An independent evaluator has given high marks to the first of a three-year pre-kindergarten pilot for at-risk children in Sioux Falls.

Dr. Gera Jacobs, a researcher at the University of South Dakota, reports statistically significant growth among the 3-year-olds enrolled in the Starting Strong Pre-Kindergarten Pilot. Her findings are based on assessments given at the beginning and end of the 2007-08 school year. Average increases in five key areas were documented from the pre- to post-test as follows:
? Early literacy skills: A gain of 12.5 months;
? Fine motor development: A gain of 8.0 months;
? Early number skills: A gain of 11.4 months;
? Receptive (listening/understanding) language: A gain of 7.2 months;
? Expressive (speaking) language: A gain of 8.8 months.

Jacobs explains that each of the eight classrooms hosting youngsters in the Starting Strong pilot were evaluated using a research-based scoring system at both the beginning and end of the school year. ?The pilot showed statistically significant growth overall in classroom quality, which research has shown leads to increased learning for young children.? she said. Similar research will be conducted in the second and third years of the program.

Funded by the Governor?s Future Fund, Sioux Empire United Way and Forward Sioux Falls, the Starting Strong pilot began in late-August 2007 with 85 3-year-olds. Over the three years of the pilot, 205 3- and 4-year-olds in the Sioux Falls area will gain access to quality pre-k programs. The program grew out of the Sioux Falls Business-Education-Civic Leadership Group on Early Care and Education convened in 2005 by South Dakota Voices for Children in response to Sioux Falls Tomorrow II?s education goal, which called for giving all children in the Sioux Falls area access to high quality pre-kindergarten and child care at all age levels.

Ron Moquist, CEO of Raven Industries, has chaired the Business-Education-Civic Leadership Group since its beginning. ?All children deserve the opportunity to start school ready to learn,? he says, adding that when they begin kindergarten, many youngsters from low-income, at-risk families start school behind. ?Many never catch up.?

Research bears him out. Eighty-five percent of a child?s core brain structure is formed by the third birthday. By age 5, pre-reading, language and math foundations are in place.
?Society pays in many ways when children fail,? Moquist says. Those who lack the skills to get a good job are more likely to become teen parents, use drugs, commit crimes and land in prison. Society, he maintains, has a choice.

?We can invest in early education programs for these at-risk kids ? or we can invest in more police, drug rehabilitation and prisons.?

Deb Muilenberg-Wilson is special services director for the Sioux Falls Public Schools, which is administering the pilot. She gives examples of growth and learning reported by Starting Strong teachers. ?When students arrived, many reacted physically. They?d just take something away from another child or grab a person?s hand and take them to what they wanted.
?Now they use words.?

She described the children?s early play as very physical ?? things you might see on TV. Now they?re actually building with blocks, not just crashing them down.?
Muilenberg-Wilson is pleased with the first year?s evaluation. Among the reasons for the program?s success, she says, is the fact that it is market-based, comprising private and public providers who meet quality standards. And as important, Starting Strong is parent-driven. ?Eligible parents choose to participate. And they make the choice of provider from among the participants.?

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