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• NYC Pre-K Enrollments Completely Out of Hand

  Getting your child into a pre-kindergarten program in New York City is a little like buying a summer home in Italy--when you've never been to Italy, don't speak Italian, and are flat broke. This year, the Department of Education decided to scrap the old application process, which officials deemed “confusing, unfair, and difficult to navigate”—and replaced it with a new system that’s confusing, unfair, and difficult to navigate. Read More... Posted May 30 2008, 11:20 AM by Hannah Tennant-Moore with | with no comments Filed under: new york city, schools, pre-kindergarten, pre-K, pre-k enrollment, confusing, department of education, new system, applications, enrollment process

• Caught On Tape: Teacher Calls Kids Stupid

  It's been kind of a disturbing couple weeks in education news. What with teachers patting down students and coaches spiking drinks and schools suspending kids for hairstyles, it sort of makes you rethink the whole homeschool idea. And now in Houston, a pre-K teacher is under investigation for calling four- and five-year-olds "stupid" and telling them she could be mean to them. And in case you think the kids might be fabricating that one, this teacher was caught on tape.  Who set up the wire and the sting operation? Read More... Posted Mar 03 2008, 12:32 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: children, preschool, education, discipline, abuse, teacher, elementary school, stupid baby products, pre-kindergarten, pre-K, name calling, insults

• Should All Kids Go To Preschool?

  Newsweek has an interview with David Kirp, author of "The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics" about the benefits of high-quality preschool. Some lawmakers have been advocating for more state-funded programs, but Kirp is concerned that politicians may set up preschools on the cheap that provide less benefit for kids. He believes there's a gap between the research, which  "shows that if a child goes to preschool they will have a higher income, are less likely to be involved in crime, more likely to graduate from college and have happier lives" and the kinds of programs available to folks.  So what kind of preschool should you look for? Read More... Posted Jan 06 2008, 10:38 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: preschool, play-based, school, academics, activities with kids, pre-kindergarten, newsweek, david kirp

• Hillary Clinton Pushes Universal Pre-K Program

  Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton is proposing a $10 billion federal program to offer voluntary pre-kindergarten for all American 4 year olds.  You have to hand it to Senator Clinton.  She rallies behind causes that many others wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Senator Clinton proposes to pay for the program by closing various tax loopholes and "by cutting 500,000 of the private contractors the Bush administration has had..."  Imagine choosing 4-year olds over your Haliburton flunkies! The horror! Head Start has served low-income children and their families with early childhood education, nutrition, and parenting support since 1965. Senator Clinton's proposed program would build on the promise of Head Start. [Photo Credit: Associated Press]  Posted May 22 2007, 11:30 AM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: 4 year olds, presidential candidates, Senator Hillary Clinton, haliburton, pre-kindergarten