Leveling the playing field: Supporting immigrant children from birth to eight

Many young children in Immigrant families do not have good access to health and education services. To the extent that their life prospects arc compromised as a result, these children-and the entire society-suffer. This article discusses the needs of children from birth to age eight, with a particular focus on the education needs of young children in immigrant families. Key observations include the following: Children's skills in kindergarten and their achievement at the end of third grade are important predictors of their future life prospects. Although well-designed early education and after school programs hold promise to reduce ethnic group-related inequalities in children's cognitive skills and social competence, children in immigrant families are less likely to participate in these programs than are children in native-born families. Availability and access are important factors: When pre-kindergarten programs are offered in public schools, Hispanic and Asian American children arc more likely to participate. Family literacy programs are a promising strategy for improving the language skills of children in immigrant families, as well as their parents. The author concludes that policies that support the health and early education of all young children should be a national priority, and that universal programs open to all children with a minimum of barriers are most likely to be successful in facilitating the participation of young children of immigrant families.