ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

My daughter currently attends Perry Preschool and I live in the Ypsilanti community. Early Care and Education has a phenomenal history and embracing it empowers me with an unexplainable motivation for success. Below is information from an article that offers background on the history of what is now called LC Perry Child Development Center (home of the Perry Preschool project) to include a less known pioneer of providing multiple services in the school setting (similar to that of Head Start). I hope you enjoy it:
Mr. Charles Eugene Beatty (1909-1998)
In 1940, he became the first Black school principal in Michigan at L.C. Perry Elementary School (1940 – 1970). Mr. Beatty, actively engaged parents – as teachers in the classroom, as decision makers, in parent conferences and PTA, and as the teachers for the younger children who were at home with them. As a resident of the area, he was an active part of building school community relations and using “The School” as a catalyst for community growth development and building.

All of these “innovative” things predated any mandates or pedagogy supporting developmentally appropriateness for young children and were the daily mindset of Mr. Beatty in his own pioneering/trailblazing way to insist on best practices for the education of his community. Best practices were in – health, community partnerships, family involvement, community involvement, nutrition, parent empowerment, mentoring of children and parents, selecting and hiring teachers from the community
With this mindset, it was no wonder that when the graduate student Dave Weikert, began work at what was now L. C. Perry School, the ground work was already set for what would become known for decades as the Perry Preschool Project – 1962. This school was formerly Harriet Street School, and was renamed for another community pioneer – Dr. Lawrence C. Perry – a dentist, who provided dental care for the entire community – whether they could pay or not.

After being the catalyst for the Perry Preschool Project, Mr. Beatty continued as Principal of Perry Elementary School on the segregated south side of Ypsilanti where he continued to live – as did most of the teachers he hired. He worked his entire career for the Ypsilanti School District, retiring in 1974.
He was an unsung hero, who was often heard to say “You can do anything you want to do, as long as you don’t mind who gets the credit for it”.
Mr. Beatty died on February 26, 1998. Dave Weikert eulogized him as “a visionary pioneer in Early Childhood education and most responsible for the successful development of Head Start…”

It was disheartening to know that there was no active link to the article "The Perry Pre-School Study." I'd love to see it. Thanks

Please stop sending mailing to
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Marcia Leach

I have been involved with High/Scope since about 1980. I am so glad to see this short article, 'giving credit where credit is due'. I became involved in H/S at a point where I needed a better look at developmental/cognitive method and found it there with its flexible structure that gave students a secure base from which to use their creativity. Over the years I have often noted that many CD materials express H/S principles and ideas without giving credit to H/S. This has really troubled me. Many ideas come and go, but H/S remains an excellent foundation for early learning.

I have been involved with High/Scope since about 1980. I am so glad to see this short article, 'giving credit where credit is due'. I became involved in H/S at a point where I needed a better look at developmental/cognitive method and found it there with its flexible structure that gave students a secure base from which to use their creativity. Over the years I have often noted that many CD materials express H/S principles and ideas without giving credit to H/S. This has really troubled me. Many ideas come and go, but H/S remains an excellent foundation for early learning.

I was very disappointed to not find an active link to additional visual and narrative information about the Perry Preschool Project. I'd like to forward it to others I know in the field who have been drawn into the field of ECE partially due to the compelling results of this project.

Here's hoping you will send it again with an active link. Thanks!

Thank you for reminding us of this extremely important study on quality preschool programs. However, in this age of accountability, standards, early academics, emotional regulation and assessment, we in the early childhood field seem to have forgotten the powerful results of the Prerry Preschool Study. What more evidence-based approach do we need? How much of this study was used in the new NAEYC DAP book?