Michael Katz Essay

In the D.C. school system retention of students is a big problem. In his research report Michael Katz, a Brown University educated urban education policy expert and a research associate at the Urban Institute, concluded that “more than one in four DCPS Head Start students were absent more than 10 percent of the days” (VI). Early childhood is a very good predictor of how a child will turn out in school later on in life. Programs for young children can be “an important opportunity for school districts to establish lasting patterns” (Katz et al. VI). These finding are important to the notion that children should be put in classes early, but enforcement of absence policies has proved hard to enforce. Katz et al define two kinds of contributing factors to early childhood absenteeism in their research: “child- and family- level factors” and “school- and district- level factors” (VIII-IX).

Firstly, we address prekindergarten education, in this paper we see that “some parents see prekindergarten as play and do not understand that children are learning” while other just see it as low on their priority list because of all the issues the family already faces from coming from a low-income family (Katz et al 11). The second challenge faced are logistical problems, these problems stem from “responsibilities in a sometimes chaotic environment” and challenges “related to transportation” (Katz et al 12). Katz then moves on to speaking on family barriers such as “homelessness and residential instability, family instability, and physical and mental health” (13). While I agree with Katz’s findings I believe that relationships with school faculty falls more under the school and district level