Early Childhood, Pre-K and Kindergarten

edCircuit Opinion:
When I was younger, I often would gather with my neighborhood friends, head into the backyard, and spend hours digging a massive hole to China. We’d all attempt to use the shovels that were two times our size, all while fantasizing about what we’d do when we finally made it – or better yet if we hit the center of the earth! Many would not think twice about this scenario, and simply view it as kids being kids. But, child development researchers would analyze this situation much differently.

Tunette Powell travels across the country counseling families and mentoring youth. An award-winning motivational speaker and author, her professional work in the education field ranges from training nonprofit leaders to consulting for colleges and universities. But none of Powell’s career-related skills could prepare her for the frustration and helplessness of seeing her two sons suspended from preschool, which she pegged to overly harsh and racially biased discipline. In a July 2014 Washington Post opinion piece that gained national attention, Powell relates how her boys—ages 3 and 4—were suspended from their Omaha preschool program eight times total in one year. Once published, the essay resonated with readers nationwide. “So many parents reached out [to me] … a lot of black mothers” who shared her experience with excessive suspensions, said Powell. “We live in a time when we just say, ‘Suspend them, get rid of them.’”