I love AppleTree

I am really blessed to be working at AppleTree Institute. It's amazing to be working with people who know and love what they're doing, and to really feel like we're able to make a difference in the lives of children. Research in the early childhood years shows some pretty powerful things. First, before the age of 4, the brain will have the largest amount of synaptogenesis (the process of making new connections in the brain) for language. So, the period from 2-4 is the period of the largest language growth that will ever happen in a human. Unfortunately, research also shows that the amount of language growth that occurs depends largely on the amount of exposure a child has to different experiences and to language itself. Sadly, the amount of language a child hears differs vastly across socio-economic status. The chart below shows the number of words heard per hour across 3 socio-economic classes. So, by the age of three, professional class children heard more than 3x the amount of words as public assistance children. 

This directly impacts the amount of words a child will use. The next chart shows the amount of words used by children at the age of three, again divided by socio-economic status. You can note that in comparing the two charts, by age three, the professional class children are using more words than the public assistance class adults.

This is all to say that by age 3, we can predict with depressing accuracy if a child will pass their 4th grade reading tests, and even if they'll graduate from high school. (These data are from Hart & Riley, 1995).

This is why early intervention is so important. We're in the process of collecting our end of the year assessments for all of our students, but the general trend that we see so far is that the children at risk for reading failure are able to learn, and to learn more quickly than those not at risk, over the course of our high quality preschool program.

The Obama administration has quoted the fact that for every $1 invested in early childhood education, we'll save $7-10 dollars. Some people may wonder where these amounts come from. Basically, 3 very large studies consisted of thousands of at-risk students have been carried out across many years (some have followed students from the womb to age 30). For students who are at risk and receive high quality early interventions, such as a high quality preschool education, they can continue on in school with few problems. However, those who don't receive any interventions are often places in special education for reading and behavioral problems. The amount of money we can save by putting in place high quality preschool programs versus failing our kids (mainly African American and English Language Learners) and sending them to special education saves about 7-10 dollars for every 1 dollar spent.

Although I knew very little about the importance of early childhood education, I am a convert and feel very passionate about what we're able to do. Frankly, it's amazing to see a child (at age 3!!) write his/her name, talk about rhyming words, identify all of the letters and the sounds that they make, all while having fun and playing. I love my job :)

This is the website of my organization. http://www.appletreeinstitute.org/

I work for the DCPEL (DC Partnership for Early Literacy). :)