return to EEA in the News

The price of preschool
The Boston Globe, Editorial, January 18, 2008

ONE MORNING last week, preschoolers came the State House to celebrate the progress of preschool programs that are using state grants to improve their quality.

The children were also a vivid reminder that the state should increase its investment in preschool programs.

A group of children sang for Governor Patrick. They were flanked by a "Rising Stars" art project: two panels of paper stars decorated with glitter, pom-poms, and seashells made by young children from across the state.

The cuteness factor ran high. The political good will was abundant. Both should help encourage lawmakers to come up with a substantial increase in the 2009 budget - on top of the $50 million that the state now spends on prekindergarten and related programs - to enrich these children's futures.

It sounds like a lot to ask from a state facing a deficit. But there are good reasons for the state to come up with as much as it can.

First, it's almost never too soon to engage young children. At the State House event, early education commission Ann Reale told a story about a preschool classroom in Springfield where children were learning about the sun and the planets. As members of the "Why?" demographic, young children can soak up knowledge quickly. And research suggests that early success at learning promotes future school and job success.

Despite the state's fiscal woes, this is a promising political season for preschool. Governor Patrick has pledged annual budget increases to create "high-quality early education for every child in this Commonwealth." His budget is expected to include an additional $15 million for preschool and $8 million more to expand full-day kindergarten - a promising but modest step forward.

State Representative Patricia Haddad, chairwoman of the joint education committee, says her fellow legislators should talk about local aid and preschool in the same breath, because spending on preschool promises to steer children away from "budget-buster" services such as special education.

Unfortunately, Massachusetts isn't where it should be. The $50 million the state spends on preschool programs is far less then the $600 million cost of a high-quality, universal system, based on estimates from the nonprofit Early Education for All campaign. If lawmakers added another $54 million to the 2009 budget for preschool, they would move toward such a system by expanding and improving programs and increasing professional-development opportunities for teachers.

Lawmakers are unlikely to approve the full amount that Early Education for All seeks, but should understand that mere incremental increases from year to year will hobble the potential of prekindergarten programs. To get good results, funding has to be ambitious.

Glitter and glue and a healthy budget appropriation would give Massachusetts children a firm foundation for success.

return to top of page