[ti:Early Childhood Education Programs at Risk]
[al:Education Report]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-01-03]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says "The period from birth to eight years old is one of remarkable brain development for children."
[00:14.26]The organization adds that it represents an important time for their development and education.
[00:22.48]The U.S. National Institutes of Health says that supporting children's early learning can lead to higher test scores and a better chance of staying in school and going to college.
[00:35.90]Studies even suggest early learning can lead to fewer teen pregnancies, improved mental health, and a longer life.
[00:45.50]The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is made up of 38 democracies with market-based economies. 
[00:57.22]The organization aims to build better policies for better lives.
[01:02.97]In a recent education study, the OECD found that most of its member countries provide care or education for children under 5.
[01:13.55]In countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Spain and Britain, at least 95 percent of 3-year-olds are enrolled in an early education program.
[01:30.55]However, within OECD countries, there can be a large difference in enrollment.
[01:36.66]In the United States, for example, 80 percent of 3 to 5-year-olds in the capital city of Washington, D.C. are enrolled in early education programs.
[01:49.45]That is compared to 46 percent in the western state of North Dakota.
[01:55.33]The differences also exist in European countries like Greece, Lithuania, and Switzerland.
[02:03.30]Places with higher rates of women in the workforce usually have higher rates of enrollment for children under 3.
[02:13.51]During the pandemic, the U.S. government provided an additional $24 billion to help child care programs nationwide. 
[02:23.18]The funding finally ended last October.
[02:27.48]The Century Foundation is a research organization in New York City.
[02:32.55]It estimates that one-third of the programs could close as a result. 
[02:38.43]That affects more than 2.2 million children. 
[02:42.41]The organization says that child care is important for the economy at large since child care permits parents to stay at work.
[02:52.09]Around the world, governments invest little in early childhood education, UNESCO says. 
[02:59.29]About 6.6 percent of education budgets are put toward early education programs, 2 percent in poor countries.
[03:09.19]That is well below the target of 10 percent by 2030 suggested by the children's organization UNICEF.
[03:17.82]In the U.S., parents can choose to put their children at age 5 in kindergarten or a child care program.
[03:27.75]Kindergarten enrollment has dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerned about the virus or wanting to avoid online school, hundreds of thousands of families delayed the start of school for their young children.
[03:45.53]The Associated Press found that kindergarten enrollment remained down 5.2 percent in the 2022-2023 school year compared with the 2019-2020 school year.
[04:00.86]Deborah Stipek is a former head of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University.
[04:08.88]She said kindergarten is where children learn to follow directions, learn good behavior, and get used to learning.
[04:17.92]Stipek said missing that year of school can put kids at a disadvantage.
[04:23.49]Last year, Aylah went to a children's program that met mainly outdoors instead of enrolling in kindergarten in the state of California. 
[04:35.07]Aylah now has to adjust to being inside a classroom and learning the right way to hold a pencil.
[04:42.49]"It's harder. Way, way harder," Aylah said of the new way she learned to hold a pencil.
[04:49.89]Still, her mother Hannah Levy says it was the right decision to skip kindergarten.
[04:57.00]She wanted Aylah to enjoy being a child. 
[05:00.54]There is plenty of time, she reasoned, for her daughter to develop study skills.
[05:07.69]I'm Dan Novak.