PRESCHOOLS DO WORK, BUT THERE'S A WAIT INCREASED FUNDING NEEDED TO EXPAND PROGRAMS FULLY.Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer Nearly 20,000 children from low-income Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County families are waiting for space in state-subsidized preschools - accounting for 40 percent of California's waiting list, a report released Tuesday says. The study, conducted by the nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). , found about 75 percent of publicly funded programs in California have waiting lists. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (b. May 27 1942, East Los Angeles, California) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College before starting with the L.A. , a member of the group's executive committee, said preschools help get youngsters on track at an early age, and he supports efforts to raise money to expand programs. ``It's the right thing to do,'' he said. ``We're building a future citizen that will take on all the responsibilities of adulthood. It makes sense that they need help before they get to kindergarten kindergarten [Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be .'' Another recent study shows that kids who attend preschool are less likely by age 40 to become career criminals or to be arrested for drug felonies. For every $1 invested in preschool, crime and welfare costs are reduced by $17, advocates says. Children from families earning more than $60,000 a year are 50 percent more likely to be enrolled in preschool than those earning less than $30,000 a year, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the new report. ``It's a huge problem in our community,'' said Liseth Romero-Martinez, director of programs for Pacoima Beautiful, who's struggling to find quality care for her own two young children. Across Los Angeles Unified, 5,185 students are waiting for state-subsidized all-day programs for children of working parents. About 630 LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) children are waiting for ``state preschool'' programs, while there is no waiting list for local Head Start programs. LAUSD has an additional 1,500 youngsters waiting for other types of preschool classes, bringing its total waiting list to 6,600. Parents are increasingly aware of preschools' benefits, educators said. ``Now we know through research that preschool makes a difference,'' said Carmela Sainz-Anderson, who oversees LAUSD preschool programs in the west San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``It's always a matter of, 'How fast can we build?' There's a lot of demand out there.'' LAUSD opened a $6 million early education center at Cleveland High School last year. It joined more than 100 other LAUSD centers, serving 12,000 children. Jennifer Radcliffe, (818) 713-3722 jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com |
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