Hope Obama keeps his promise on education
Somerville Journal, Letter to the Editor by Sharon Richardson-O'Connell, January 24, 2009

To the editor:

President Barack Obama’s inauguration marked an epic moment for America — a chance to take a hard look at our country’s priorities and reevaluate. What, really, will prepare us for an uncertain future?

As the family childcare director of Catholic Charities in Somerville, an early education program and recipient of one of the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Classroom Quality grants, I was heartened by President Obama’s emphasis on high-quality early education during the campaign and his recognition that it is critical to the nation’s future prosperity and economic growth. Research shows that high-quality early education improves children’s health and wellbeing and increases their academic achievement. During the campaign, he pledged an additional $10 billion investment to guarantee access to quality, affordable, early childhood education for every child in America.

With the country’s economic upheaval, financial pressures will loom large; so let’s hope that President Obama keeps his promise on early education. Unlike many other economic tactics that have been suggested in recent months, high-quality early education is an investment with proven returns.

Sharon Richardson-O’Connell
Family Childcare Director
Catholic Charities Family Child Care
Central Street