Preschool wars go mainstream

10-21-2011

Blog by Allison Daskal Hausman/Education Resource Strategies

We are grateful Time Magazine recently covered the struggles communities are having around protecting preschool. Research has shown that preschool as an investment pays for itself many times over, yet public funding to ENSURE preschool/Pre-K opportunities for all children is the exception. While many school districts offer Pre-K, it is not technically part of their mandate and with budgets being cut, Pre-K is first to go. We’ve seen this in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Prince George’s County where school leaders have begun to see the results of their in investment in Pre-K as improvements in Kindergarden readiness begin to translate into better elementary school results. But, with limited budgets it’s hard to argue for spending on non-mandated Pre-K when the district is struggling to maintain a full slate of high school course offerings that enable their students to compete for the most selective colleges. Time Magazine’s “The Preschool Wars” provides a powerful summary of why we know Pre-K is such a valuable investment and what’s happening—or what’s not happening—to protect it. (more...)

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