Preschools give kids a head start
Delaney Shell, Staff Writer
Filed under Features, Showcase
The Perry Preschool Experiment put 123 kids into two groups randomly, a treatment group and a control group. They followed these kids for 40 years.
At the end of the experiment, they found that the kids that were in the treatment group were 20 percent more likely to graduate high school, were less likely to get arrested by 19 percent, got better grades, and were less dependent on welfare.
The minds of young children are able to develop new habits and material with general ease, unlike adults who have these habits and are unlikely to stray away from them. For this reason, it is of the utmost importance to get children in a learning environment early.
Riverton High School offers a child care unit and a preschool lab. The lab gives the high school students a chance to get experience in the classroom, as well as giving the kids an education and help the kids “overall development”
“Preschool helps them make friends early on, and prepare for kindergarten,” said Abbrielle Smith, a senior at Riverton High and a second-year teacher.
Not only does being in preschool help kids make friends, but it also helps develop their fine and gross motor skills and gives them a head start on learning.
Kindergarten teachers are expecting the kids to come into class with the ability to know the alphabet and the knowledge of how to act in a classroom.
If the kids start kindergarten at different levels and abilities, it is hard for the teacher to get them all on the same page, which sets all the kids back.