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Inquirer Editorial: Be careful in moving early-education students

The Philadelphia School District's plans to farm out its early childhood programs must ensure children continue to get the learning they need to succeed in upper grades.

The Philadelphia School District's plans to farm out its early childhood programs must ensure children continue to get the learning they need to succeed in upper grades.

In its latest cost-cutting move, the district will shift 2,000 Head Start seats to private day-care providers. That will save the cash-strapped district about $8 million, in part by laying off teachers and aides who will be encouraged to apply for jobs with the contracted private providers.

With the district facing a $1 billion deficit over five years, district officials have few options but to make painful but necessary cuts such as this one.

Federal stimulus funds for early childhood education have dried up, and the district anticipates losing an additional $8 million that would have been used for that purpose next school year.

Moving more preschool children to private providers in the fall will put more than half of the district's 9,000 3- and 4-year-old students in those settings.

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan says that's "the wrong direction." He has expressed concern over the private centers' ability to provide quality instruction. Only half of their teachers will be required to hold bachelor's degrees and early-childhood certification.

Jordan's point is valid, but the district can allay such fears by living up to its pledge that only "high quality" child-care providers will be selected, and that preschoolers won't get shortchanged academically just because they aren't in traditional classrooms. Close monitoring will be needed to ensure compliance.

With 3,000 preschoolers on the waiting list, more seats are needed to expand Head Start, but that won't happen unless the legislature provides adequate funding for struggling school systems across Pennsylvania.

Head Start began in 1965 to provide summer-school learning to disadvantaged children to help prepare them for kindergarten. It was later expanded to include year-round preschool classes.

The federal government spent more than $7.9 billion on the program in 2012. But some critics contend Head Start has not made a substantial difference in improving student performance.

That criticism has been blunted, though, by numerous studies that show at-risk children enrolled in quality preschool programs are less likely to repeat grades or require costly special education instruction. Head Start children are also more likely to graduate from high school and avoid future brushes with the law.

All children deserve to succeed. An early start in learning increases their chances for a bright future.