With a big week looming in health care reform, many questions remain about the fate of President Barack Obama's early learning initiatives.

Susan B. Neuman, a former assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in former President George W. Bush's administration, acknowledges in a piece for Roll Call that while her affiliation with the Repulican party has been lifelong, she wants her party to support student loan reform in part because of its impact on early education.

Neuman, a professor in education studies at the University of Michigan, comes out pushing hard for student loan reform and expressed her hope that the Senate passes it for many reasons including the $10 billion for the Early Learning Challenge Fund.

"This fund will promote improvements in early learning standards and ensure students in the next generation have the skills that they need for kindergarten and the rest of their education," Neuman wrote. "The fund is targeted to at-risk children because the science is very clear that the first five years are where we can make a difference with this group. While serving in the Bush administration, my belief in the benefits of early education became even stronger. Economists, business leaders and child development experts agree that smart investments in early education are essential to closing the achievement gap."

Republicans, Neuman says, "need to be part of the solution, and this bill aligns with their core beliefs."

Neuman's push comes at a time when all eyes in Washington and across the U.S. are watching health care reform this week. Early Ed Watch noted last week that the fate of Early Learning Challenge Grants may depend on what becomes of President Barack Obama's health care plan and the bill Democrats may be ready to send to him by the end of the week.

Stay tuned.