Research has shown that pre-K has lasting benefits for children, their families, and even their communities.
For example, a study led by an MIT economist, found that children who attended preschool were more likely to graduate from high school, take the SAT, and attend college. And research from CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, has shown that early childhood education can lead to improved high school graduation rates, higher earnings as adults, and better short- and long-term health outcomes.
We know that pre-K programs, especially those with an enriched curriculum and experiential learning, can help children in many areas, including social-emotional learning, character building, and school readiness.
But what do families say? We recently invited a family back to tell us what they have seen since their child graduated from the first year of MECK Pre-K.
Grant and his family were featured in a local news Story in 2019, when Grant was still enrolled in MECK Pre-K. In that story, we learned that four-year-old Grant had made amazing progress in his first few months of pre-K. “He’s more organized; he’s much better socially,” said his mother, Tara Sutton, at the time.
Grant’s father, Eric Sutton, told the reporter, “He’s learning his ABCs, counting up to 100 now. We are challenging him to start reading next.”
Five years later, Grant is in the fifth grade, and we spoke to him and his parents about his experiences in pre-K.
“It was really helpful in helping him learn how to sit still, concentrate and learn how a classroom works,” says Tara today.” His language [skills] grew significantly over that year. And I think that was one of the biggest benefits that we saw.”
Eric adds, “During that time, we just [saw] continuous growth.” Remembering Grant’s graduation from pre-K in 2019, Eric says, “Graduation day was awesome. He sang, he cooperated, he did everything he was supposed to do. And when the program was over, he came to us … it was incredible just seeing how much he had grown.”
Grant also remembers some of his favorite things about pre-K. “It can help you learn your ABCs and colors and numbers, and you can make friends,” he says.
So, how is Grant doing today? “He’s in the 94th percentile of people for his grade level,” says Eric. “And I believe that’s all due to the focus that he actually got from MECK Pre-K.”
Would the Suttons recommend enrolling your child in a high quality pre-K program? The answer is definitely yes. As Eric puts it, “I think it was the most beneficial thing that we [did]. I just can’t say enough about MECK Pre-K. It’s just awesome. It gave him his start.”
About MECK Pre-K
MECK Pre-K is high quality pre-K education open to all four-year-old children in Mecklenburg County at no cost to families. Classrooms are located in licensed childcare centers and taught by licensed teachers and highly qualified assistant teachers. You can apply online at MeckPreK.org.
Do you have a child who is not old enough for pre-K this year? Sign up for our email list and be notified when they’re eligible for MECK Pre-K. Simply go to MECKPrek.org/future-meck-pre-k-students and select your child’s age group.