By: Melissa Perrett

Early childhood education and daycare are two separate spheres. While daycare is a more child care centered approach to groups of young children, early childhood education focuses on starting a child academically at a very young age, even as young as two years old.  For some families, daycare is the only option available, as it is the cheapest and requires the lowest training in teachers. However, alternative forms of preschool such as Montessori or programs with high quality materials and staff are only available to a portion of the community who are both aware and financially capable.

Currently, the largest branch of the issue of restricted access to early childhood education is tied to finance. According to Elizabeth Yonson, the superintendent of Morrisville School District in Pennsylvania, nearly half of the students in her district families’ earn below poverty level income. This greatly restricts the ability for parents to provide a quality early childhood education of their choosing. Yonson also states that children who had access to quality education have proven higher reading levels and test scores by the time they reached 11th grade.

This is not only an issue of accessibility, but of awareness. According to a study done Debra Ackerman, a researcher from the national institute for early education, children who were enrolled in a program group at preschool age scored higher in categories of income, homeownership, and employment. These later in life statistics are also tied to the portion of the study that revealed those with a quality early education were far more likely to finish high school and attend college.

Dr. Maria Montessori, the creator of the Montessori method, was criticized early in her career for being “naive” in wanting to produce an environment so specifically tailored to the child’s ability to practice independence and self teaching through activities that involved the five senses. However, researchers began to take notice that the method proved effective.