Why is early childhood education so important for ELLs?
The ELL student population in the U.S. has grown dramatically in recent years, and is expected to continue that growth in upcoming decades. This means that the demand on educators and policymakers to create and sustain high-quality, effective preschool programs for ELLs will also continue to grow in communities around the country (Garcia and Gonzales, 2006). These demographic shifts don’t only affect preschools, however. The children who are now in preschool will soon move through the U.S. school system, and their ability to succeed in elementary, middle, and high school may in part depend on how effective their preschool programs were. Once these children become adults, they will find themselves playing an important role in and contributing to the U.S. society — politically, socially, culturally, and economically — and education will be one of the keys necessary for those former preschoolers to realize their full potential. Even for children who speak English, a lack of access to earl
