Schodorf Stands Up For Early Childhood Education in Wichita

April 9, 2010

The Wichita Public School District’s Parents As Teachers program hosted a science fair Thursday at Wichita’s Exploration Place to showcase the work of three-year olds from around the city.

The Parents As Teachers program is open to any family with a child from zero to three that thinks they might need extra help getting their child ready to enter school.

“Our Parents As Teachers Program serves birth to three.  This [specific science] program is for three year-olds and their parents to attend.  They come once a week for two hours and fifteen minutes.  The whole goal of the program is to prepare them for entering the school environment.” said Hilary Koehn, one of the teachers who works for Parents As Teachers.

Kansas Senator Jean Schodorf (R) say s that programs like Parents As Teachers works with families to create an environment at home that will support the work in the classroom.

“I have seen Parents As Teachers since it’s inception and it helps young parents of all walks of life learn about the importance of interaction with their children, with how to speak with them, and what kind of toys are learning toys and it helps parents start thinking about what is important in terms of learning before kids go to school,” said Schodorf.

However, Parents As Teachers is one of the programs facing deep cuts next year because of the large budget shortfalls. Schodorf  says she worries that taking programs like this away could put students behind before they even walk in the classroom door.

“It’s been cut back in the budget cuts and so this is an example of what is being cut back.  Now I don’t know if the cuts will stay but they are substantial and Parents As Teachers, the organization is worried about those cuts because we’ve got to help our children get ready to go to school, ready to learn and Parents As Teachers helps parents and children ready for kindergarten.”

Nancy Rasmussen, from Teachers As Parents says that early education helps identify learning disabilities that might otherwise go unnoticed and that early training pays dividends down the road.

“The research behind it shows it’s effective, what happens in the early years pays off in the long run down as we do through the school years.  I just think it’s a wonderful program for families.”

Kansas is facing more than a $400 million shortfall for next year’s budget.  The Kansas legislature will return to Topeka later this month to make the tough decisions between cutting education programs and raising taxes.