VIEWPOINT: Preschool cuts society costs by readying children for better lives

There is a saying: "All I really need to know, I learned in kindergarten." I would say that everything one needs to know in life can actually be learned even earlier in preschool.

Some of these skills are: share everything; play fair; don't hit people; put things back where you found them; clean up your own mess; don't take things that aren't yours and say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Even as adults we would be wise to remember these basic tenets.

I volunteer at Maui MEO's Head Start preschool - which I thoroughly enjoy! I am very impressed with the quality and caring of the staff and facilities. Debbi Amaral, program director, told me a story about small black rubber slippers. Children were frequently being dropped off at Head Start barefoot. There was some concern about the safety of the children playing outdoors without footware.

Instead of turning children away and depriving the family of the benefits of the program and creating a feeling of shame for the child, several of the program staff came up with a creative solution: One of the staff member's daughters was in a 4-H club which wanted to do a service project so they instigated a slipper drive. They received donations of simple, utilitarian black slippers from various members of the community - enough to provide a supply of slippers to each center in the event that a child needed to have footware.

This is an example of taking a delicate situation that could lead to embarrassment for the children and parents and solving that problem by using community resources. This is a shining example of creative, caring problem solving.

According to the Head Start Association of Hawaii's Fact Sheet, the program offers many benefits to the child and family. Head Start provides parent leadership development through program planning, evaluation and governance responsibilities and activities. Parents are invited to attend their child's class for up to 10 hours per week. This creates a bridge between home and school and gives parents added support in parenting.

In receiving early childhood education, children obtain an immeasurable boost toward long-term success in school and life. According to research, children who participate in preschool are more prepared for elementary school, have more developed social skills, are less likely to need special education classes, are more likely to graduate from high school and be employed and they are less likely to need public assistance or go to jail.

These effects are even more dramatic for children from poor and low-income families - the very population Head Start has served since 1965. In addition to the educational benefits, Head Start also improves children's health by providing medical screenings, immunizations and dental services.

The results of preschool have been measured. A study done in San Bernardino County, Calif., found that if a benefit-to-cost analyses were done, it would indicate that for every $1 expended on a typical Head Start child and family, the benefits over time would be as much as $9 in eliminated or reduced costs of welfare dependency, less school grade repetition, less special education and crime, plus the graduate's probability of increased educational attainments, employment time and earnings and next-generation family stability.

As for funding, on Maui the school year morning classes are paid for by the federal Head Start program. However, the afternoon and summer programs are supported by Maui County and various grants and subsidies.

Head Start services are provided at no cost for families that qualify based on a selection criterion, which looks at factors such as family income and whether a child is special-needs certified. Maui is lucky to have MEO's Head Start program, its dedicated and talented staff and the County of Maui's generous added support.

For families who do not qualify for Head Start there are also numerous private and faith-based pre-school programs serving Maui. And there are programs such as Good Beginnings that provide partial tuition support for the "gap families" that fall in between.

Give your child the best start in life send them to preschool!

* Netra Halperin has a master's degree in psychology and has worked for 13 years as a child and family therapist on Maui. She is running for the Kahului residency seat on the Maui County Council.