Assistant teacher D'onna Hartman, reads to Frederick Frenious, left, and Gus Saunders at the Creative Kids Learning Center, a school that focuses on pre-kindergarten for 4- and 5-year-olds, in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / AP)
By Kevin Sherin and Karen Willis | My Word Columnists |The Orlando Sentinel May 23, 2019
Florida’s 2019 legislators missed an opportunity to put our children first in the priorities of our state. And the first priority should include early childhood nurturing, bonding, learning, social and emotional development. In California it is called “first five.” In Oklahoma the legislators prioritize early childhood learning and social and emotional development in the State’s priorities. Benchmarking with other states can help us to set a higher goal in Florida.
The time is now for the Sunshine State to step up with new innovations and programs for early childhood education and childcare. Our state is more diverse than ever with immigrants, refugees, evacuees and state to state in-migration. English is a second language for many of our children. Studies show that English as a second language is another barrier to more uniformity in early childhood success. Old models won’t hold up well any more. We need to
To read the rest of this column by Kevin Sherin and Karen Willis, please click here.
Comments (0)