Investing in Preschool Promise pays off
Montgomery County has much to be proud of, but high on the list is our commitment to investing in people, and especially our children.
One investment we’re incredibly proud of is Preschool Promise. In 2014, Montgomery County led the way in supporting how we could make preschool more affordable. We did this because children who attend quality preschool are more likely to start kindergarten on track and be better readers in 3rd grade. Strong readers are more likely to graduate high school, paving the way to their going on to earn college degrees and credentials.
Today’s children are tomorrow’s workers. To attract and keep good jobs in our community, we must have a well-educated workforce. You don’t create great workers by honing their work ethic and social skills in high school. We need to instill curiosity, teamwork and persistence starting in the early years.
Montgomery County is excited to share that our investment is showing results. Researchers from the University of Dayton have looked at Preschool Promise children’s school readiness assessments, and children in Preschool Promise classes test stronger than children who were not in a Preschool Promise classroom.
This is exactly the return on investment that we anticipated.
Last year, more than 1,750 Montgomery County families enrolled their child in Preschool Promise. Given that many young learners couldn’t attend preschool in-person because of the pandemic, Preschool Promise helped keep them learning while at home by sending them free play boxes full of learning activities they could do with their families, and that complemented their free book-ofthe-month.
During that time, Preschool Promise also provided children with computer tablets preloaded with learning apps to keep newly found skills fresh in their young minds.
Preschool Promise is open to all Montgomery County 4-year-olds — and, thanks to the City of Dayton, 3-year-olds living in the City or the Dayton Public School District are also eligible. Parents can choose from among Preschool Promise’s over 100 partner programs in Dayton, Kettering, Jefferson Twp., Mad River, Trotwood-Madison, Northridge and West Carrollton. In time, our goal is to expand to still more communities.
While lawmakers in Washington are looking to help families afford early education and child care, Montgomery County has been in the vanguard of this movement. If tuition isn’t already free, Montgomery County students receive sliding-scale financial aid to make preschool more affordable. We know the value of ensuring young children have enriching learning opportunities during the window when their brains are growing fastest.
We welcome Washington’s support because local communities can’t afford to make this commitment alone. We need federal, state and local partnerships.
Preschool Promise isn’t just helping families afford Preschool; it’s also helping to improve the quality of early learning because the most important factor in a child’s education is the quality of the teaching they receive.
Last year, over 500 early learning teachers enrolled in at least one of Preschool Promise’s professional development opportunities, and teachers received more than 4,800 hours of personalized coaching to help them improve their classroom teaching.
My fellow commissioners and I can’t thank Montgomery County early educators enough for all they’re doing for children and families. The work our teachers do not only shapes young minds but it provides children with a safe learning environment, allowing parents to focus on their careers without worrying about their child’s safety.
As we’ve seen so vividly during the pandemic, parents can’t work without child care, and they’ll choose not to work if they can’t afford quality programs. Myriad studies show that women have been dropping out of the labor force in droves during the pandemic, and a major reason is the lack of affordable child care.
We need to provide children quality early learning because we care about our kids, grandchildren and the next generation. We want to set them up for success and help them realize their potential.
They truly are our future and deserve the investments we make in them.