John McCain adviser

Eduwonk, which featured our own president Richard Whitmire last week, is being guest blogged by John McCain education adviser Virginia Walden Ford this week.

She offers her perspective on the Democratic national convention and also illuminates McCain's education policies on evaluating teachers, early childhood education, and virtual learning.

Report highlights need for preschool access

A new report by The National Institute for Early Education Research likely gives Sen. Hillary Clinton added fuel for her universal preschool initiative. The report notes that minority children, and those from “low-income, poorly educated families” in the West and Midwest, have the least access to quality preschool programs.
Governors across the nation -- including my own state, Virginia -- are trotting out preschool expansion proposals. Presidential candidates are on the preschool bandwagon as well. Clinton is on record with a detailed proposal to provide universal access to preschool, which would reach students highlighted in the NIEER report. To check out the report, visit NIEER here.
~ Cathy

preschool

Anyone looking for evidence that universal preschool is likely to play a significant role in the '08 elections can find it in this comprehensive story on preschool legislation just turned in by Linda Jacobson in Education Week. Three bills pushing up the federal role in preschool are pending before Congress, one of them Hillary Clinton's Ready to Learn Act.

On the campaign trail Clinton talks about building a $10 billion universal preschool program for four-year-olds. Her legislation, however, includes no dollar figure -- only that it would target families below 200 percent of poverty and therefore not eligible for Head Start.

(Hmmm, you're thinking ... sounds like Women with Needs. Exactly, which makes this a glimpse into a formula that's proving successful for her.)

Any federal preschool program is most likely to help those in-between families (too well-off for Head Start, too poor for a quality private preschool -- a group of voters both sides can win over) which is why it's reasonable to assume this is an issue with political legs. To date, we've only heard preschool talk from the Democrats, but it may not be long before this bubbles up from the other side...

Richard Whitmire

Will preschool outpull NCLB?

In some ways reporters are no different from football players: We play as we practice. And all the practice leading up to the '08 campaign has focused on NCLB. Will the candidates embrace it or reject it?

But what if the conventional wisdom is wrong and the key education issue for '08 turns out to be universal preschool, not NCLB?

Based on what's happening in the states, with a surge in pre-K spending ($528 million in new money over the past year, according to Pre-K Now), there are signs that might be happening. The group said seven states now offer forms of pre-K for all children. And the candidates, at least the Democrats, appear a lot more eager to talk about pre-K than NCLB.

Pictured above is Berkeley professor David Kirp, author of the just released Sandbox Investment and Libby Doggett, who runs Pre-K Now. (Full disclosure: Kirp and I discussed his book Tuesday before a group pulled together by Pew.)

While the pre-K movement is on a roll there are hazards ahead as the issue hits the political grinder. The Democrats are embracing universal preschool but they risk overpromising. High quality preschool doesn't come cheap. Stretching programs to reach the most voters shrinks quality, which in turn shrinks the gains made by children (think Florida here).

Republicans have their own risks. By remaining quiet on what could be the big education/political issue they risk losing on an issue that polls indicate appeals to their base. And how long can Republicans ignore the corporate leaders backing universal preschool?

Perfect time to unleash a cliche: This bears watching.

Richard Whitmire

Hillary on Preschool and Public Service

Hillary Clinton touted familiar themes during campaign stops last week in South Carolina. The prime sponsor for the proposed Ready to Learn Act (Senate Bill 1823, introduced July 19) that proposes offering federal grants for voluntary all-day preschool programs, she folded the message into her speeches. Her legislation calls for grants to provide a 50 percent match to states in support of free voluntary preKindergarten programs for 4-year-olds. She's jumping on a familiar bandwagon. Other presidential candidates also support the idea, as do state leaders like Virginia's Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. But opponents voice concerns that this is a push in the direction of making Pre-K mandatory and would divert ed funds from other programs. Investor's Business Daily carried a critique on July 20 titled "Clinton's Hostile Preschool Takeover," by Darcy Olsen and Bruce Fuller. Keep an ear open for more criticism, and more support, as this snowball builds in size and velocity.

Clinton also spoke of her proposed U.S. Public Service Academy, a riff on the military acads, but focused on government civil service. She introduced legislation in March to launch the academy, which would rely on the federal government for 80 percent of its funding. Students would compete for admission and would have their tuition fully paid. In return, they would agree to at least five years of service in the public sector. The proposal has drawn criticism from college administrators and instructors, who note that several colleges and universities already have programs focused on public service. They worry that the academy will draw away resources from those programs and suggest the federal money proposed for the academy could be better spent buttressing existing programs. Those of us covering colleges and universities with such programs can check in on them and find out what this may mean. So far, the legislation is in committee.

Clinton, who like Obama is a member of the Senate Ed committee, has been saying NCLB needs fixing, but has not yet offered many concrete suggestions for improvement. She did introduce amending legislation July 18 to strengthen NCLB's mentoring component, calling for better funding and stronger language supporting mentorship, particularly for academically at-risk students.

To bring us all up to speed on what she's been proposing in Congress, here's a short list of bills:
S837, a bill to develop school leaders who can both effectively close the achievement gap and raise achievement for all students.
S1185, a bill to provide grants to states to raise grad rates
S1332, a bill amending the Public Service Health Act to provide access to school-based comprehensive mental health programs.
S301, a bill to provide assistance to nontraditional students in higher ed.
S511, a bill to give student borrowers basic rights.
S757, a bill promoting voluntary K-12 national standards for math and science.
Thus far, everything is sitting in committees.