(Montana excells in beauty, lags in pre-kindergarten programs)

Sara Mead of New America Foundation did a great job of highlighting two states in the news politically, but way behind in early childhood education. Both South Dakota and Montana, which held primaries this week, do not have any state pre-kindergarten program, nor do they have full-day kindergarten, she notes in her blog: Early Education Watch.

South Dakota's efforts bear watching as well; in February, a Zogby poll released by South Dakota Voices for Children found that 73 percent of voters in the state support a stalled plan to create standards and accountability for pre-kindergarten programs. The program Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is also pushing South Dakota to fund pre-kindergarten.

One reason these western and largely rural states are so interesting to keep an eye on is the attitudes of residents -- and politicians -- who oppose pre-kindergarten. And it is precisely why continued journalism -- and education -- about what pre-kindergarten can do matters so much.

(With pre-kindergarten in jeopardy, more Tennessee children may be learning at home)

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen had the best of intentions when he laid out ambitious plans to expand pre-kindergarten in the state, but the $25 million program has come to a halt. His plan would have created 250 more classrooms and serve another 5,000 children, according to The Tennessean .

The article quotes disappointed educators and pre-kindergarten advocates, but it's also filled with angry commentary from readers that once again bring home a real obstacle to pre-kindergarten: a public that doesn't trust such programs or understand why pre-kindergarten should be paid for with government funds.

The remarks at the end of Natalia Mielczarek's article show what a long way there is to go toward gaining public understanding and support for quality early childhood education in some areas.

One posting actually suggested with sarcasm that children be taken from their parents after birth and turned back over at 22; another boasted about doing "everything in my power to keep my daughter out of any school or education program that is ran and funded by the government,'' while still another noted that the reason children are falling behind is because "our parents are waiting for someone else to teach their children.''

Look for full-page advertisements in the New York Times and Washington Post this morning laying out what the backers say is a "broader, bolder" approach to raising achievement levels and closing achievement gaps. The liberal Economic Policy Institute is the organizer of the effort, which involved a truly all-star line up of researchers, educators, economists and others. The main idea, as laid out by EPI scholar Richard Rothstein, is that schools alone can't make up for all the factors that tend to undermine poor children's performance in school. (Poor health, poorly educated parents, language differences, maternal depression, transiency.) Those factors overwhelm the effects of teaching, now matter how good it is.

That's an argument Rothstein has made eloquently and authoritatively for a long time. But it's controversial, however, because some education reformers argue that Rothstein is letting schools off the hook, blaming poverty for children's performance rather than weak teaching. The measures proposed by other authors hardly go beyond the usual in-school reform efforts. They call for better trained teachers, more supportive emotional climate, smaller class sizes, more data and accountability, better services for immigrants.

One policy prescription offered, however, does go beyond elementary and secondary schooling: high quality child care and pre-kindergarten classes. My TC colleague Sharon Lynn Kagan and co-author Jane Waldvogel summarize the evidence persuasively, saying that poor children will make greater gains from pre-kindergarten than will middle class children.

By the way, EPI will be hosting a conference call about the reports at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time today.

(New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says pre-kindergarten is working)

Pre-kindergarten is not often a favored topic of business writers, and even reporters who cover K-12 are so often bogged down in covering district politics, test scores and the comings and goings of superintendents that they don't have much time to devote to pre-kindergarten.

That's why it's a nice surprise to run across stories in places like the New Mexico Business Weekly, which ran a piece on June 4 highlighting a study by the National Institute for Early Education at Rutgers University, which found the state's pre-kindergarten program helped boost math and reading scores for participants.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson hailed the study, noting that it highlights why the investment the state made in early childhood education in 2005 is paying off, as Sara Mead noted in Early Education Watch.

No one should doubt the power of a picture of cute young children – especially when they are dressing up like adults. The Washington Post took up most of the space above the fold on its front page Thursday, June 12, with this photograph of two Head Start children "graduating" from a program at a Washington, D.C. school that Chancellor Michelle Rhee is shutting down due to low enrollment. It is also a good reminder that Head Start programs can be offered by public schools as well as non profit agencies and others.

The Roanoke Times in Virginia published a piece this week by education analysts Robert Holland and Don Soifer that links to a paper they published analyzing federal pre-kindergarten programs, available at the website of the Lexington Institute , a conservative think tank.

Their argument comes at a time when Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is having trouble finding support for his plan to offer tax-funded preschool to all of the state's 4-year-olds, calling it "a large tab for scant investments.''

While most advocates for pre-kindergarten vehemently disagree with this view, reporters covering the pre-kindergarten story need to be familiar with arguments both for and against public investment in such programs as they pursue stories and keep on eye on both local and national legislation.

The Virginia story has been worth watching because Kaine has been unable to fulfill an ambitious campaign promise for universal pre-kindergarten access. He's instead shifted to trying to double the number of underprivileged 4-year-olds who might be eligible. Kaine is among the governors who have started out with big expansion dreams for pre-kindergarten, only to face economic and budget realities in their states.

(Pre-kindergarten might keep kids -- and their parents -- in Maine)

The Kennebec Journal in Maine picked up an interesting pre-kindergarten trend this week, with a surprising finding. At a time when student enrollment is on decline in this northern New England state, more children are signing up for pre-kindergarten.

The enterprising story by Keith Edwards found that the number of students in a new pre-kindergarten program in Augusta is growing, good news in a state where the school-age population is on decline overall, according to numbers from the Brookings Institution . The worrisome numbers have forced schools to consider closing and consolidating at a time when there are 13,000 fewer students in Maine schools than a decade ago. The decline is fueled by the lack of growth industry in the state, where so many rural towns are no longer home to robust lumber, dairy and other industries.

It took some reporting on Edward's part to discover the new enrollment growth, and to note that a new free public pre-kindergarten program could be a contributing factor. According a principal quoted in the story, such programs can help families connect with schools and decide they want to stay in a school system where their child is receiving attention and encouragement and early on feels like part of a community.

(Different cities are trying new things to get kids ready for school)

I came across two very different stories about pre-kindergarten today, both illustrations of good intentions -- getting children ready for school. One illustrated a program that is working well, the other highlighted once again the tremendous problems New York City is having just getting kids registered.

St. Louis is offering a mini-program that teaches children to stand in line, raise hands and recognize numbers and letters. The story in the St. Louis Post Dispatch noted that some students need a little more help making the transition to school, and the month-long programs some school districts offer can give them a great start by the time they arrive in the fall.

I couldn't help note the contrast with a New York Daily News story that once again highlighted the mess New York City finds itself in, after using a new selection process to fill 15,000 pre-kindergarten seats.

The story showed the real impact this misguided process is having on children and families, who can no longer get a spot in neighborhood schools just steps from their home in many cases. Across the city, siblings are shut out and even families and students who registered on team and followed all the proper registration steps must tell their children they cannot go to pre-school next year after all -- even when the building is next door.

(Poll shows public favors public pre-kindergarten investment)

Candidates take note: Americans want publicly funded pre-kindergarten and believe in a federal role for it, according to a bipartisan poll from Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc. and American Viewpoint. Nearly 7 in 10 voters said they wanted more federal support for state-funded pre-kindergarten. Highlights of the poll can be viewed here:

The poll released on Tuesday surveyed 800 registered voters and another 200 “swing voters,’’ and found strong support for federal investment in pre-kindergarten – particularly among such voters in the South, where governors like Phil Bredesen of Tennessee have been struggling to finance ambitious pre-kindergarten agendas.

The findings were hailed as good news by Pre-K Now, the Washington D.C. based group leading the movement for high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three and four-year-olds in the U.S.

The results should serve as a reminder to journalists that pre-kindergarten is well worth covering as both an education and a political story. Simply reporting the results, however, is not enough. The findings should be a starting point for visiting high quality pre-kindergartens to see what is working, and for asking follow up questions about how graduates fare.

(An unintended irony in New York City: Fewer pre-kindergarten and gifted opportunities; unfilled seats)

Buried at the end of the fascinating New York Times analysis of a new policy that has effectively shut some of the city's poorest children out of gifted kindergarten programs is fundamental question about equity and access: How fair is it to test four-year-olds and make educational decisions for them based on those scores?

New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein's initial idea of screening all kindergartens has met with fierce opposition, including from Deborah Stipek, the dean of Stanford University's education school. She believes such testing only increases inequities.

Klein has since backed away from the idea due to budget cuts. Bu the concept remains on the mind of parents in New York City who have been furious with the Department of Education's attempts to centralize pre-school admissions. Already, that's led to several children being shut out of pre-school altogether and of siblings -- including twins -- being split up into different schools throughout the city, in many cases far from their neighborhood.

Savvy New York parents -- being New Yorkers, of course, where parenting can be a competitive sport -- would likely find a way to prepare for such tests, notes one participant on Insideschools.org, which is keeping careful track of the kindergarten issue.

"In a competitive world parents who have the access and the means will do whatever it takes to give their kids an edge--whether that means buying kits that teach skills similar to those tested .... having the child tutored, or even purchasing copies of the testing instruments themselves,'' the blog participant noted.

That same edge was not available to the many children who did not make the cut-off scores the Department of Education established for this year's programs.

(Editorial writers in Mississippi are concerned about poverty and the lack of pre-K)

Editorial writers in Mississippi are continuing to notice and push for improvement in the state's dismal showing in important child development areas.

An editorial in the Mississippi Press noted the state's 50th overall rank in a the Kids Count study conducted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation , and pointed out that the state is one of the last to begin focusing on the critical early years of a child's education.

It's important for editorial writers to stay on top of efforts in Mississippi, where the states neediest children are served by Head Start but where there is no state funding for pre-kindergarten, even as neighboring states boost new programs and spending initiatives. Pre-K Now has kept an eye on Mississippi's laggard status as "the only southern state in the Pre-K Wilderness.''

Republican Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has been no fan of publicly funded pre-kindergarten, noting that he does not see it happening in the state's future. Mississippi has the highest poverty rate in the country, and efforts to improve programs for young children have hit setbacks this spring, notes Sara Meade of Early Ed Watch.

(The debate, and questions over California pre-school quality remains)

The children most likely to benefit from pre-kindergarten in California are the ones who are not enrolled, according to a new study by the RAND corporation that found the quality of preschool in the state is inconsistent.

The report by the Santa Monica-based think tank, notes Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee, should be viewed as "the latest development in California's long-running political debate over the relatively poor academic performance of its K-12 students and whether more elaborate pre-school programs, especially those centered on children from poor and/or immigrant families, would generate better elementary, junior high and high school results.''

Interestingly, the study found participation is based primarily on the socioeconomic standing of the family, and that children from more higher income families were no more likely to experience high quality early learning environments than children from poorer backgrounds.

The Rand Corporation had previously wrote a report documenting the value of preschool education by concluding such programs would generate an estimated $2 to $4 in benefits to California society for every $1 spent, as the authors outlined in a letter to the Los Angeles Times.

The study comes two years after voters in California rejected a ballot initiative that would have funded voluntary preschool for every 4-year-old in the state through a $2.8 billion annual tax increase on high income earners -- and shows the debate over how best to provide early childhood education in the state is far from over -- and still well worth the attention of journalists.

(New study shows Oklahoma's public pre-kindergarten to be effective)

Two interesting and very different studies have emerged this week on pre-kindergarten quality and effectiveness, including a surprisingly critical finding from Georgia,the first state to offer universal pre-kindergarten.

The state once hailed as a model, it seems, no longer leads the the nation in enrollment, high-quality standards or per-pupil spending, according the report by the Southern Education Foundation, picked up in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Pre-school access in the state is limited by a new population growth, including an influx of new immigrants.Georgia's per-pupil expenditure now ranks 22 against 38 other state-funded pre-kindergarten programs, the report notes, leaving lots of unanswered follow-up questions for journalists.

A study of 3,500 children in Oklahoma, meanwhile, found that pre-kindergarten programs set children up for later success in school, by strengthening reading, writing and math skills. The study published in the journal Science also found the state's pre-kindergarten program to have relatively high standards, pay and benefits to well-qualified teachers.

Participation in Tulsa's public pre-school program increased cognitive development significantly, along with pre-reading, writing and math skills, the study found. Children who participated in Head Start also improved their cognitive skills, though less dramatically.

William T. Gormley, lead author of the study, is the co-director of the Center for Research on Children in the U.S. (CROCUS) at Georgetown University. He believes a strong preschool program can lessen "negative effects,'' of family and environmental risk factors. Copies of the report are available at the AAAS Office of Public Programs at 202-326-6440 or
scipak@aaas.org.

Oklahoma has been an interesting state to watch because more of its 4-year-olds attend public pre-school than in any other state. Other studies have also found that Oklahoma's program improves children's language, literacy and mathematical skills; including a December, 2006 report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University.

(Poll finds deep concern with quality of education, preparation in U.S.)

At a time when many states are debating or having difficulty financing publicly funded pre-kindergarten, some troubling -- but hardly surprising -- news about U.S. education was revealed in a poll released by the Associated Press and carried in USA Today and other newspapers on Friday.

Half of Americans surveyed found U.S. Schools are doing only a fair to poor job of preparing students for college and the workplace, even though education ranks behind only the economy and gas prices as a top issue for Americans.

Another half said the U.S. education system is falling behind that of other countries, and six in 10 said the quality of American schools has declined in the past 20 years.

The AP survey of 833 adults and 854 parents, financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and conducted by the consumer information company Knowledge Networks, follows a poll of kindergarten teachers in 2004 that found kids who did not attend quality pre-kindergarten arrive at school unprepared.