My son deserves early learning, no matter our income

Crystal Garvin is a mother of three from Bellingham, WA. She has a degree in Early Childhood Education from Whatcom Community College.

I am a stay at home mother of three children. My oldest is an Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) graduate and is currently in kindergarten. She is a model student and helps her peers when they struggle. My second child is a current ECEAP student in her second year of preschool. She enjoys learning and helps in her classroom in many ways, like showing other children what to do during class and encouraging children to use their words when they are upset or need something.

My son is two years old and is in the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers program (ESIT) because he has a social-emotional delay. He is doing well in the program and my husband and I already see improvements. However, we are still concerned. My family has worked really hard to succeed. My husband is the only working person in our family. One year ago, I was also working in my field, but I had to quit because my wage was not enough to pay for childcare. At the end of the day, I owed more than I made. I am a smart woman. I have an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education and I won an award for best student in my field. I want to work, but that is not an option for my family right now.

My husband has worked very hard to get where he is in his career and has done so well that he now makes enough money to put us just above the income eligible limit to qualify for the ECEAP program. This means when my son turns three and is no longer in the ESIT program, he will not be able to go to preschool. This terrifies us because if he is not in a prekindergarten learning environment, any progress he makes with the ESIT program will be lost. Social-emotional skills are skills that have to be practiced and the place to do that is in a prekindergarten class.

I have checked into other preschools in our area and I have not found a preschool that we can afford. If we pass the High Quality Early Learning Act of 2012, we would be able to have our son in an exceptional prekindergarten learning environment and we would most likely pay a fee that we can afford. If my son does not get into preschool, he will not be prepared for kindergarten. No child should have to start school unprepared! No child should be left out of a prekindergarten learning environment because their parents made too much money to qualify for low income programs but were unable to pay private school tuition because they still didn’t make enough money. I urge you to support the High Quality Early Learning Act of 2012 and give all children the chance to succeed!