Some states have successfully expanded both access and the quality of their preschool programs. Here’s what some early learning advocates and researchers say California could learn from them.
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty introduced three bills this week, one to expand spaces for public preschool for low-income 4-year-olds, one to improve preschool facilities and one to increase reimbursement for preschool programs.
This school year the Lindsay Unified School District, in a small farming community in Tulare County, implemented universal preschool, meaning every child from birth to 4 years old, regardless of family income, can attend a program in the district for free.
Establishing one lead agency will help coordinate the state's often confusing array of child care and preschool programs, researchers say in a new report examining California's early childhood education system.
Backed by a new report from his Council of Economic Advisers, President Barack Obama is framing his push for universal preschool and early education as an economic issue that will yield extraordinary financial benefits not only to children and parents, but to the nation as a whole.
A vast majority of California registered voters believe attending a high quality preschool is important to a student’s future success in school, according to a Field Poll conducted in partnership with EdSource.
As public support and awareness of the importance of preschool grows at the federal, state and local level, there is a debate in the early childhood education world over how to achieve "universal preschool" and what form it should take.
Seattle voters have opted to raise their property taxes to pay for a city-subsidized voluntary preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds, joining cities including San Francisco, Denver and New York in expanding preschool opportunities for low-income children.
