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Universal Preschool News

In this section, you'll find editorials, legislation, public policy and trends on issues relating to preschool, pre-kindergarten, childcare and the push toward universal preschool education. Particularly of note are articles concerning the states claim of a compelling interest in compulsory preschool education. Visit often for the latest preschool news.

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Arroyo wants 5-year-olds included in pre-school program President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the Department of Education to include five-year-old children in government-run day care centers run to strengthen and expand the DepEd's pre-school program starting June 2008. Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus noted that "while management of day care centers still remains with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the DepEd is ready to take on this overwhelming task." by Jerry E. Esplanada April 01, 2008 [More Results from Philippine Daily Inquirer]
Who should prepare kids for kindergarten? Georgia already offers universal pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds and there has been talk about expanding the program to 3-year-olds. Some argue the state shouldn't teach more children until it can provide quality education to its k-12 students. They question why the state should get involved when part of the problem comes from poor parenting. by Laura Diamond March 31, 2008 [More Results from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Tangle of Funds Perplexes Preschool Providers Funding for California preschool programs is dizzyingly complex, with money flowing from numerous state grants, each with their own restrictions, requirements and a mountain of paperwork. Preschool providers find it logistically difficult to weave different funds together, a recognized way to create income-integrated preschools like Poway Unified's, which delivers services to kids across the economic spectrum. by Emily Alpert March 28, 2008 [More Results from Voice of San Diego (CA)]
Debate merits of preschool New Jersey spends more per pupil on preschool education than any other state, according to a new report. Unfortunately, Gov. Corzine doesn't think the state is spending enough. He wants to expand the program for 3- and 4-year-olds, now confined largely to the state's poorest school districts, to low-income students who live outside those districts. March 27, 2008 [More Results from Asbury Park Press (NJ)]
Frewsburg Board Authorizes Universal Pre-K The Frewsburg Central School District will begin a universal pre-kindergarten program next fall. School officials said they will apply for a grant from the state to help cover the costs of starting a program. by S. Alexander Gerould March 24, 2008 [More Results from The Post-Journal]
Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills On October 3, 1955, the Mickey Mouse Club debuted on television. As we all now know, the show quickly became a cultural icon, one of those phenomena that helped define an era. What is less remembered but equally, if not more, important, is that another transformative cultural event happened that day: The Mattel toy company began advertising a gun called the "Thunder Burp." by Alix Spiegel February 24, 2008 [More Results from The Angry Gnome]
New Study Identifies Three Ways To Lower Pre-K Expulsion Rates The new study identifies ways policymakers can reduce expulsion rates. It is based on data from the National Prekindergarten Survey of 4,800 classrooms in the 40 states that fund prekindergarten. January 10, 2008 [More Results from The Pew Charitable Trusts]
Edwards' education plan leaves out full-day kindergarten Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards wants universal preschool for the nation's 4-year-olds,... ...but the education plan he debuted last week does not address full-day kindergarten, the issue that has dominated education debate in Nevada. by Anjeanette Damon September 25, 2007 [More Results from Reno Gazette-Journal]
Kaine Trims Pre-K Proposal RICHMOND -- Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Thursday scrapped his campaign promise to provide universal access to pre-kindergarten. Announcing that he will instead push to more than double the number of underprivileged 4-year-olds eligible for early education at the state's expense. In his 2005 bid for governor, Kaine promised to pay for preschool without regard to a parent's income. by Tim Craig August 17, 2007 [More Results from The Washington Post (VA)]
As States Tackle Poverty, Preschool Gets High Marks It took a well-orchestrated campaign to put pre-K on the top of political agendas -- and new tactics that didn't rely on do-gooder rhetoric. "The current full-scale Head Start program is having a disappointing impact on kids," says Douglas Besharov of the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "Pre-K is an important part of the tool chest for reducing the achievement gap...but will the return on investment be as great as people say? I don't think so." by Debirah Solomon August 09, 2007 [More Results from The Wall Street Journal]
Is case for preschool elementary? It is ludicrous even to consider adding preschool to our public schools' duties. First, MEAPs show our children score the highest in the early elementary grades and consistently get worse until they reach high school. This means the longer our children are in public schools, the worse they do. August 03, 2007 [More Results from The Detroit Free Press]
Preschool reality check in New Jersey IN NEW JERSEY the promises made about the benefits of universal preschool in the Abbott districts have reached unparalleled heights. Recently, Record Columnist Mary Ellen Schoonmaker explained why preschool is "a new front in the nation's war on poverty." Yet, in the United States preschool enrollment has increased from 16 to 70 percent since 1965. This massive growth in preschool attendance and time spent in the classroom has not resulted in increased student achievement, with U.S. test scores rising only very slightly since 1970 when standardized national testing began on the National Assessment of Education Progress. by LISA SNELL July 30, 2007 [More Results from North Jersey News]
Can TV help your kids get fit? Maybe, just maybe, kids can watch TV without turning into lifelong sloths. Lately, networks are spending more airtime promoting and running TV shows that try to pry kids off the couch. The get-healthy push is fuelled by the alarming rise in childhood obesity. In March, the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute released a study that found 91 per cent of Canadian children aged 5 to 19 were not getting enough exercise. by Catherine Dawson March June 26, 2007 [More Results from The Globe and Mail (UK)]
Sugary Drinks Fattening Up Preschoolers Sweet drinks at snack time and before bed are widening preschoolers' waistlines, a new study shows. The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Canadian researchers found that 2- to 4-year-olds who regularly drank sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks and fruit drinks between meals were more than twice as likely to be overweight at age 4 1/2, compared to kids who didn't drink these beverages. by HealthDay News June 25, 2007 [More Results from Forbes]
The Evidence Shows 'Success' Fades WASHINGTON -- The senator who wrote "It Takes a Village" apparently believes it takes the federal government to decide how American families prepare their 4-year-olds for kindergarten. Evaluations of early education interventions have shown that while participating students may yield gains in the short-run, these benefits typically disappear over time. Other academic studies, such as a 2005 study published by Stanford and University of California researchers, have reported that students who attend preschool may be more likely to exhibit negative social behaviors. June 24, 2007 [More Results from The Free Lance-Star (VA)]
Let children be children | Is your 5-year-old stressed out because so much is expected? We've just finished test time again in the schools of California. The mad frenzy of testing infects everyone from second grade through high school. For 30 years as a teacher of primary kids, I have operated on the Any Fool Can See principle. And any fool can see that the spread between what is developmentally appropriate for 7- and 8-year-old children and what is demanded of them on these tests is widening. A lot of what used to be in the first-grade curriculum is now taught in kindergarten. Is your 5-year-old stressed out? Perhaps this is why. by Penelope H. Bevan June 13, 2007 [More Results from San Francisco Chronicle (CA)]
When Should a Kid Start Kindergarten? According to the apple-or-coin test, used in the Middle Ages, children should start school when they are mature enough for the delayed gratification and abstract reasoning involved in choosing money over fruit. In 15th- and 16th-century Germany, parents were told to send their children to school when the children started to act "rational." And in contemporary America, children are deemed eligible to enter kindergarten according to an arbitrary date on the calendar known as the birthday cutoff... by Elizabeth Weil June 03, 2007 [More Results from The New York Times]
Sacramento Police Chief Pushes Preschool to Cut Crime Sacramento Police Chief Albert Najera wasn't able to attend pre-school as a child but says he wants to make sure other low-income children have the option to go. Najera joined Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, at Washington Elementary School this morning, to call on state lawmakers to expand publicly funded pre-school programs as a way to reduce crime rates. by Marcey Brightwell May 30, 2007 [More Results from News10 (CA)]
The pretense of preschool proposals Last week, U.S. Sen. and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton unveiled a new proposal to fund state pre-kindergarten programs for all 4-year-old children in America. However, pre-kindergarten programs have been around for many years, and such grandiose claims have been refuted by several studies on the effectiveness of such programs. The truth is government-run pre-kindergarten programs are another huge burden on taxpayers, and, in fact, they are detrimental to children and our country. May 30, 2007 [More Results from World Net Daily]
Hillary Youth Corps: Hillary Clinton Day Care 'Village' Crisis The newest "crisis" being contrived by the Hillary camp has to do with the supposed need for government to assume control over child care, since moms and pops and the local privately owned daycare centers are all obviously doing such a lousy job of it. In truth, none of this is new, but just another facade covering the same old agenda of the left. Convince people that they are in dire straits financially and otherwise, and then promise to fix everything for them if only they will sacrifice their freedoms and ultimately their good sense, to the cause. by Christopher G. Adamo May 29, 2007 [More Results from The Post Chronicle]
Pre-K bill headed to Douglas' desk MONTPELIER -- Lawmakers reached a deal on the rules around state funding of early childhood education - that pitted those who want universal coverage against those who worry about increasing the cost to the education fund and the future of private nursery In the end, they split the difference. School districts will get state assistance in providing education to half of their 3- and 4-year-olds if they choose to do so. But if they provide those services to more than that number, local taxpayers will have to put up the additional money. by Louis Porter and Sarah Hinckley May 25, 2007 [More Results from Rutland Herald (VT)]
Clinton Wants Universal Preschool Program MIAMI BEACH -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing a $10 billion federal program aimed at providing voluntary pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-old children in America. She said quality pre-kindergarten programs will more than pay for themselves because children will be less likely to enter special education programs, drop out of school or enter the welfare system. May 21, 2007 [More Results from KOCO Oklahoma City (FL)]
Clinton Wants Universal Preschool Program Hillary Rodham Clinton Says Plan Would Cost $10B Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is ready to propose a new federal plan that would offer high-quality preschool to every 4-year-old in the United States. May 21, 2007 [More Results from Channel 3000]
Plug of war Conversations on the ins and outs of pacifiers can get contentious The pacifier. Despite its name, the small plastic plug seems to rile up controversy rather than calm it. Aside from breast-feeding and circumcision, few other topics can get parents, grandparents, pediatricians and child experts so stirred up that a timeout may be in order. by Jennifer Davies May 19, 2007 [More Results from The Union Tribune (CA)]
Lawmakers quietly considering universal preschool After California's voters last June defeated a $2.3 billion universal preschool initiative, Proposition 82, the issue of early education seemed dead. But reports of its demise have proved premature. The debate over how much to spend on pre-K and for which kids is now in the hands of the state politicians, and the issue will resurface this week when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger releases his revised 2008 budget. by David L. Kirp May 07, 2007 [More Results from San Jose Mercury News (CA)]

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