Heidi Hollingsworth, assistant professor of education, offered insights for the report on a legislative proposal to reduce the age of compulsory school attendance in North Carolina.
The WFMY report, featured on the station’s 2 Wants to Know segment, looked at a bill filed by N.C. Rep. Donny Lambeth of Forsyth County that would reduce the age at which children are required to attend school from 7 to 6, which would bring the state closer to what surrounding states say on the issue.
Hollingsworth, whose research focus includes early childhood education, noted in the report that starting school earlier could be beneficial to many children. “They are having the experience of learning about following directions and they are getting a lot of experience with language interaction,” Hollingsworth said. “All of those experiences are building neuroconnections in the brain and are building the foundation for their future learning.”