Preschool is our Best Dropout Prevention Program

Posted on 10/17/2011 @ 10:26 AM

Tags: West

By Becky Newell, Regional Coordinator, West Florida
becky.newell@childrensmovementflorida.org


On two different occasions over the past 10 days, I’ve attended events where a presenter talked about how critical early education is to the future of our state.

Last week, I attended the Hernando Youth Initiative Summit for Youth and Families in Brooksville. Tracy Echols, who chairs the organization, has a vision for her community, and she uses her seemingly endless energy to inspire others to share that vision. The focus of the Summit of Youth and Families was to encourage community members and business owners to sign on to do their part to make the “Hernando 2030” plan a success. Tracy said to the Summit participants:

“If we can get every child in Hernando County to attend a quality VPK program, we’ll make a fundamental change in our community. And by 2030 we will have virtually eliminated most of the problems facing our community. We’ll have high graduation rates, low rates of teen pregnancy, and we’ll have an educated workforce that will lure businesses to Hernando County.”

Then a few days later, I heard Dr. Kamela Patton, Superintendent of Collier County Schools, speak to the League of Women Voters of Collier County. When a member of the audience asked Dr. Patton how important quality early experiences are to the school system, she responded, “On a scale of 1 to 10, high quality early learning programs rank about a 2000 – they’re the best dropout prevention program we have.”