The popular Pre-K train,
after previous Ohio stops in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland
and Dayton, is rapidly approaching. The Toledo-bound
movement, a strategic priority of Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz,
is loaded with tangible philanthropic resources along with
support from Toledo’s corporate and nonprofit communities.
What does universal Pre-K
mean for Toledo’s black community?
Black people have always understood the need for quality
education. When the social and economic circumstances
depended upon our need to provide agricultural labor in the
South, many black children were required to help in the
fields rather than attend school. But during the two or
three month respite when planting or harvesting the crops
were not taking place, these same children would go joyously
running, skipping and jumping down unpaved roads to the
schoolhouse to get their “edu-macation.”
Also, during the part of
American history when blacks were not allowed to go to
schools with whites, poor blacks would raise chickens and
sell eggs and put their nickels, dimes and quarters together
in order to build their own black schools, colleges and
universities.
So there has never been a
lack of understanding in the black community about the need
for children to develop literacy or other educational
skills, even by those who, themselves, lacked those same
abilities.
Rather, the question for
black folks has been whether the interests of the black
community can be aligned with the interests of the
predominately white led educational system and its
establishment friends or partners.
Bridging the Cultural
Divide:
When queried about the
arrival of Pre-K in Toledo, many people that I have talked
to are wondering whether the recent Pre-K movement is an
attempt to sever childcare (the largest black business
industry in the community) away from black providers and
redirect the enterprising activity to the white educational
mainstream.
Also, many black parents
will withhold their children from centers that they perceive
as boring or not engaging as well as from those where they
feel that their children are not emotionally or physically
safe.
What is certain is that,
historically, black daycare and the black church, have been
the only consistent formal or informal efforts to inform,
educate and socialize the masses of African Americans in
culturally competent and culturally-affirming ways that
enable them to effectively meet a world hostile to their
existence.
So, the advancing pre-K
train must find ways to bridge the cultural gap between the
pre-K establishment and the interests of the black
community.
Assessing Quality:
Related to the challenge
of bridging the cultural divide is the need to discover
alternative ways to assess the quality of Pre-K providers.
Current quality assessment
of childcare centers is based on the Step Up To Quality (SUTQ)
model, which provides one to five stars with each additional
star indicating increasing quality.
The problem with this
system is that the determinants of quality (stars) are
commensurate with the amount of resources a provider brings
to the table and thus elevates childcare centers that have
resources or are more corporately structured over smaller
neighborhood/community centers are often equally or more
effective and more culturally responsive to the needs of
black and children of color.
Providing Access:
Finally, how does
universal Pre-K impact access for black children or other
children affected by generational poverty?
By placing universal in
the education/childcare marketplace, people with greater
economic means will also take advantage of the supported
system in order to save the money that they are currently
paying for childcare.
“If I can find a two
orthree-star rated center where I can take my kid for four
hours and don’t have to pay for it? Of course! I’ll save
$1,200 a month, so I’m all in!” said one middle class
parent.
At the same time, the
black people and those living in poverty are likely to say,
“I don’t trust the system, I want Miss Mary, I want grandma,
or I want my child at home,”
So, while we all
understand that there is a need for children to come to
school prepared and even have a potential funding mechanism
in mind, providing access and getting the maximum benefits
to the children who need Pre-K most, has not yet been
determined.
The solution requires an
educational approach that meets both the interests of the
black community as well as those of the white led power
structure.
In other words, the system
must be culturally responsive to black children, compatible
with the business model of black childcare enterprises and
provide equitable access for all children.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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