As a proud resident of the Ann Arbor community, I was met with joy — although not shock — upon reading that Ann Arbor was voted the second-best place to raise a family in the United States. Surely, the close-knit community, midwestern values, and friendly attitudes played a large role in the city’s high ranking; however, much of our town’s appeal was due to the widely acclaimed Ann Arbor School District. It’s little wonder why people want to raise their kids here: if they work hard and stay on the right path, the children of our community are set up for success in their education and beyond. Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, we are not doing all that we could be doing to ensure a better life for our future doctors, engineers, and neighbors.
Right now, there are still many children in Ann Arbor who, through no fault of their own, are unable to attend preschool programs. Maybe their parents can’t afford to send them, or maybe they simply don’t know about the different preschool offerings throughout Ann Arbor. However, as a result, these children are being unfairly punished. According to EdSource.com, children who attend preschool programs — particularly, children from disadvantaged homes — tend to have higher future incomes, higher graduation levels, and lower rates of crime than those who do not. In other words, these kids grow up to be more thoughtful and productive members of society. Consequently, implementing universal preschool programs would go a long way in strengthening Ann Arbor’s already stellar reputation, while also creating benefits shared by everyone who lives here. If preschool were guaranteed for all, parents would be free to work instead of watch after their children, and, in turn, these children would be trained to become stronger thinkers and even better “do-ers.” Furthermore, a research paper titled The Lifecycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program, “determined that spending money on high-quality early childhood education for at-risk children – as well as employment support for their mothers – can yield a 13 percent return on the investment every year, even after adjusting for the public costs of the program.” The paper went on to state that for every $1 spent on preschool programs, taxpayers see a return of $6.30. This is because these programs result in decreased crime and reliance on welfare, while they promise to create a “better-prepared workforce.”
Given the above benefits, it’s a bit surprising that universal preschool has not been rolled out on a large scale. This is not to say that a nationwide rollout is the best way to go about doing so. Because of the various regional differences across the country, education should probably be left to more local levels. However, currently only four states offer truly universal preschool — that is, preschool where every child in the state, regardless of their family background, is eligible to enroll. Sadly, Michigan is not one of these states. In response to the evidence that more preschool coverage creates better communities, our state launched the Great Start Program. The purpose of this program is ambitious: to provide vulnerable children in Michigan the opportunity to attend preschool. In theory, this is a noble goal. However, like many programs of our state in the wake of the financial crisis, the Great Start Program has not had the proper levels of funding to run as intended. As a result, the children who are eligible for preschool in the program find themselves instead on waitlists. For example, the director of the Wayne County branch of the program reported that the Great Start Program has many low-income families — who otherwise qualify to enroll in the program — on the waitlist. In fact, 133,000 Michigan children are not enrolled in any preschool programs. As a result, these children are much less likely to grow up to become productive members of our community.
Given the fact that these problems arise from scant funding from the state level, I believe that it’s time for the city of Ann Arbor to take matters into our own hands. A large number of cities across our country have successfully created, and properly funded, universal preschool programs. Let’s learn from their examples and create a more level playing field here in Ann Arbor. Luckily, this doesn’t mean increasing taxes on our own hard-earned money. Many cities with universal preschool leaned into “social impact bond programs, family fees, and federal Title I dollars” — not simply increasing taxes. In other words: if there’s a will, there’s a way. Thankfully for us, this way doesn’t involve the government taking our dollars out of our pockets.
In summary, no price is too much to create a more safe and fair community — a community where any child who studies hard can get ahead. In our case, this price isn’t a monetary one, it’s an effort one. Are you willing to contact your local representatives to get them to discuss universal preschool? Are you willing to spread the word about this movement? Are you willing to fight for our future? Only if the answer to those questions is yes will our community will begin to see some extraordinary improvements.