Washington, DC – At the Push for Quality Pre-School Education Forum at the Center for American Progress today, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) highlighted the need for quality early childhood education and presented her Ready to Learn Act, which helps states create and strengthen current voluntary pre-kindergarten education programs. Senator Clinton was joined by Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA), who also discussed the importance of early childhood education.
“I believe voluntary universal Pre-K is not only the smart thing to do, but the right thing to do,” said Senator Clinton. “It must be the goal of our nation to ensure that children enter kindergarten ready to learn. The money we save by failing to invest in our children is money that we lose down the road in the costs of special education, crime, welfare and unemployment. Let’s start investing in our children and their future again. America must be ready to compete in the global economy and our students must be ready for college and careers.”
Today, it is not unusual for children to arrive at kindergarten already behind their peers. Nearly 50 percent of all kindergarten teachers report that at least half of their students come to school with problems that hinder their success. Each year, more than 200,000 children repeat kindergarten. Children who arrive at kindergarten unprepared often struggle to catch up with their peers. Eighty-eight percent of children who are poor readers in first grade remain poor readers by the fourth grade. Children who are not at least modestly skilled readers by the end of third grade are unlikely to graduate from high school.
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Children who attend high-quality pre-k programs are less likely to be held back a grade or to need special education, and they are more likely to graduate from high school. They also have higher earnings as adults and are less likely to become dependent on welfare or involved in crime.
The Ready to Learn Act, introduced last week by Senators Clinton and Bond, will help prepare children for kindergarten by providing funding for states through a competitive process to establish and administer voluntary preschool programs, while allowing governors to build on pre-existing early childhood systems. Schools, child care entities, Head Start programs, or other community providers of pre-kindergarten programs will be eligible for funding.
To ensure high-quality programs that properly prepare children to be ready to learn, state plans will require qualified teachers, a developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate early learning curriculum, low teacher to child ratios, comprehensive services and support for professional development.
Read the full text of Senator Clinton's remarks.
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