The Syphax Child Care Center

Abstract

This article describes and discusses the Syphax Child Care Center, a private preschool that was established to provide both quality child care and education. Although predominantly black in its enrollment, the school is basically a multiethnic center that also serves a significant proportion of children from other ethnic backgrounds. The importance of quality preschool education and enrichment for all American children has been documented by leading authorities of early childhood education.1 Effective preschool experiences have been investigated to a significant degree; however, many of the studies have focused on urban and/or government-funded programs such as Head Start and Home Start.2 Very little attention has been given to preschooling in private, nonurban schools with significant enrollments of black children. Although there is extensive research on the subject of urban and publicly funded preschool experiences, there remains a lack of consistent results with regard to the level of impact on early, elementary school performance.3 For example, while some studies suggest that preschool programs such as Head Start can have positive and significant influence on the academic achievement and social development of children (compared to control children receiving no preschooling),4 others