Give poor kids a chance with early education | Lynn Karoly

President Obama is expected to remain strong in universal preschool initiative. This is to give low-income children a good start

in his State of the Union this year, President Obama proposed to "work with states to make quality preschool to all children in the United States." It was one of the releases most unexpected and immediately became politicized. advocates were driven by the support of the President for the education of early childhood. Critics have argued that pushing "Head Start for all", a reference to the federal government funded preschool program for children living in poverty.

not forget that the allocation of public funds to education in early childhood has a history of bipartisan support. The two solid red states (such as Georgia and Oklahoma) and the swing or blue states (such as Florida and Illinois) have or are moving towards universal for all four years preschool. Enthusiasm for public investment in early childhood education with the support of a solid body of rigorous research shows that children who participate in high-quality preschool are better prepared for kindergarten and then do better school, measured by test scores and other school performance results, such as the use of special education, grade repetition and high school completion.

critical debate since Obama spoke focused on the desirability of universal preschool would be beneficial or a waste of public resources. But this masks some important details of the president's plan, namely expanding access specifically for preschool children from low to moderate income, ensure that programs provide a quality early childhood education and coordination of federal efforts with state initiatives.

Despite this strong knowledge base, the current U.S. system is characterized by a "pre-access gap." In 2010, about 90% of four years in families classified in 20% of the income of the family attended a center-based care or early learning program. Only 64% of those in the 40% of families did the same. There is a similar difference in participation rates when children based on parental education are compared.

• Indeed, children from families with preschool have universal high-income, largely because their parents can not afford the cost of private programs. However, while families with low or moderate incomes may be eligible for subsidized early education programs such as Head Start or state preschool, most communities do not have sufficient funds to cover all eligible children. When we examine the data from California before the Great Recession, it was found that funds from state and federal programs have only half of eligible four years. And that's not to mention the fact that many middle-income families earn too much to qualify for subsidized options, but not enough to pay for expensive private programs.

It is also necessary to improve the quality of existing programs. Recent research examining several states have shown that many schools and programs in the home can meet the licensing requirements, but do not always provide a stimulating learning environment led by educators with the skills and competencies required. Funded effective Oklahoma State Preschool program, for example, requires a master teacher in every classroom to have a bachelor's degree, and teachers will receive professional development opportunities. A rigorous evaluation of the program also contributes to the continuous improvement of quality.

give all children the opportunity to participate in a high quality early learning, as President Obama has promised not necessarily require free preschool to all children, even that has been made in some states and localities. Instead, the expanded at the federal, state or local funding can be directed first to the manufacture of high quality downgrade universal preschool children in middle-income with programs financed in whole or in part. This is what we should expect that the president unveils his latest budget plan.

federal and state initiatives to promote quality preschool also that these investments in early learning programs to reach their full commitment and promote the healthy development of the child - physical, social, emotional
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