Lafayette school pre school program

[I know]

preschool wrote:

You have to provide a bill, a rent receipt or a lease, or they want you to get a landlord letter from the city hall, or proof of home ownership, and also the childs immunization record.

It's SO EASY to fake, it's not funny. You just have to be computer literate. I know someone who did it, and did it for pre-school. It's FREE and the surrounding cities are not.

I'm not saying it's right, just I know for certain it's been done before and is still going on.

[BPS]

Just so you know, most literacy brain pathways are developed Pre-K through 3rd grade. If a child is on target at these developmental milestones, it bodes very well for his/her academic future. If a child is behind at this point, it becomes significantly harder to catch up (some research says nearly impossible).

Much like young animals playing at adulthood, our babies practice what they see, hear and experience. This is why the children of highly educated parents have larger vocabularies, read better, and show more early number sense. All of those "silly" games -- play reading, drawing, scribble writing, etc..--have significant value. And statistically, children with exposure to and guidance around these skills will do better in life.

Pre-K programs help to level the playing field for children that aren't born with silver spoons in their mouths. So much for glorified baby sitters, huh?

[A glorified babysitter]

Though I agree that children have alot of schooling ahead of them. Every opportunity to help all children get a head start is a wonderful thing.
Not all parents are capable of teaching children at home, they barely can be parents at home.

I do however agree that we should not be footing the bill for children who don't live in the city but Three year olds are not cared for by glorified babysitters in the school system. Preschool teachers are required to have degrees in my center I have the lowest degree with a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education with a secondary in physchology. I have state guidelines called the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks that we are required to use to set up individual goals and classroom goals as well as and we are NAEYC certified.-- So if all you think we do is play all day in the block area building a building out of legos---You are RIGHT as well as we are teaching the children how to increaase their eye hand coordination, conversational skills, one to one correspondence, counting, patterning, spacial and directional and locational vocabulary just to name a few skills. So I am glad my children are cared for by a glorified babysitter maybe by the time they reach the rest of their school age years they will have the head start they need.

[Just Wondering]

BPS wrote:

Just so you know, most literacy brain pathways are developed Pre-K through 3rd grade. If a child is on target at these developmental milestones, it bodes very well for his/her academic future. If a child is behind at this point, it becomes significantly harder to catch up (some research says nearly impossible).
Much like young animals playing at adulthood, our babies practice what they see, hear and experience. This is why the children of highly educated parents have larger vocabularies, read better, and show more early number sense. All of those "silly" games -- play reading, drawing, scribble writing, etc..--have significant value. And statistically, children with exposure to and guidance around these skills will do better in life.
Pre-K programs help to level the playing field for children that aren't born with silver spoons in their mouths. So much for glorified baby sitters, huh?

This is a theory. You state it as fact....it is not. It might be true.

[Long time resident]

TO: A GLORIFIED BABYSITTER: I don't think anyone is doubting the education of preschool teachers and what they impart to their young students. However, a FREE program is never FREE !!! Somehow the bills must be paid for these teachers and the expenses of running such a program. What is at issue here is HOW this is paid for. Answer: Mr and Mrs Average Blue Collar Hard Working Taxpayers. Granted some parents are more affluent than others. This is where a sliding scale fee would come in. That is, sliding scale for the parents sending their children to this program. It is also my understanding that not ALL preschool children are accepted into this program, just a certain number. Well, if it is so important for a 3 and 4 yr old to attend, why not ALL 3 and 4 year olds (I do not believe a 3 yr old needs any preschool program by the way). Could someone please explain who is eligible for this program? Certainly if my tax dollars are going to pay for this and I have a 4 year old, I would want my 4 year old to be in the program and not be excluded.

[BPS]

To Long Time Resident:

Read the post above yours. It is clearly "doubting the education of preschool teachers and what they impart to their young students." Also, with all the money spent on weird stuff in this city, I'd consider free preschool for residents one of the better choices.

It has the best hope of improving the long term viability of the city, and is a much better decision than ripping out all the trees on my street. As for the three year old argument, I'm not sure where I stand on that. I guess it may depend on what these babies would be doing instead of Pre-K.

[BPS]

To Just Wondering:

If you mean theory as based on scientific research over lengthy time periods under rigorous controls by people with multiple degrees, then yes -- it is a theory. So is evolution.

[everett]

I think they should have preschool for 3 year olds but I don't think it should be free. I have no problem paying for the 4 year olds.

[_Levi_]

How come when we were small (going back to the 50's & 60's) they only had elective "nursery schools" (remember Mrs. Chapman's on Hancock St.?) Most of our parents couldn't afford it. Granted, when we were younger most of our Mom's were stay-at-home. I don't think we turned out too bad without pre-school education? I live near one of the city's pre-schools and I see the mothers that drop their kids off. It's my opinion that not too many of them work by the looks of them. They are hauling on cigarettes, yapping on cell phones, screaming at their kids. So this time that their kids are in pre-school gives them an extra few hours to go get their nails done, have coffee, buy more cigarettes. And it's on the taxpayers dime. Quite a difference compared to our Moms back in the 50's & 60's. Maybe it's best that these moms let someone else raise/school their kids.

[_Levi_]

And one more thing. I didn't send MY kids to pre-school (even though I would have qualified for free) because I ENJOYED spending time with my kids. And I ENJOYED coloring with them, reading to them and going for walks with them. I didn't pawn them off on someone else.

[everett]

It's funny how they claim they cannot afford to pay for pre-school but they sure have enough money for cigarettes and lottery tickts.

[_Levi_]

everett wrote:

It's funny how they claim they cannot afford to pay for pre-school but they sure have enough money for cigarettes and lottery tickts.

And enough money to pay for their 4-inch nails, skin tight hoochie mama jeans, makeup & stiletto heels.

[Syd Barret]

_Levi_ wrote:

<quoted text> And enough money to pay for their 4-inch nails, skin tight hoochie mama jeans, makeup & stiletto heels.

and the large Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffees, extra light with 8 Equals. Oh and can you put the plastic cup in the Styrofoam one so my hands don't get cold.

[everett]

They have lots of money for themselves, but their children? not so much. I guess they figure why not take advantage of us taxpayers and accept every hand-out given to them.

[BPS]

Honestly, I think the mothers you are talking about could care less if their kids get preschool or not. It's just as easy for them to let their kids run wild (totally unsupervised of course) or plop them in front of the TV.

Personally, I'm with Levi. These kids are better off in preschool, at least they'll have a shot. Without it, they'd most likely grow up to be another generation of trashy adults sucking off the system with no hope and no future. I'm glad we as tax payers are giving these kids what their parents so clearly will or can not. It personally makes me feel good about Everett.

And maybe they won't rob house or sell drugs to my kids when they get older because they had more options.

[BPS]

Sorry, rob my house.

[A glorified babysitter]

Though I do believe that children with any opportunity to attend school is a good thing, I do also agree that there has to be a way for all the children to be allowed to go to school not just a select few. However a stricter process of verification needs to be done so that our taxes are paying for our children to use the free preschool/pre-k program and not every other cities children. That being said I agree with BPS that the lesser of some evils is having the children in school versus sitting in front of the TV while mom is talking on the cell phone and smoking those cigarettes. I sent my child to preschool by choice not because I didn't enjoy spending time with her, but because I wanted her to learn how to interact with somebody other than her mom. I had her for 22 other hours in the day to read, color and teach her the alphabet. By the way I didn't attend preschool and I am an educated person who turned out fine, my daughter did attend preschool and she will graduate Harvard Law next year. So you decide.

[_Levi_]

To BPS - you agreed with me in error. I said that I don't think preschool is necessary if they have a parent/parents that will spend time reading, coloring, playing, teaching. I think many of the parents send them to pre-school just to pawn them off on someone.

To A Glorified Babysitter - I felt that my kids were better off with me because #1) I'm their Mom,#2) I was their "teacher" at home,#3) I arranged playdates with children of friends so that they weren't only with me. I chose to have children and I chose to have the responsibilities that went along with it.

Unfortunately, many of the parents you see at the school most likely don't want to take the time to interact with their children. They'd rather have someone else have that responsibility. It's a shame. Those are the kids, regardless of whether they attended pre-school or not, still aren't going to have their parents attention and will probably end up getting in trouble at some point in their lives.

[Rug Doctor]

I read some of these comments and almost puked...ARE YOU PEOPLE OFF YOUR ROCKER? Leading the way at #1 is...."These kids are better off in preschool, at least they'll have a shot. Without it, they'd most likely grow up to be another generation of trashy adults sucking off the system with no hope and no future". Are all the graduates from Everett High in the 70's and 80's out robbing banks, breaking into houses, and sponging off the system? Remember preschool wasn't even invented then! Maybe if parents 'raised' their kids, got involved in their lives, and knew what they did day to day their kids would have a 'future'!!
And Mr. Foresteire you make these ridiculous statements....“Sixty percent of the school budget is paid for by the state” and Some pre-school costs, according to Foresteire, are being paid for with federal stimulus funds approved by the governor. Ummm Mr Foresteire doesn't the STATE take money out of my paycheck every payday? Doesn't the City 'charge' me to live here? Doesn't the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT take 35% of my paycheck? You must come from obamaville and think everything just magically appears!!!!!!! Get a clue. As a taxpayer I'd rather see MY money go toward essentials like police and fire, to guys/gals who put their lives on the line in the performance of their job.

[New Dad]

I was not aware of this program. Is it at the Lafayette or somewhere else? How many hours a day is it?