Preschool for All: Meeting the Educational Needs of an Increasingly Diverse California

This publication from First 5 California presents articles concerning California’s efforts to establish a system of voluntary, high-quality preschools that serve all young children and their families at no cost. High-quality preschool programs are seen as a proven way to narrow the achievement gap. California’s Master Plan for Education embraces California’s many young English language learners as an educational asset. The plan calls for all young children to learn English while preserving their home language. Effective preschools should also respond to variation in children’s rates of development, physical and mental abilities, and special needs. The inclusive strategy supports children who are already in an early intervention or special education system as well as the many children struggling with undiagnosed social, emotional, and behavioral challenges as a result of family stress, poor language skills, and/or other issues. First 5 California has committed $20 million to young children with special needs and disabilities. For preschool to be effective, it must be led by a large corps of early childhood educators who are highly skilled, well-versed in the multifaceted nature of early development, able to communicate and build nurturing relationships with children and families of all backgrounds and needs, and able to devise individualized strategies to deal with the variations among them. State leaders are critical to the development and promotion of a vision for early learning that includes preschool.