Sheheen, McConnell: Teachers and parents working together to close language gap

We don’t think about it much, but English is considered one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. Because, for most of us, it is our native language, we understand the difference between words such as “bear” and “bare” and “Bayer.” We can hear those words, place them into context and know that each means something different.

However, imagine stepping into a world where language doesn’t have meaning for you. Travel to a foreign country, like China or Japan, where words are written without the letters of our alphabet, and you realize quickly that understanding language matters if you want to be a functional member of society.

Now, suppose you could do one simple thing that could improve your language skills by 50 percent within a few short years. You’d probably jump at the chance.

That’s exactly what we’ve done in South Carolina with our 4 year-old kindergarten program.

By serving children who are among the neediest in our state, we’re closing a language gap that researchers have shown has such a long-term impact on children’s success.

Researchers at the University of Kansas uncovered a mammoth vocabulary gap in young children who face different socio-economic conditions at home. Their long-term study found children of “professional” homes had heard 70 millions words by age 4, while children of “welfare” homes had heard only 40 million words — and mostly negative ones at that — before they ever stepped foot in a kindergarten classroom.

Keep in mind that this 30-million-word gap, if left unaddressed by individualized intervention, only widens as children grow. That’s why we continue to see some eighth graders in our state reading at a third grade level, and why the General Assembly passed Read to Succeed and expanded 4K last year.

Our 4K program is designed to provide individualized intervention for children in poverty, giving them the vocabulary, language and contextual skills they need to succeed in school. And it’s working.

The S.C. Education Oversight Committee recently released a study that shows clearly that, compared with all children in the state, low-income preschoolers participating in the state’s public-private 4-year-old kindergarten program are closing the learning and skills gap by up to half in math and language compared with children in similar socio-economic circumstances not enrolled.

While there is still ground to be gained, the gap is closing, and children are receiving individualized support in South Carolina’s 4K program. Working together with parents, our 4K teachers are making a difference.

We are focused on reducing the language gap. The General Assembly introduced a new early literacy assessment last fall, specifically designed to provide another resource to our teachers and parents as they work together to build pre-reading skills. Focusing specifically on children’s language needs, 4K parents and teachers together are gearing up for success in kindergarten. As one teacher noted in a recent survey of First Steps 4K teachers, “the new assessment has been an excellent tool for teachers to use in order to help them quickly identify and address each student's individual needs.”

We need to continue to support the partnership between home and school, especially at the starting gate with 4K. If the evidence in the 30-million-word gap study shows us anything, it is that our families need support to develop language-rich homes in order to build strong reading foundations for our youngest children. Teachers and parents working together to support our children’s academic success is a winning combination for the Palmetto State.

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Sheheen, McConnell: Teachers and parents working together to close language gap."