Early Childhood Programs Lagging in Rural Areas

10/20/2006

Early Childhood Programs Lagging in Rural Areas

If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain.
Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.

A new study paints a troubling picture of rural America, where programs and children are few and far between. The study, conducted by the National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives, and reported in Preschool Matters (August 2006; www.nieer.org), found that rural children lag far behind their non-rural peers in key literacy skills. Specifically, they are...

Far less likely to recognize letters
Far less familiar with the beginning sounds of words
Far less familiar with books and reading.

As, a result, the study's authors conclude, rural children are far more likely to land in special education classes in kindergarten than children growing up in cities or suburbs. The consequences for African-American children in rural communities are particularly severe — only 54% were proficient in letter recognition when they entered kindergarten. The new data also reveal that Native American and Alaskan native children are at severe risk of school failure.

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