Now that the Graduate School of Education has received a federal grant to help Philadelphia's disadvantaged children, Penn's researchers are getting to work.
Led by Professor John Fantuzzo, the GSE research team is investigating possible ways to integrate the academic curricula previously devised for those Philadelphia preschools that are part of Head Start -- a federal program aimed at increasing the school readiness of children from birth to age five in low-income families.
"We are trying to raise the standard in education, working on early childhood," Fantuzzo said.
The project is financed by a federal award of $5.8 million -- part of a larger $60 million grant contributed by five agencies, among which are the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Education Department.
Eight awards were assigned from the total grant -- Penn was the only large city-based institution on the eastern side of the country to receive one, because its proposal focused simultaneously on all areas of learning.
The team has worked on devising literacy, numeracy and social/emotion adjustments curricula for Head Start preschoolers in the School District of Philadelphia.
Now that the curricula have been developed, various combinations are now being examined for optimal outcome and will be brought into the schools starting in early November.
"We need to think about how can we bring these elements together in a thoughtful way, and that requires research," Fantuzzo said. "We want to be able to create things that teachers can use -- we must be respectful of their time."
Different elements will be assigned to each classroom, but researchers will try to avoid biases while still maintaining randomness.
"We want to make sure we teach the whole child," Fantuzzo said. "And these attributes are confluent in making the child successful."
In metropolitan areas, this kind of pragmatic intervention becomes critical.
"Kids who are disadvantaged do not tend to pick up these skills naturally because they come from a stressful environment," said Education Professor Paul McDermott, an expert in statistics, assessment and testing.
By developing skills in these areas, children can learn both academic and social skills at a very early age, McDermott said.
"They learn that, no matter what, they can do it," he said, adding that it is harder to fully develop such skills after entering first grade.
He added that the education problem is a common one in the United States, a country that consistently ranks below many other industrialized nations in its educational attempts toward children ages zero to five.
Along with GSE professors and teachers, family members actively participate at every level of the program. Parts of the curricula are to be taught at home, with subsequent assessments in class.
Students who are often in contact with West Philadelphia children said they are pleased with the project.
"I think this is really important," West Philadelphia Tutoring Project Group Leader and College senior K.C. Sinclair said. "Preschool is where many children get really behind, especially in a disadvantaged situation."
She added that the school system in an urban setting does not always allow for the constant attention many preschoolers need, "but in an environment where that kind of help is available, children may have a head start."
