News Brief

02/19/13

North Dakota Officials Say Early Childhood Programs Paying Off

INFORUM (ND) (02/19/13) Schmidt, Helmut

North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler says pre-kindergarten education programs have improved learning, with low-income students from preschool outperforming their peers in reading most of the time. Some records at Devils Lake's Sweetwater Elementary School reveal that for all but one group, the gains held through third grade. Baesler notes that at Turtle Mountain Community Elementary School, 89 percent of preschool students met their winter reading proficiency mark, while 53 percent of non-preschool students met the benchmark. "The first years of learning impact the success students experience later in school, and we have the North Dakota data to prove those claims. We are taking the next step in creating our first-class education system in North Dakota with these proven academic results. Again, this isn't about starting kids earlier, it's about catching kids when the moment is right," she explains.

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