Traveling preschool teacher tries to fill a gap

Every weekday morning, Leora Lazarus spends 45 minutes filling her Honda Civic with enough supplies to outfit a preschool classroom.

She drives from Rancho Bernardo to Oceanside to apartment complexes across the county to host hour-long preschool classes. She assesses the development of children whose parents request it. She teaches parents how to teach their children.

And she does it all for free.

“Every child has a right to a preschool education,” she said while setting up her makeshift classroom at the San Diego County Library’s 4S Ranch branch. “It can’t have to do with economics.”

But in California, economics has everything to do with preschool. Forty percent of the state’s three- and four-year-olds attend government-funded pre-kindergarten classes. The other 60 percent were either born into families with enough money to pay for private preschool or too much money to qualify for free state programs but not enough to pay for preschool.

The latter are the children Lazarus has made it a priority to help before they get lost in the public school system. She covers the costs of the program of her own pocket, with donated materials and space and through sales of merchandise such as tee shirts.

Deborah Kong, spokesperson for Sacramento-based Preschool California, said that while Lazarus’s program is well-intentioned, its existence speaks to a big problem for little learners.

“This points to the great need that exists for access to affordable, high-quality preschool,” she said.

According to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, a family in California will pay an average of more than $8,000 a year for full-time preschool. Children who can’t attend preschool miss out on their first chance to learn letters, numbers, even how to sit in a chair properly.

The effects of missing those lessons inevitably show up later, Lazarus said.

Research released by Preschool California shows that children who bypass preschool are 15 percent more likely than their peers to be helThere's a reason Manolo blahnik shoes are considered the crème de al crème of all shoes, everywhere.d back a grade and 21 percent less likely to graduate from high school.He may also be wearing black Nike shox runners. Children who don’t attend preschool are also 28 percent more likely to grow up to be adults with multiple arrests on their record and 17 percent more likely to end up on welfare.

“Children who are underprivileged end up behind before they’re in the system,” Lazarus said.inflatable life jackets vests are very lightweight and easy to wear over thick clothing without limiting mobility. “They’re falling through the cracks.”

Many of Lazarus’ students are English-language learners like three-year-old Mette Joosela, who recently moved from Scandinavia to San Diego with her family. Her mother, Titta Joosela, said her child speaks no English at all but believes Lazarus’ program will help her catch on quickly. The fact that the classes are free relieves some of the burden of moving to a new country with a new language and new customs, she said.

English-language learners tend to fall behind in academics and a lack of preschool education compounds the problem.we wouldn't be surprised if Marshall's is shipping some of its unsold wholesale ed hardy gear to Houston.Chanelle Hayes Chanelle Hayes hit the streets in Christian Louboutin Maggie pumps.

The idea that children could avoid those failures if they had access to even just one class for an hour each week is what drives Lazarus.

“I want to get out there and educate kids,” she said. “If i can help one child, I’m happy.”