K dialogue

ARKADELPHIA -- Henderson State University hosted a meeting on Friday to analyze the benefits of preschool.

Brett Powell, Henderson vice president for finance and administration, said the university believes in prekindergarten programs, as it has offered preschool on campus for many years. Powell previously served as director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

"In my mind, any investment in education is an investment in the future of our state," Powell said. "Whether you are talking about investing in 3- and 4-year-olds or investment in postsecondary education, it is all about having an Arkansas citizenry that is prepared for the workforce. It starts as young as 3-year-olds and the more investment we can make in education, the more we are invested in the future of Arkansas."

"We believe in the power of education to transform lives and we think that begins early on if we can light a spark and get a kid excited about learning," said Henderson President Glen Jones.

Jones said preschool programs can be a significant advantage for underprivileged families and for children of first-generation college students. He said the university is proud to partner with K-12 schools, legislators and other agencies to offer such programs and facilitate public dialogue. He detailed a comparison between first-generation college students and families who are able to provide added accommodations in a child's education.

"They've done that for 18 years in that kid's life and we get here and say those kids are equal," Jones said. "I hate to tell you, they're not."

Jones said a legislator asked him how he could be so confident in his assertion.

"It's very simple; I was that kid," Jones said. "I'm now that parent and it's not the same. So for me, whenever there is an opportunity to help kids who are less fortunate, whenever there is an opportunity to provide an opportunity for kids to really, truly get a fair head start in life, I think it is part of my fundamental obligation."

Rachel Pierce vouched for the benefits of preschool. She is a student at Henderson and a parent of a child in the Davis-Baker Preschool on campus.

"I cannot express how proud I am that that is where Sadie is going," Pierce said. "It is affordable for me and it is so beneficial for her."

Pierce is a Family and Consumer Sciences major with a minor in Sociology. She said she plans to work in education and taught in Davis-Baker on two different occasions.

"I know first hand the high standards they hold you to and I know the immense amount of pressure you feel to perform to your best when you are in there," Pierce said. "I have been a student observer and a preschool participant and the only time you are allowed to be stationary in that preschool is if you are in circle time or opening routine."

The meeting was held in the Education Center. Celya Taylor, dean of the Teachers College, explained how state licensures have changed.

The state offered a licensure for pre-K through fourth grade from 2001-14, but the licensure now covers K-6 with an optional endorsement for ages 3-4. Taylor said preschool programs not affiliated with public schools have higher turnover rates due in part to lower salaries and other factors.

Jones thanked state Rep. Les Warren, R-District 25, for his attendance. Warren previously served on the school board for the Lakeside School District and co-chaired the Greater Hot Springs Education Council, which worked to establish the Garland County Pre-K Consortium in 2016. The consortium includes six of the seven public school districts in the county with seats for 120 children through the Department of Human Services' Arkansas Better Chance early childhood program.

"I believe it is the single-most important thing we can in education to wipe out remediation and dropouts down the road," Warren said. "Sometimes I feel like I am a lone wolf in the education world, but I'm not afraid of fighting for it."

Warren was a member of the Lakeside School Board when the district added a pre-K program. He said kindergarten teachers praised the benefits for the students.

David Rainey, a career educator, said Forward Arkansas collected input from educators throughout the state and developed a set of recommendations for how to improve education in Arkansas. Forward Arkansas is a partnership of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Walton Family Foundation and State Board of Education with the goal of preparing the state's youths for success in college and the workplace.

"All of these people from all of these diverse backgrounds, all of these people from all four corners of the state, all of these people with different agendas agreed that in order for us to be a leading state in education and in order for us to make sure our kids are graduating prepared for college and careers, they need to have access to high quality pre-K," Rainey said.

Donnie Whitten, superintendent of Arkadelphia Public Schools, touted the benefits of the district's preschool program for its schools and the community. He said Arkadelphia established a pre-K program for 4-year-old children about 17 years ago.

The district later added classes for 3-year-olds and expanded to include infants and toddlers in 2010. The district now provides preschool classes for about 150 children.

"We are very proud now, seven years later, to have a facility that we own in our community that now serves 75 infants and toddlers," Whitten said. "That is a long 17-year journey with a lot of hurdles and a lot of support, a lot of collaboration and a lot of partnerships."

Whitten said Arkadelphia made a conscious decision to monitor the diversity. The district worked with ABC to offer seats through the state program, but seats are also available through private-payer tuition. He said Arkadelphia budgets about $50,000 per year for the program, with most of it allocated to the costs of the classes for infants and toddlers.