The first and best teachers children have are the people who raise them. With that in mind, several resources are available to help parents prepare their children for kindergarten.

There’s a lot to learn before they enter a community school. A few things mentioned by icanteachmychild.com include self control; healthy interaction with others, such as taking turns and sharing; the ability to speak clearly and listen, following one- and two-step directions; listening with interest to stories read aloud; learning the alphabet and how to count to 20;  and being able to sort items by color, shape and size. To be ready for kindergarten, a child needs the gross motor skills to pedal and steer a tricycle, and to jump and hop and skip. She needs the fine motor skills to grasp a pencil or cut paper with scissors.

Great Bend USD 428 offers the Parents as Teacher early childhood education program for parents of children prenatal to 3 years old. Now, our school district is looking at making preschool available to more children who are 3-5 years old.

It was one of the things included in this year’s failed bond election and it appears it will be included if the school board attempts another bond election in 2020. A survey of why people voted “no” last time included comments such as “this is a poor community,” and a plea to consider the tax burden. Some thought of preschools as “free day care” or as a “want, not a need.”

According to OurKids.net, there are pros and cons to preschool, but it offers an appealing option for many families. “Preschools don’t just provide childcare or baby-sitting for your child. They normally have a well-designed program for early learning. ... Preschool advantages include a consistent structure and routine, and a focus on early education (which can inspire a love of learning). Most programs also teach children a variety of cognitive, social, emotional and language skills.”

The National Education Association calls early childhood education “one of the best investments our country can make.” The NEA cites studies that show that providing a high quality education for children before they turn 5 yields significant benefits:

• The HighScope Perry Preschool Study found that young people who were in preschool programs are more likely to graduate from high school, to own homes, and have longer marriages.

• The Abecedarian Project showed children in quality preschool programs are less likely to repeat grades, need special education, or get into future trouble with the law.

• In Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return, a high-ranking Federal Reserve Bank official pegs its return on investment at 12 percent, after inflation.

So, making preschool available to more children could really pay off in the long run. But it will require space, which is why USD 428 proposes moving sixth-graders from the elementary schools to the middle school and adding some preschool playgrounds.

Now, if the district sticks to that model, we’d like to learn more about the benefits it would offer to sixth graders. The benefit to preschoolers seems clear enough. If Great Bend truly is a “poor community,” early childhood education could help change that in the future.