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Big Step for the State

Boston Globe Editorial, Friday, July 1, 2005

One in a series of editorials on the state's new early-education initiative.

Created last year by the Legislature, the state's Department of Early Education and Care officially opens today, and this afternoon the department's new commissioner, Ann Reale, will be at the Boys and Girls Club in Dorchester to discuss the future.

Reale steps into a funny, heart-warming world of crayons, stories, and little kids making wonder-struck discoveries about how the world works, learning about colors, numbers, and trucks, but also how to listen, sit still, and share. Quality early education and care programs help children enjoy life and become school-ready in the best sense, endowed with abundant curiosity and self-confidence. Today, Reale will be giving away 2,000 books to child-care centers across the state.

Ideally, the state should build a universal preschool system over the next 10 years that's available to all children free of cost. Offered in a variety of settings -- schools, community organizations, Head Start -- these programs would meet children's immediate needs and fulfill the promise of research showing that early education programs help protect them against later problems such as being held back a grade or dropping out of school. As for the teachers and child-care providers, they would have college degrees and higher, family-sustaining salaries, and career ladders.

But reaching this goal requires a huge amount of work.

Reale has a sound starting plan to map what programs already exist and then to build strategically, making sure to preserve access, affordability, and quality. A former state budget analyst, she is keenly aware of the financial constraints. But her early ideas promise to be affordable and effective.

Saying that many people rely on word-of-mouth or random contacts to make preschool choices, Reale wants to get more and better information to parents so they can make the best choices. She wants to make sure that teachers and providers have access to professional education. And she sees the need for active partners, including other state agencies, community organizations, and businesses.

Once the department has a detailed plan, it will need more funding. Reale is determined to figure out how the existing pool of money -- the department has some $480 million -- can be spent most effectively. But it's up to the public and legislators to make substantial investments that will turn plans and good ideas into exciting, effective programs. The advocacy group Strategies for Children has estimated that a high-quality program could cost $1 billion a year.

Reale has to get this new engine running. Massachusetts has to keep it going.

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