Due to federal funding cuts, the methods our Wishek preschool was funded in the 2010-2011 school year will not be available.
Tonight the Wishek Job Development Authority is hosting an informational meeting at the Wishek School at 6:30PM to discuss advantages and disadvantages of preschool, ideal models of how our community can continue preschool, scheduling, transportation, cost structure and funding.
Is preschool important to our rural life? We think so.
North Dakota is only one of ten states that does not fund pre-kindergarten at a state funding level.
Our rural location does not offer a traditional private pay preschool environment that urban areas offer. We have dedicated daycare providers that implement preschool curriculum into their daycare programs for children who attend them.
Otherwise children go with out preschool.
Statistics show that a majority of kids attend at least one year of preschool: According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), more than two-thirds of 4-year-olds and more than 40 percent of 3-year-olds were enrolled in a preschool in 2005.
"Children who attend high-quality preschool enter kindergarten, with better pre-reading skills, richer vocabularies, and stronger basic math skills than those who do not," says NIEER director W. Steven Barnett, PhD.*
Why does preschool matter to our community?
“There's increasing evidence that children gain a lot from going to preschool. At preschool, they become exposed to numbers, letters, and shapes. And, more important, they learn how to socialize -- get along with other children, share, contribute to circle time.” - Kathleen McCartney, PhD, dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA**
If community vitality and empowering the next generation of families in rural America, then something as simple as offering preschool in Wishek, North Dakota should matter to you. As a Wishek Job Development board, we feel it is important as we recruit businesses, employees and families to work to provide the strongest community possible for the future growth of Wishek and for all of rural America.
If you are local, we encourage you to attend tonight's informational meeting at 6:30PM at the Wishek School.
No matter if you are local or not, tell us...what do you think can be done to empower the next generation and build community in rural America?
“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
-Forest E. Witcraft , American Scholar, Teacher and Scout Leader, 1894-1967
*Source: Advantages of Preschool Education an Analysis of Early Childhood, by Eren Mckay
**Source: Why Preschool Matters, Parents magazine
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