At first glance, the daily activities of a preschooler may seem insignificant. Sure, learning your shapes is important, but one may wonder if pre-school is that significant in the development of a child. Can playing with Play-Doh and stacking blocks be the key to your child’s future success?
A blog post in The Wall Street Journal cites Dr. Celia Ayala, chief executive officer of Los Angeles Universal Preschool, who says that preschool is of the upmost importance for children. As Dr. Ayala says, “When they enter kindergarten ready to thrive with all the social, emotional and cognitive skills, they perform at grade level or above. When they don’t, that’s where that achievement gap starts.” Furthermore, she says that preschool alumni are much more likely to continue on to college, graduate school, and higher income careers.
However, fewer than half of children in the United States attend preschool and instead either stay home with their parents or caregivers or attend day care. Preschool, in many places, is neither mandatory nor free. Preschool in the US is also not regulated. Some countries in Europe, though, have a different model. For example, French toddlers are provided with free preschool education and learn social skills meant to help them become better citizens as well as better students.
Accordingly, policymakers in the United States point to providing preschool education as the best way to equalize students of varying backgrounds. The US government has been involved in providing preschool through programs such as Jump Start, which has been criticized by many for not having the benefits extend into elementary school. Although most funding for preschool education happens at the state level, recently the federal government has been trying to fuel preschool reform with half a billion dollars in challenge grants.
With budgets tight nation-wide, is preschool education something to be cut or considered?
Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.
Alexandra Cohen-Spiegler has been working as a 
During the summer, I was presented with a unique situation. “Peter” was a high school student interested in taking pre-calculus. This was not the most unreasonable request, but “Peter” was different. A student of a boarding school, he was only home for 6 weeks last summer. Still, not that unusual. But unlike most situations where parents want their kids to stay on track during the summer, “Peter” went to his mother and 
Conferences provide one of the best opportunities during the school year for parents and teachers to share important information. At times perspectives will differ but the goal of the conference will be the same: for the child to make academic progress, to feel valued and to be successful. Research has shown that when parents and teachers work together everyone benefits. The suggestions below will ensure that both parents and teachers arrive at the destination – your child’s successful academic achievement – with a clear and shared understanding of the journey ahead.
Quick disclaimer: If you know and have always known what you want to do with your life once you leave school, and absolutely nothing is going to sway your decision, then this article might not be for you. If, on the other hand, you are like many people your age and don’t really know what you want to be doing, read on!