"Tight budgets hit prekindergarten programs; Enrollment has dropped in some states" by Kimberly Hefling Associated Press / January 18, 2012
WASHINGTON - The expansion in public prekindergarten programs has slowed and even been reversed in some states as school districts cope with shrinking budgets. As a result, many 3- and 4-year-olds are not going to preschool.
Children from low-income families who start kindergarten without first attending a quality education program enter school an estimated 18 months behind their peers. Many never catch up, and research shows they are more likely to need special education services and to drop out. Children in families with higher incomes also can benefit from early education, research shows.
Yet, roughly a quarter of the nation’s 4-year-olds and more than half of 3-year-olds attend no preschool, public or private. Families who earn about $40,000 to $50,000 annually face the greatest difficulties because they make too much to qualify for many publicly funded programs, but cannot afford private ones, said Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.
And as more students qualify for free or reduced lunch - often a qualifier to get into a state-funded prekindergarten program - many families are finding that slots simply are not available, he said....
Barnett’s institute has estimated it would cost about $70 billion annually to provide full-day prekindergarten to every 3- and 4-year old in America, including before- and after-care services....
Ever notice wars, corporations, and Wall Street never want for tax loot?
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