1:51 Cindy Amorosso is curriculum director for the Mankato Public Schools, notes that 51 percent of kids coming into the Key City's schools aren't ready to learn to read. This is unfortunate since all kids need to learn a year's worth of growth in a year, rather than play catch up.
Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties have received a grant for a quality preschool program, but only 32 slots exist for about 600 kids. The school also has a relationship with MSU-Manakto's ECE learning community. The school runs an all day kindergarten. The school system pays the extra cost above state funding. Finally, the school runs a school readiness program for parents that offers three courses each year of a child's first five years of life. It is free and open to all.
1:40 Todd Otis, Ready4K, an early childhood education group, notes that ECE is an economic development issue. The organizing principle for Ready4K is school readiness broadly defined. Kids who are in acredited centers have 70-80 percent ready for K, versus about half now. We need to find strategies for kids to succeed throughout school. The will save money by lessening the need for prisons and social services.Underinvestment is serious drawback. What are we going to do about it?
1:31 p.m. George Thompson, Board Chair of the Blandin Foundation, talks about the foundation's investment in rural early childhood education. He mentions the rural leadership training and conferences that it sponsors. We need to take a global persepctive--it not just Mankato competing with Rochester, but both competing nationally. He brings up the achievement gap between white kids and children of color. He disputes the myth of lack of parental involvement for children of color. He notes race and ability are not correlated . He asks that money be spent on education to lower spending on prison.
1:23 . m. Jon Eckhoff, of Venture Computer Systems in Rochester and an active Chamber of Commerce member. He relates his background and how it contributed to his interest in his community. His son was pulled out for reading; it only lasted five eeks, but he is now a college level reader. A great investment. He tells a story of how his father, a farmer, received high return after tiling a field. He felt sad, he told his son, because he could have been earning more off the field for 20 years but had thought he couldn't afford to tile the field. Invest now!
1:16 p.m.Arthur Rolnick is moderating the panel about education. Rolnick became involved in early childhood education about six years ago. He though it was important to make the economic case for early childhood development. He sees it as economic development with a high return on investment. (The details are on the Minneapolis Federal Reserve site).
He discusses the economic bidding wars that simply move jobs around but provide zero public return. He believes we are under investing in early childhood development. Longterm studies indicate that the return on investment in high quality education and health care for young children is a great return,
Rolnick says he believes in markets, but notes there's a market failure for little kids: we don't get to pick our parents. Investment in early childhood education can compensate for that failure. He notes that Head Start has no accountability to get kids ready for school. Programs need to be broad, they need to be be parent-focused. Mentoring parents is important. At three, children should get a scholarship for high quality pre-school.
He talks about programs being started to help parents and children. The $13,000 scholarships are acting as an incentive for new programs for kids in Frogtown. YOu can't find better economic development than investing in the kids in Frogtown," Rolnick says.
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