Originally Posted by prioritizepre-k:
They won't be able to show you. All of the studies advocates base their claims from were small scale studies done on the extremely disadvantaged children. They take the benefits of these small scale programs that were done decades ago and try to apply the benefits to the larger population. The advocates are not representing the entire picture and are cherry picking the benefits. I agree with you and am happy to see there are others who understand it. 
To learn more visit www.prioritizepre-k.com
Do you understand Florida's system?
They have vouchers for four year old preK that are like 2700 bucks per kid and it's mostly done by private providers.
Do the kids that get state funded DAY CARE also get that subisidy in ADDITION to the 2670 bucks for the 540 hours of preK? So if a kid comes to a Center or "school" they have both the child care (for the other hours per day they are there) funding PLUS the school money? This would mean that the state paid four year old who was in child care for ten hours a day would bring like ten grand to the table?
I also don't understand their summer thing. Is the summer option in ADDITION to the school year or THE preschool education (300 hours over the summer). If it isn't then do they get the 2670 for the nine/ten weeks the same as the ones that do three hours a day during the school year? Or... is it required to offer the additional 300 summer hours on top of the 540 hours they do during the school year for the same money? Can one kid get preschool for the school year AND summer for just the 2670 or does it have to be one or the other.
Since the private pay parents have to pay for their own day care I can see how this subsidy would be in ADDITION to the amount the parents give for day care. Either scenario.... state paid child care plus education money or private pay day care plus education money is going to net the provider a pretty princely sum for each individual kid.
It makes me think THIS is why the private sector has taken on the preschool. There is money to be made if you combine both sources of funding. I can see providers specifically looking for the kids who come with BOTH packages (state funded child care and school money). It would be the first time in our country where state paid kids were the most highly sought after kids as long as the money they got for child care wasn't affected by the subsidy they get for the school.
That kind of money would make it WORTH it profit wise to actually HAVE educational measurable outcomes.
Is this what you are thinking for your business? Getting state monies per kid plus the subisidized child care and or private pay for the child care?
I would think it would mean actually getting PAID for doing the education. I think most providers would be thrilled to get care money and education money for each kid instead of what most get... which is just care money that often isn't enough to cover a good salary for care.
Heck I would even do preschool if I could get nearly five bucks an hour per kid per day in three hour blocks in addition to their care money.
If they are cutting the tuition for care and substituting the 2760 per kid to decrease the cost of child care to the parents then I can't see it working. Meaning if a kids parents paid seven hundred a month for day care but with the subsidey the center lowered it to four hundred a month because the other three hundred was provided by the voucher... it wouldn't really be worth it to do it. If the Center got their seven hundred a month PLUS the three hundred a month the voucher brought THEN I could see it working. (easy math but you get the point)
So how does it work?
I know there must be some market where the kids just come for the free three hours of school and don't use any other service. My guess is that these kids are not so highly sought after and could affect the total take on the other kids who get both funding. If that is the case, is there businesses that can refuse enrolling kids who have parents that just want the free three hour deal? Those kids would just fund in at about five dollars per hour. I can't see fifteen a day per kid really benefiting the business unless you could do three classes back to back a day with just preschool kids. You would have to have some other form of income for the slot for those kids.