How SRLDP ﬁts into a Strategy to Address the Needs of English Learners Presentation to LAUSD’s Advisory Committee on Early Childhood Education May 7, 2015 Marlene Zepeda, Ph.D. California State University, Los Angeles mzepeda@calstatela.edu What Does the Research Tell Us About the LONG TERM Beneﬁts of Preschool? Well-‐designed preschool education programs produce long-‐term improvements in school success, including higher achievement test scores, lower rates of grade repetition and special education, and higher educational attainment. Children who are Economically Disadvantaged Beneﬁt the Most *  Tulsa Pre-‐K Program *  Tennessee Voluntary Pre-‐K Program Quality Preschool is a Proﬁtable Investment Preschool Found to Signiﬁcantly Lower Special Education Placements in Third Grade* *  $1,110 per child in More at Four program in North Carolina reduced the likelihood of 3rd grade special education placement by 32% *  $1,110 per child in Smart Start reduced the likelihood of 3rd grade special education placement by 10% *  Both programs together reduced third grade students’ odds of special education placement by 39% Muschkin, C. G., Ladd, H. F., & Dodge, K. A. (2015). Impact of North Carolina’s early childhood initiatives on special education placement in third grade. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. School Readiness Gap for Young English Language Learners *  4 and 5 year olds score 1 to 2 standard deviations below monolingual norms in receptive and expressive vocabulary and auditory comprehension (Hammer, Lawrence & Miccio, 2008) *  4 and 5 year olds have lower phonological awareness and letter identiﬁcation abilities than do monolinguals (Hammer & Miccio, 2006) *  ECLS-‐K data ﬁnd that Spanish speaking children start K with language and literacy scores in the bottom 20-‐25% of all children and are still at the lowest quartile by the end of 3rd grade (Rumberger & Tran, 2006) Impact of Preschool is Positive for English Learners TULSA PRE-K Program SRLDP may be Linked to Increased CEDLT Passage and Decreased numbers of LTELs *  In 2012, LAUSD's data shows that overall, 30% of English Learners graduate in 4 years but 74% of English Learners who were reclassiﬁed graduated in 4 years. *  SRLDP with its fully certiﬁcated teaching staﬀ and its focus on language development oﬀers a concrete prevention model that evaluators have deemed helpful for preparing young children to be school ready. *  Participation in SRLDP may reduce costs associated with special education services. *  Participation in SRLDP may place students on a positive trajectory by addressing the readiness gap and enable quicker access to mainstream classes. The Science is Clear *  Participation in high quality preschool programs beneﬁts all children, but particularly vulnerable populations across a number of short term and long term factors. *  Investment in the early years will reap positive rewards for children’s academic trajectories and reduce the school district’s costs over time .