HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0757.004 2022-2024 P /cRcoG
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Testimony To The Communications, Reports and CounctA,)wer ihfit et rii ngt ee of the County
Council
In Support Of The Utilization of Federal Funding To Support Early Childcare Programs
My name is Susan Entz. I was a certified K-12 regular and special education teacher,worked for the
Department of Education for 10 years as a classroom teacher,was a lecturer in Early Childhood
Education at Hawaii Community College for twenty eight years, am an author of curriculum materials for
young children,was a national trainer for Head Start,was a national early childhood specialist for a
federal research team on quality education, and am now retired. I continue to consult and provide
conference presentation for teachers of young children and special education students.
I am writing to support the County's efforts to support the many and diverse programs that constitute the
Early Childhood system on this island.Teachers and care providers on Hawaii Island have long advocated
for increase support for the education of young children,birth through age seven and the recent ARPA
funding has been applauded as one way to improve outcomes for the children in our local communities.
Why,you might ask,is this important.? Is it even in the purview of County government? I would suggest
that it' s in the government' s interest to have an educated populace.And as someone who trained and
first taught older children with educational challenges, I can say without hesitation that the earlier
deficits are identified the easier they are to remediate. The longer educational challenges go unresolved,
the greater the problem becomes. A good example is competence in reading, which is fundamental to all
areas of academic success and which has its foundation in the oral language skills developed during the
first five years of life. The data is clear.
. Oral language is often called the "bedrock" of reading and writing. Students' comprehension
of spoken language is a defining factor for their reading comprehension—the ultimate purpose
of reading— as well as for writing ability....We cannot speak,listen, read or write proficiently if
we do not know what most of the words mean." Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education https://www.doe.mass.edu
. Reading proficiently by the end of third grade is a crucial marker in a child's educational
development. Failure to read proficiently is linked to higher rates of school dropout,
which suppresses individual earning potential as well as the nation's competitiveness and
general productivity. https://ed.psu.edu
. 1 in 6 children who are not reading proficiently in third grade do not graduate from high school
on time.https://governorsfoundation.org
. 23 percent of the low,below-basic readers fail to finish high school, Institute of Educational Sciences
https://governorsfoundation.org
. 2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the fourth grade will end up in
jail or on welfare. Institute of Educational Sciences https://governorsfoundation.org
. 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally low-
literate. https://www.literacymidsouth.org STh
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. Juvenile incarceration reduces the probability of high school completion and increases the
probability of incarceration later in life. https://www.literacymidsouth.org
. High school dropouts are 3.5 times more likely than high school graduates to be arrested in
their lifetime. https://www.literacymidsouth.org
. Over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level." National
Assessment of Adult Literacy,
. "When we have strong literacy skills,the quality of our life improves.We're less likely to
live in poverty and further reduce the chances of our next generation living in poverty.
We're more likely to experience greater access to employment opportunities,leading to higher
income potential." The Line Between Literacy and Poverty. https://abclifeliteracy.ca
It is my understanding that the ARPA funding is being used to support the early learning community on
this island in its quest to provide a strong foundation each child' s development and education. That is
particularly important at this time, since we are now seeing the negative impacts of the prolonged
lockdown and social isolation that resulted from the Covid pandemic. Young children now attending
preschool and kindergarten were significantly affected by the disruptions to their normal family and
community life.
Delays and the negative effect of the lockdowns and distance learning were first noticed in school-aged
children.
Math, reading,and history scores from the past three years show that students experienced a
significant decline in learning during the pandmeic. The team's calculations indicate that by
the spring of 2022,the average student was lagging by approximately one-half year in math and
one-third of a year in reading. https://www.harvardnnagazine.com/2023/u117, 2023
Very young children may have been the most impacted by the dramatic changes in the social fabric of
society during their early years and these are the children now entering preschool and kindergarten.
"Our nation's youngest children have lived most,if not all,of their lives during a global pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically upended the lives of parents and children in a multitude of ways: child
care programs closed,stay-at-home orders were issued in many states,and parents struggled to take care of
their children while balancing work and other responsibilities.As a result,infants and toddlers spent most of
their earliest years at home,with limited opportunities to socialize or gain critical relationship skills.While
many students have experienced academic learning losses,the impact on social development among
young children may be more severe in the long term than currently understood.
"During the pandemic,infants and toddlers had limited social interaction and play-based learning,and
many experienced high levels of stress.According to medical research,young children who have experienced
pandemic-related chronic stress and trauma without the buffer of a nurturing supportive relationship can
face an increased risk of developing emotional,behavioral,and cognitive problems.
"Further,recent academic research demonstrates that many young children have experienced delays in
cognitive and motor skills,and programs have reported increases in behavioral issues.According to a
Columbia University research study,babies born in the pandemic scored lower in gross motor,fine
motor,and social-emotional development than babies born before the pandemic.Children with poor or
under-developed social and emotional skills display more challenging behavior,including anger,withdrawal,
anxiety,and aggression.
"Many skills are gained and strengthened in interactions with others and in early learning settings,and thus
they are also key predictors of school readiness,future academic achievement,and positive life
outcomes. -
-First Five Years Fund. https://www.ffyforg
Finding ways to support the people who work with young children and their families is one important way to
mitigate these problems. The ARPA funding, through support of projects such as the following:
-The April symposium on the state plan for Kindergarten and the December conference on early learning
across all developmental domains is one way to do this.
-The very impressive project in Pahoa to improve outcomes for incoming kindergarteners; current data
indicates that on 29.6 percent of incoming children are ready for kindergarten! That is abysmal and there
is now a comprehensive plan in place to support families as their children's first teachers and to involve
all of the key community players in attempting and all out effort to improve kindergarten readiness so
children don't start out their public education experience already behind.
-Support of college students interested in education as a career through a scholarship program at
Chaminade University.
I truly appreciate the County's interest at long last in the education of its youngest citizens and hope that
• implementation of programs that support families and young children can continue through this ARPA funding.
Sincerely,
Susan Entz
Educator, Retired