Education for All- President Obama’s Plan to Improve Quality and Access to Early Education

Left: Martha C. Egas, Executive Director, Spanish Educational Development Center (SED). Center: Antonia Lopez, Director of Early Childhood Education, National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Right: Diane Cottman, Executive Director, Latin Amnerican Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter School

“…Let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind.”       

President Barack Obama
State of the Union, February 12, 2013

The SED Center was among thirty National Council of La Raza (NCLR) affiliates invited to a meeting with Honorable Arne Duncan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and Roberto J. Rodriguez, who serves in the White House Domestic Policy Council as Special Assistant to the President for Education.  NCLR organizations, based on their work and experience on Early Childhood Education, presented their suggestions on the President’s Early Learning Initiative. 

SED, a National council of La Raza (NCLR) Early Education Affiliate, shares the President’s belief that we must do all we can to see that no child is left behind in the educational race .Studies have shown that the Latino community confronts ongoing challenges in early education.  In 2011, Bruce Fuller and Anthony Y. Kim, from the University of California Berkeley, reported three key findings concerning Latino early education.  In their article, Latino Access to Preschool Stalls after Earlier Gains, they report:

1) “About one-third of Latino 4 year-olds were enrolled  in preschool in 1991, rising to 53% in 2005. Yet this share lagged far behind African American 4 year olds (69%) and non-Latino Whites (70%) in 2005.”

2) “Latino preschool enrollments appear to have declined between 2005 and 2009, while attendance rates remained steady for African American and White 4 year-olds.” 

3) “Preschools serving Latino children range lower on certain quality indicators, yet the share attending academically enriched programs equals the slice of White peers entering such programs.”

These facts alarmed the NCLR Early Childhood Education Affiliate Network as well as practitioners, policy analysts, and community organizers that serve the Latino Community. Consequently, in order to address the lack of affordable, high-quality, early education opportunities for the Latino Community, the SED Center took part in the NCLR workgroup that set forth recommendations to improve this educational gap. Some of these suggestions include, but are not limited to: 

1) Prioritizing low income populations 
2) Providing direct funding to community based organizations 
3) Setting-aside grants for community based organizations helping migrant and seasonal farm-workers 
4) Improving partnerships between providers and families 
5) Adding biliterate and or bicultural teachers, therapists, home visitors, and counselors 
6) Increasing funding for educational facilities 
7) Supporting the professional development of teachers by providing adequate resources
8) Increasing funding for higher education institutions that develop a highly qualified, linguistically, and culturally competent workforce 
9) Improving student assessments as well as professional, overall evaluation of these assessments 

At the SED Center, we strive to close the educational gap through a personalized style of teaching, careful assessment of student progress, and love for the community that we serve. Recognizing the potential that these children carry, we devote our time, resources, and talents in order to see low-income populations succeed in these difficult times. ¡Si se puede!  


By: Juan Sebastian Roa
Communications and Development Intern