It’s no secret: when it comes to early education, unfortunately, the quality of early education settings nationwide varies dramatically, ranging anywhere from unlicensed, unregulated programs to high-quality, state-of-the-art programs.
So what exactly constitutes a “high-quality” program? NPR set out to discover what separates the “best” from the “rest” and were surprised to find their search take them to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(You may recall, we’ve mentioned Oklahoma before in a previous post, “What Republicans & Democrats Can Learn From Oklahoma.” When it comes to a successful, results-oriented, bipartisan approach to early education, Oklahoma is leading the way.)
NPR spoke with researchers from Georgetown University who have concluded that preschool in Tulsa is “a model for the nation.” So, what makes Tulsa stand out? Among other things:
- High-quality, play-based curriculum.
- Well funded.
- Low teacher-student ratios.
- Well-qualified teachers–all teachers must be fully certified in early education and hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher..
According to Georgetown, the state’s investment is paying off, with a $1:$3 ROI through reduced retention rates and less special education and remediation.
We can all learn a lot from Oklahoma. With 70% of their children enrolled in preschool, the highest percentage in the nation, they have successfully found a way to provide publicly funded, voluntary, high-quality education for all children. As Georgetown researcher, Deborah Phillips puts it, “if it can happen in Oklahoma, it can happen anywhere.”
Want to hear more?
Listen to the NPR story, or watch the video below that provides an in-depth look at one Tulsa classroom: