At Maryvale, we believe in the critical importance of early childhood education to create the foundation for a child’s healthy cognitive, social, and emotional development. Our experience has revealed that a healthy, positive environment that prepares children ages 0-5 for the daily experience of elementary school has a profound impact on their ability to succeed academically and in life.
This past week, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills requiring children to attend kindergarten. The bills proposed that families would be required to enroll their 5-year-olds in kindergarten, and school districts would be required to extend the kindergarten school day beyond four hours. Newsom justified these vetoes by noting the hundreds of millions of dollars in ongoing costs that will be required at a time when the state is not reaching its budget targets to address existing public services. According to California’s Kindergarten Association, low enrollment has not been a historical problem. Before the pandemic, only about 6% of the state’s children were not enrolled in kindergarten. However, in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, enrollment dropped by 13.2%, a trend that reflected many parents’ mistrust of remote learning on top of families’ public health concerns.
Governor Newsom, who has been in office since 2019, has a history of focusing on early childhood education, quality infant care, and preschool. In many ways, Newsom is aligned with early childhood specialists’ perspectives on the importance of being immersed in a learning environment at a young age. As the Los Angeles Times quoted him, “Making sure all kids begin their school careers ready to learn on par with their peers is one of the most impactful things we can do to combat societal inequities.” It is this focus that makes his decision to veto these bills all the more confusing. Despite this week’s vetoes, the governor plans to move forward with his expansive plan to grow California’s transitional kindergarten programs so that all 4-year-olds in the state have access by 2024.
The team at Maryvale remains dedicated to offering early childhood education for infants, toddlers, and children under age 6. As our President and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Gunther, puts it:
“While Maryvale’s schools serve children younger than kindergarten, we recognize the importance of these early education years, including kindergarten, and the long-term positive impacts of a solid educational foundation to set children up for future success.” Steve was invited to share his perspective in an interview with Tina Ezzeddine on the CBS news network.
We see kindergarten as a critical moment in a child’s journey, but our philosophy is to begin imparting the benefits of education even earlier in a child’s life. Our 165+ years as an agency have confirmed our belief in the importance of early education for all children. These new vetoes will contribute to confusion around when families should start their child’s education, causing disruptive delays in their development and hindering their potential to succeed. This is especially true for underserved, poor, and minority children who are already at risk of neglect, abuse, and social disadvantages. California’s most vulnerable youth are being left behind if they do not receive the foundational year of kindergarten and will already be disadvantaged when they enter first grade. While the pathway from preschool to kindergarten to first grade may seem obvious to some, it is not common knowledge for at-risk families – especially when they receive mixed messages about how and when to put their children in school. Interrupting a child’s education between preschool and first grade causes significant disruptions to a child’s social-emotional growth. It creates barriers that will make it difficult for them to learn, communicate, connect with others, stay focused, and follow directions once they enter school.
Children who attend Maryvale’s early childhood education programs transition smoothly to kindergarten, and our team supports families in forming connections with their local schools. By building bridges, we contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, connecting families with services and educating them to advocate for their children, enrolling them in school, and building the precedent for children to attend regularly. We want our community to know that you have options, despite the shifting tides of state funding and policies. We provide quality, affordable early childhood education programs and take pride in cultivating a love of learning. Get in touch to learn more about our early education centers or discuss your subsidized preschool eligibility.
