Ready for Kindergarten Film

Ready for Kindergarten

Preparing a child for school doesn’t start the moment he or she walks into the kindergarten classroom. The preparations start the moment that child is born.
Students’ very first classroom is their home and daily environment. Their lessons are the words they hear, the books they’ve been read and the world they’re exposed to in their formative years. These essential elements build a foundation for learning that becomes unremittingly important to our youngest learners.

“We know from the science that if children have strong beginnings in the first five years, they’re going to start kindergarten in great shape. They’re going to still be in great shape in third grade, fifth grade and high school.”
~ Jessie Rasmussen, President, Buffett Early Childhood Fund

However, in Nebraska, 40 percent of children live in low-income households where the opportunity for this type of enriched, early learning may not always present itself to families struggling to make ends meet. As a result, the moment these students walk into that kindergarten classroom, they’re likely already behind their peers.

In recent years, the nation – and Nebraska specifically – has turned its attention to early childhood education. Research shows that high-quality programs for at-risk youth can determine whether a child graduates from high school or struggles and falls behind in his or her school career. For some, without the proper early foundation for learning, this could mean a difference between going to college or going to jail.

In Nebraska, we’ve learned that by investing in children early in their lifetime, these intentional early learning techniques impact the state and its next generation of citizens, yield instrumental return for the community and ultimately, reduce the gap in achievement for our at-risk students.

With input from civic leaders, community advocates, administrators, educators and parents across the state, “Ready for Kindergarten” explores what quality early childhood education looks like in Nebraska, its impact on the community and how programs provide resources for the state’s most at-risk children.

A student at Lexington Early Learning Academy

RESOURCES

Buffett Early Childhood Fund: http://www.buffettearlychildhoodfund.org/
Buffett Early Childhood Institute: http://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu/
Educare Learning Network: http://www.educareschools.org/eln/index.php>
Crete Early Learning Center: http://cm201u.org/index.aspx?NID=2242
Lexington Early Learning Academy: http://www.lexschools.org/schools/early-learning-academy
Omaha Public Schools Early Childhood Education: http://www.ops.org/district/CENTRALOFFICES/StudentandFamilyServices/HeadStart/HeadStart/tabid/1183/Default.aspx
First Five Nebraska: http://www.firstfivenebraska.org/fullsite
Nebraska Children and Families Foundation: http://www.nebraskachildren.org/impact_areas/early_childhood.html
Nebraska Department of Education Early Childhood: http://www.education.ne.gov/oec/
First Five Years Fund http://www.ffyf.org
Broader Bolder http://www.boldapproach.org
Ready Nation http://www.readynation.org/
National Head Start Association http://www.nhsa.org
U.S. Department of Education Early Learning: http://www.ed.gov/early-learning
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Learning (CSEFEL): http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): http://www.naeyc.org/
The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC): http://nafcc.org/
Zero to Three: http://www.zerotothree.org/

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Ready For Kindergarten

This Nebraska Loves Public Schools program in THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN NEBRASKA series explores what quality early childhood education looks like, how it impacts the community, and how different programs around Nebraska are providing access and resources for our most at-risk children. From increasing college attendance rates to decreasing involvement in the criminal justice system, learn how early childhood education positively impacts Nebraska’s children and helps close the achievement gap.

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