Giving Compass' Take:

· Chalkbeat talks with Mandy Sequin, a kindergarten teacher in Indianapolis, about the benefits of preschool for children and teachers alike. According to Sequin, preschool not only gives children a head start on the academic side, but the greatest benefit is the behavioral aspect–they already know how to act in a classroom.

· Why is there limited access to quality preschools? Should the federal and/or state government fund high-quality, public preschools? How does early childhood education impact students differently?

· Research shows that early education is a gamechanger. 

On the first day of school Thursday, 5-year-olds trickled into Mandy Sequin’s kindergarten class at Stout Field Elementary School on the westside of Indianapolis.

Some children had just stepped off the school bus for the first time, toting backpacks. Others said goodbye to teary parents who dropped them off. One little boy was crying, and many of his classmates seemed to be taking in the newness of the whole situation with awe and apprehension.

Ready or not, here they were.

Already, some of the 5-year-olds are ahead of the others. In Sequin’s class of 17 — it will likely grow throughout the year, as more students enroll — at least eight attended preschool, which educators and researchers say gives them an edge in school.

In the growing conversation about expanding early learning opportunities in Indiana, a central question is: Is preschool worth it? As policymakers consider the outcomes of limited city and state pre-Kindergarten programs, many want to see proof of how well preschool prepares children for kindergarten. Some remain skeptical of the gains, even as early childhood education advocates point to studies showing the benefit of preschool many years on.

But with 18 years of teaching experience, Sequin says she often can clearly see the differences between preschool graduates and those who didn’t go to preschool, as soon as they come into the classroom.

Read the full article about preschool by Stephanie Wang at Chalkbeat.