Sioux Falls Paper Leads So. Dak. Pre-K Discussion
Argus Leader reporter Terry Woster wrote a great piece on the debate over pre-k in South Dakota. Woster reports that a bill to establish state standards for pre-k has aroused the ire of pre-k opponents. The state is helping fund a tiny pilot pre-k program in Pierre. Critics say the standards effort, and the pilot [...]
PA’s Rendell’s Ambitious Plan: Where’s the Coverage?
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell proposed a $100 million investment in early learning–$75 million for pre-k starting with 3 year olds and $25 million for full day kindergarten. Were the proposal to pass, it would mean that 11,000 more children from the Quaker state would have access to high quality pre-kindergarten. In addition, [...]
Head Start Compromise in Senate…WashPost says “show us the money!”
Post editorial describes a Senate compromise between Head Start backers who say learning is most important and those who say health and social development should take precedence. Any good program will include both, of course. Post also reports that the legislation proposes $7.9 billion in Head Start funding, less than the newspaper says is needed [...]
Pre-K Expansion in OK Dead for now
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry’s plan to expand his state’s highly regarded pre-k program for 4 year olds to serve 3 year olds has stalled in the state Legislature. Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee all voted against it, with their leader saying they had successfully blocked an expansion of government. Henry called it “pure politics.”
Long View Required on Payoff of Pre-K Investment
The Charleston Gazette of Charleston, West Virginia had a perceptive editorial the other day, urging the state to accelerate and formalize efforts to fulfill a commitment to having universal pre-kindergarten available to all 4 year olds by 2012. The editorial took note of a political dynamic that I’ve rarely seen mentioned but is something journalists [...]
Early Results on Early Reading in Florida
Report by Leslie Postal in the Orlando Sentinel says entering Florida kindergartners are more ready than they were in the past to begin to learn to read. That’s according to results on the school readiness test used by the state. Florida uses those results to judge the performance of preschools from the state’s program for [...]
“Get Schooled” Schooled on Government Indoctrination (of 4 year olds!)
Bridget Gutierrez, who is writing the Get Schooled blog on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website, noted that although kindergarten is offered in public school systems all around Atlanta and the state provides free pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds, a third of children get to first grade without having attended either one. Gutierrez was commenting on legislative proposal to [...]
Good Coverage of Plan to Expand Pre-K in Iowa
Lynn Campbell of the Des Moines Register has a good comprehensive story about legislative proposals in Iowa to increase the state’s investment in pre-kindergarten so that the program eventually serves 90% of 4 year olds. The story gives a good sense of how the new proposal fits into the existing pre-kindergarten landscape. It offers the [...]
Commenters Stomp Their Feet and Shake Their Fingers at Pre-K Backers in Iowa
Three commenters gave thumbs’ down to the proposal to eventually provide most Iowa 4 year olds with free, voluntary pre-kindergarten. One wrote: “How about those who HAVE kids, PAY FOR THEM!!!!!!!!! Yes, and let’s just disband society because all of us can survive completely on our own, looking out only for our own personal, narrow, [...]
And You Thought Manhattan Preschools Were Competitive!
Oh, blimey, those Brits are crazier than New Yorkers about getting into the “right” preschool. Wall Street Journal had a front pager out of London this week that described what it takes. At Wetherby, the boys school near Hyde Park, head teacher Jenny Aviss advises women scheduling Caesarean sections to have them early in the [...]
