On a random Thursday last summer, I stopped in to spend some time with our “graduating” pre-k class. Our 14 rising kindergarteners were gathered in a circle with books in their laps, taking turns reading from the books while their peers encouraged them, and the teacher gently coaxed them to sound out words based on their letters. The children were calm and focused (which can be quite rare in a room full of five-year-olds). After the lesson, I stopped to congratulate the teacher on her work; she just smiled and said, “They’re going to do great in kindergarten.”
When you’re imagining the classroom I just described, you probably think that I’m writing from Hockessin, Greenville, or another suburban location. This classroom, however, belongs to Kingswood Community Center, located in one of the most impoverished areas in the City of Wilmington. Kingswood has been a staple of the Riverside neighborhood for over 75 years, with our Early Learning Academy (ELA) as one of our signature programs.
Over half of the children in the ELA live right next door in Riverside Public Housing, 98% are racial/ethnic minorities, 95% are low-income and receive state subsidies, and the majority of families are led by single-parent females. Most of the children we see every day will face tremendous challenges through their lives in overcoming generational poverty.
Kingswood Community Center’s ELA celebrated our third year in a row of 100% kindergarten readiness, which is amazing when I think back to early 2019 when I first walked into that same classroom. In 2019, we were rated 3 out of 5 Stars in the Delaware Stars rating system, we had just implemented curriculum and assessment tools for the first time, and we had one teacher who had a credential higher than a high school diploma. Today, our children still represent the same demographics as they did in 2019, but we are now recognized as one of the top-quality programs in the state.
So, what was the “secret sauce” behind such a dramatic transformation, and why does it matter?
It all really comes down to one word: investment. Our program increased in quality because of investments we and others made, and early childhood education matters because it’s an investment in the future.
The non-monetary investments in Kingswood were certainly important. I could write an entire piece about the hours that our staff put into developing goals, researching best practices, and honing their skills, not to mention the leadership of our Head of School and Executive Leadership team, the guidance we received from fellow early learning programs, or the overall positive changes in the community through the work of REACH Riverside.
However, we recognize that those non-monetary investments would not have made as much of a difference if we couldn’t pay our teachers a competitive wage or if we couldn’t afford to send our teachers to professional development opportunities.
In 2019, Kingswood received $332,000 from the state of Delaware for early learning. By 2023, we saw triple the investment – $1.1 million – to serve the same number of children with the same demographics. We took advantage of every grant program the state offered (such as the State-Funded Early Childhood Education Program), and every year that we increased our revenue from state funding we saw an increase in the quality of instruction.
This investment in our children is also an investment in the future. Numerous studies have shown that 90% of a child’s brain development happens before the age of 5, so investing in education at the youngest age can have the largest impact over the course of a child’s lifetime.
From a purely economic point of view, every $1 spent on early childhood education yields an $8.60 return on investment. Not only does early childhood education increase the likelihood that the child will have greater earning potential as an adult; early childhood education also reduces expenses in special education and remedial programs over the course of a child’s school years.
If you want to achieve third grade reading mastery, 100% high school graduation, or any other educational goal, the best investment you can make is to invest in early learning.
Julie Bieber is the Director of Operations for Kingswood Community Center in Wilmington.
