Tim Kaine has come out with a sweeping and profound education plan. The centerpiece of his plan for education, called "Start Strong," focuses on preschool education -- an area in which Virginia is sorely lacking. As Michael Shear wrote yesterday in the yesterday?s Washington Post, "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Timothy M. Kaine vowed Tuesday to make preschool available to every Virginia 4-year-old, a costly but potentially popular promise three months before Election Day."As a Fairfax County Public Schools Middle School teacher, I couldn?t be happier that Tim Kaine has decided to make this issue a central concern of his. Students who begin K-12 behind other students not only fail to catch up, they often fall further behind. School then becomes associated with failure for these students, and by the time they get to my class it is as if they have given up all hope. That's why the best place to begin efforts to reform is not elementary school but preschool.
Currently, when all children begin school at age five, they don?t start on an equal footing. A few students attend expensive preschools, others are taught by a stay-at-home parent, but far too many, especially in Virginia, come with hardly any educational skills or background. Policy expert Robert Gordon wrote in the June 6 issue of the New Republic (subscription required) that ?[t]he achievement gap opens before children even reach elementary school, yet U.S. support for preschool lags well behind other nations. So progressives should press for big expansions in high-quality early education.?
We should give Tim Kaine a lot of credit for being one the first state-level Democrats to make this push. In announcing his plan, Kaine underscored the importance of preschool education when he said, "Ninety-five percent of a child's brain growth is complete by age 5.? When students come to school with such varied experiences and backgrounds, it does not take long for these differences to manifest themselves. As Kaine?s website points out, ?only 71% percent of Virginia third graders passed the third grade Standards of Learning English test in 2004.?
If students are going to succeed in school they need to come prepared before kindergarten.
Another excellent aspect of Kaine?s ?Start Strong? plan that should be emphasized is the fact that it is universal. This is not just a government handout for poor people and minorities. This is program designed to include ALL children. Jerry Kilgore has, unsurprisingly, criticized Kaine?s proposal as ?a tax and spend liberal? idea. Apparently, Kilgore doesn?t think Virginia can afford to pay for this program. Tim Kaine has countered this valid concern with the following statistic (again from his website): ?Studies show that for every $1 invested in pre-K programs, Virginians would see a return of more than $17.?
Of course, information coming from Kaine?s website could be biased. So, let's take a look at a comprehensive study of a universal early education program in California completed by the non-partisan Rand Corporation. The name of this study is ?The Economics of Investing in Universal Preschool Education in California? by Lynn A. Karoly and James H. Bigelow. Here are the main advantages to preschool education according to Rand:
* Reduced reliance on social welfare programs by the families of preschool children and by the preschool participants when they reach adulthood.
* Improved labor market outcomes for parents of preschool children and their employers.
* Enhanced educational and social experiences for peers of preschool children through effects on classrooms and neighborhoods.
* Improved health outcomes for preschool participants across life course and subsequent gains in health status for their children.
* Higher educational attainment for the children of preschool participants and related gains in well-being (e.g., health status, earnings, and so on).
* Better consumer choices and life course decisions (e.g., fertility timing and spacing) by preschool participants in adulthood.
* Higher rates of economic growth and improved competitiveness in global markets as the result of a more educated future workforce.
* Reductions in income disparities, poverty rates, and economic and social gaps across racial and ethnic groups because of improved educational attainment for preschool participants.
* Lower intangible losses from averted juvenile and adult crimes of preschool participants and reduced intangible losses from averted abuse and neglect of preschool participants.
Now, I don?t want to belabor all of these conclusions, but let me just highlight a few. First, the use of other social services dropped significantly. This is something all conservatives should support. Second, the study shows that preschool education improves the economic situation for everyone involved (the student, the parents and employer). As education becomes ever more central to economic success it makes perfect sense to begin investment in universal early education. Anyone worried about global competitiveness of the United States should support this. Third, as our society becomes ever more unequal in terms of income and wealth, universal preschool holds out a promise of reversing this sad trend. Everyone -- conservatives, moderates and progressives - should support this goal.
Given all these advantages, perhaps Jerry Kilgore has it backwards. The question is not whether we can afford to have universal preschool education, but whether we can afford NOT to have it.
Kip Malinosky
Fairfax County Public Schools
As the parent of a three year old and a one year old, I am deeply impressed by Tim Kaine?s plan. Not only does it demonstrate he cares deeply about my children and those of every Virginia family, it shows that Kaine?s focus is on the long-term success of our State and our children. It would have been easy to ignore the power of pre-kindergarten research, to look beyond the hard data, countless studies and facts and just say it costs too much. But Kaine didn?t do that. He studied the facts and thought about the kids of Virginia and put the future of our State first.
And his plan does not mandate pre-kindergarten or set up a government-only system; it gives parents the option to make the choice most appropriate for them. It strengthens the existing network of public and private providers, and leaves choices in the hands of parents. As a parent, these facts give me great confidence in his priorities and governing style.
Reams of research indicate that pre-kindergarten makes education sense. Most of our brain?s foundation to learn develops before the age of five. If we don?t ensure kids have the proper foundation, we are shortchanging them before they even walk into an elementary school. The income requirements and marginalized funding for Head Start mean many families can?t use it. Higher income families often provide pre-kindergarten experiences for their kids. There is a large group in the middle that has very few options.
Pre-kindergarten is good for education and it is good for fiscal responsibility. Better prepared kids learn more and are more likely to stay out of trouble and get good jobs. Multiple studies show that dollars invested in pre-kindergarten save many, many more government dollars later as pres-kindergarten educated kids are less likely to get into trouble and need government services. In addition, pre-kindergarten strengthens and expands our pool of future job seekers. That is why business leaders, police officers, juvenile court judges, economists and even the Federal Reserve talk about the value of pre-kindergarten programs.
But even without all the studies, many parents already know this. We see how fast our children learn; how they surprise us with new words, phrases and ideas. And we have seen our kids interact with children of the same age that have not had access to the amount of reading or brain stimulation that our children receive. The differences are stark. And it doesn?t take over forty years of research to conclude that those differences will grow if we don?t do anything about them.
In Alexandria, almost fifty percent of the kids show up to kindergarten without any pre-kindergarten experiences. This is a bit more than the state average. Anecdotal and hard data tell us the kids without pre-kindergarten have a harder time in school. We all know the parable about teaching a man to fish. Well, pre-kindergarten is fishing 101. Any child not given the best chance is a failure for all of us. Fifty percent not given that chance, when we know we could do better, is immoral.
As a local elected official, Kaine?s plan demonstrates his respect for each Virginia community. In a State where many lawmakers prefer to avoid tough issues and instead attack the efforts of individual communities, Kaine has taken a different path. Rather than a top-down, rule-based, system that mandates specific formats to local government, Kaine?s plan recognizes the differences inherent in every municipality throughout this State and asks each community to help craft the plans that make the most sense for them. This is a recipe for success; we benefit when we harness the full talent and creativity of the entire Commonwealth.
As a citizen concerned about our State and national competitiveness as well as fiscal stewardship, Kaine?s proposal represents the type of long-term, strategic choice I wish we were called to make more often. Instead of the short-term, no sacrifice promises of a free lunch that we often hear from politicians, Kaine has spelled out a plan for the long-term competitiveness and fiscal strength of Virginia. As fewer kids go on to get in trouble or require public services, pre-kindergarten will reduce the long term cost of government. China, Finland and other countries have made pre-kindergarten a key part of their education strategies. We already know that US academic test scores face strong competition from the world and that technology jobs are starting to move overseas. Kaine?s Strong Start initiative helps to ensure our children will have every opportunity to not just participate, but to excel in the competitive global economy. By investing in pre-kindergarten, we strengthen the long-term economic health of our State and leave a great legacy for future generations.
The word bold often gets overused. But in this case, it fits. Given Virginia?s frequent focus on taxes, Kaine?s plan is nothing, if not bold. Leadership is also something we see less often than we should from public office holders. But with his compassion for our kids and optimistic plan for the long term success of our children and our State, Kaine has demonstrated his ability to lead. The phrase bold leadership pretty much sums it all up.
One thing I like about this proposal (politically) is that it is something people can sink their teeth into. They clearly understand exactly what it is all about. It separates Kaine from the Kilgore. Don't know what the other fellow thinks about this.
But I do think that Kaine cannot just rely on "well, it will pay for itself in the long run". We still need to be able to say that we can afford this now. But 4 year olds can make a very appealing ad.
I know that GA made pre-k available to all a few years ago. Any other states doing that? How many other school districts in VA have pre-k. What is the average cost? Is they don't have to build new facilities the cost should be less than we think.
And Kaine shouldn't stop with simply proposing this plan. He should boldly demand to know why Governor Warner was asleep at the wheel, letting the Commonwealth's 4-year-olds go without government-paid preschool!