Racine---Recent data shows that a little over 20% of Racine Unified’s new kindergarten students show up for class without having met the academic and behavioral benchmarks that are deemed necessary to succeed in kindergarten.
On the other end of the K-through-12 spectrum, about an equal percentage of students will drop out before graduation.
A coincidence? Jeff Neubauer, leader of a three year-old group called Higher Expectations for Racine County Youth, doesn’t think so. "We don't have the data going back 12 years to know if the children who didn't graduate from high school are the same ones that showed up 12 years earlier not prepared for kindergarten," Neubauer said on a recent Morning Show. "But we can draw a reasonable inference that if a student arrives at kindergarten ready to learn it's a less challenging undertaking to keep that child on track."
Neubauer and Higher Expectations are pushing new initiatives designed to promote early childhood education. The group, which encourages community collaboration, has been working with RUSD, the Racine County's Human Services Dept. and state legislators.
The initiatives include securing funding for converting half-day, pre-kindergarten classes to full day. Starting next year, about a dozen full-day, three and four-year old kindergarten classes will be offered in Racine Unified. Just a couple years ago, there were none.
Neubauer says national research shows the benefit of full day, pre-kindergarten when taught by experienced, highly-competent teachers.
And there’s anecdotal evidence locally to back it up. Last year a veteran Racine Unified teacher was assigned a full-day pre-kindergarten class. By the end of the year, 100% of her students were deemed kindergarten ready. A year earlier, when teaching a pair of half-day classes, only about 62% had met those benchmarks.
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