1

Advocacy Statement

Eleanor Goode

Longwood University

READ 691 Professional Portfolio

Mar 21, 2024

 2

The “achievement gap” between high poverty areas and affluent areas is something that

seems to be continually growing. As a current teacher in a title one school, I see gaps

specifically in vocabulary, background knowledge, social skills and cognitive abilities. A

child’s early conditions of life greatly impact their development and readiness for Kindergarten.

The topic of this “achievement gap” and how to fix it has caught my attention throughout my

years of teaching beginning with my service in Baton Rouge, LA with Americorpse. Universal

preschool, starting at age 3, could be a starting point for closing this gap. Universal preschool

would allow all families an opportunity to enroll their children into publicly funded, quality

education. When our students gain two extra years of high quality education before entering

kindergarten we are setting them up for success in areas of reading, social skills, and cognitive

abilities. This will not only affect our students directly, but families and society as a whole.

Neuroscience research suggests that early childhood education can make a critical

difference towards a child’s future (Morgan, 2019). In fact, there have been numerous studies

on the improvement of later life when a child has early, quality preschool education. According

to a meta analysis published in 2010, preschool attendance improved cognitive outcomes, social

skills, and school progress (Morgan, 2019). In addition to brain development, education is

inversely correlated with poverty and receipt of welfare assistance (Oppenheim, Jerrold, et al.,

2002). In a 2022 VPM interview, Eva Colen, a senior policy advisor for the city of Richmond

who leads the office of children and families, spoke about universalizing preschool. According

to Colen, longitudinal studies show us that students who participated in free preschool programs

graduated high school, got jobs, and contributed to our societal economy in a positive way.

Additionally, these students come to Kindergarten more prepared, so schools are spending less

on reading interventions and specialists. Not only is universal preschool beneficial for the child
 3

but it also allows struggling caregivers to work and earn money for their family while having

support. As you can see, universal preschool not only helps children and families who are low

income, but it is also an investment that will pay itself off in the future.

A 2019 universal preschool program was proposed but the state of universal preschool

in Virginia is still being explored because of the emphasis on quality. Quality means that these

programs should have standards and a curriculum, lead teachers with a bachelor’s degree and a

higher pay, and health screening services to name a few areas of need. Until our state can meet

these qualifications, universal preschool will not be effective. With these needs being met

within a program, a universal preschool is a step toward closing this growing gap between

poverty and education and will help the economy in the long run.

Breen, A. (2021, October 26). Q&A: Research shows Federal Early Childhood policy proposals could
 4

have significant impact. University of Virginia - School of Education and Human Development.
https://education.virginia.edu/news-stories/qa-research-shows-federal-early-childhood-policy-
proposals-could-have-significant-impact

Morgan, H. (2019). Does High-Quality Preschool Benefit Children? What the Research Shows.

Education Sciences, 9.

Oppenheim, J., & MacGregor, T. (2002). The Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-Quality

Preschool Education for Low-Income Children. Building Communities for Change.

Pauly, M. (2022, July 29). City exploring how it can provide universal preschool to young richmonders.

VPM. https://www.vpm.org/news/2022-07-28/city-exploring-how-it-can-provide-universal-
preschool-to-young-richmonders

What is universal pre-K?. Alliance for Early Success. (2024, March 7).

https://earlysuccess.org/what-is-universal-pre-k/