By Jim Sanders -- Bee Capitol Bureau

Article Published: Sunday, July 10, 2005

The Sacramento Bee

Pushing to improve instruction of its youngest students, California is considering setting learning standards and curriculum guidelines for children as young as 3.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell is leading the drive, hoping to narrow the state's achievement gap by reaching students at a younger age.

The goal is to ensure consistency and better prepare youngsters for kindergarten, but opponents fear that too much academic pressure would be placed on 3-, 4-and 5-year-olds.

"I think we need to step back and look deeply at what children really need - and that's more time with their parents," said Catherine Myers, executive director of the Family and Home Network, an advocacy group for child nurturing.

Setting standards, though not formally tied to universal preschool, would complement a proposed ballot initiative by film director Rob Reiner to offer free instruction to every young child.

O'Connell said he is convinced that California needs to "provide high-quality preschool opportunities to all children."

"I'm convinced that if you wait until high school to address the achievement gap, it's too late," he said.

O'Connell is sponsoring Assembly Bill 1246, which would require the state to determine by January 2007 precisely what preschoolers should learn and how it should be taught.

Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, a Davis Democrat who proposed AB 1246 at O'Connell's behest, said she wants to ensure that youngsters receive a basic knowledge of things like numbers and letters - not push preschoolers to cram for exams.

"It's not going to be a one-size-fits-all. It can't be," she said.
"Education isn't that way."

"What you want is for children to be able to follow directions, work with other kids, recognize colors and numbers, and to feel good about working in groups, so by the time they get to kindergarten, they're ready for the kinds of learning they need to achieve."

AB 1246 awaits action in the Senate after passing the Assembly on a 47-32 party-line vote, with Republicans opposed. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken no position.

The measure would require the state Department of Education to set learning standards in four areas: mathematics, science, reading-language arts, and history-social science.

The bill identifies several specific topics to be covered. For example, it says the history-social science standard should address citizenship and national symbols.

Mathematics would touch upon the classification and measurement of numbers; science would include earth, physical and life sciences; and reading-language arts would spotlight vocabulary development and recognition of the alphabet.

In the debate over AB 1246, the Department of Education submitted examples of the kinds of standards that might be set.

Three-year-old children, for example, might be taught to identify the first letter of their names, and 4-year-old children to recognize beginning letters in words.

AB 1246 would apply only to state-funded preschools, not private or federal programs, such as Head Start. The bill would affect nearly 1,000 preschools serving nearly 124,000 students.

Under Wolk's legislation, instruction must be age-appropriate and provided in a "purposeful and playful learning environment."

Kimberly Gordon, a professor of child development at California State University, Sacramento, said preschoolers are capable of learning plenty - provided they're having fun.

"With a 3-year-old, you're not going to use a work sheet," she said. "You're going to try something different. You're going to use a story, puppets, manipulatives, things like that."

AB 1246 does not call for formal testing of preschoolers and does not address teacher training to meet the new standards.

Regional public hearings would be required prior to adoption of learning standards.

Every seven years, a state-created panel of parents, preschool officials, early-childhood researchers and experts in linguistics and cultural diversity, among others, would review the appropriateness of the learning standards.

AB 1246 would cost about $400,000 to develop the learning standards and curriculum guides, plus $200,000 in years when the review panel convenes, according to an Assembly analysis.

If signed into law, AB 1246 would not depend on voter approval of Reiner's ballot initiative, "Preschool for All." But O'Connell said "we're getting ready" and "ramping up" for a universal system.

Reiner's measure would tax California's wealthiest families to offer every 4-year-old a year of free instruction in preschools that meet certain standards, including having curriculum based on statewide learning standards.

At Sacramento's Bowling Green Elementary School, students in Amy Ronsheimer's four-week "boot camp" for 4-and 5-year-olds preparing to enter kindergarten in the fall make it clear that existing programs are not devoid of academics.

Students sat on mats Thursday as the teacher held up flash cards, each containing a child's name. Students reacted gleefully when they spotted their own.

"Say, 'That's my name,' " Ronsheimer instructed one young boy, Serxa.

"What letter does your name start with?" she asked.

"S," he shouted.

"I believe a lot of people don't realize how much quality learning is taking place at preschools," said Lorraine Weatherspoon, coordinator of Sacramento City Unified School District's school readiness programs.

O'Connell said existing programs do, indeed, have performance goals. But AB
1246 is meant to expand and improve upon them.

"We're trying to more professionalize (preschool programs)," he said.

Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, fears that AB 1246 could lay the foundation for a preschool system that emphasizes academics over childhood play and exploration.

"Things tend to be incremental - you start off with good intentions and then they get ratcheted up," Huff said.

Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Northridge, said the state's track record is dismal.

"I think these curriculum standards are simply a step in making preschool an extension of K-12 education, which to a large degree has been failing students," he said.

Diane Flynn Keith, a Redwood City activist against universal preschools, said AB 1246 could harm the children it seeks to help.

Preschoolers don't learn best by "sitting down at a desk with a pencil and paper, and trying to write letters and numbers," she said. "A lot of kids aren't ready for that."

O'Connell said boring, rigid classes that pressure preschoolers to keep up are "far, far, far from our intent."

"We want students to appreciate and enjoy the love of learning," he said.

Catherine Teare, policy director for Children Now, said AB 1246 strikes a proper balance between academic readiness and traditional preschool activities, like finger painting or learning to share.

"I think we can do both," she said.

TOPICS FOR TOTS
Assembly Bill 1246, proposed by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, awaits action in the Senate after passing the Assembly by a 47-32 vote. AB 1246 would require the state Department of Education to set preschool learning standards that shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Mathematics: Number sense, classification and measurement.
Science: Physical, life and earth sciences.
Reading-language arts: Vocabulary development; alphabet, word and print recognition.
History-social science: Citizenship; national symbols; social and emotional development.
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