universal preschool

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Defining education — Does it include preschool?

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There’s agreement that too few children in Connecticut have access to quality preschool programs, but top state officials are butting heads with a coalition of parents and educators on how to put a near-universal system in place. Attorney General George Jepsen argues that whether the state pays for universal preschool is an issue that should remain with lawmakers. His office is defending the State Department of Education and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in a school-funding lawsuit brought by a coalition of parents, school boards, municipal leaders and teachers’ unions. The coalition worries that lawmakers will continue to look at the budgets for early education programs as places to find money when times are tight. A Jan. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Budget/Economy, Schools/Child Welfare, Abbott v. Burke, Attorney General George Jepsen, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, State Department of Education, Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher, universal preschool

Malloy, lawmakers: dueling plans for ‘universal access’ to pre-k

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When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed providing “universal access” to preschool, he said it would cost the state an additional $51.1 million a year. When Democratic legislators released their plans two months later to provide “universal access,” they said it would cost the state $10 million a year. Why such a huge difference? Continue Reading →

Filed under: Early Childhood Education, Schools/Child Welfare, early education, pre-K, preschool, Rep. Andy Fleischmann, Sen. Beth Bye, universal preschool

Two approaches to preschool access

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When it comes to preschool education, New Jersey and Connecticut are a tale of two states. In New Jersey, the courts mandated access to preschool for every child in the state’s poorest school districts. In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants the state to get there on its own.He is proposing an expansion of state-funded preschool, even as city and town leaders are asking the courts to require a massive expansive of education funding, including for preschool. But Ellen Frede, who started the universal preschool program as a top official in the New Jersey Department of Education, said that while it’s great to have a governor who supports early education, it’s much easier for universal preschool to become a reality when it’s a requirement.”We simply have to get it done,” Malloy told a roomful of early education advocates and experts Thursday at early education forum hosted by the Connecticut Mirror. “Court orders are really nice things,” said Frede, a national early education expert from New York-based Acelero Learning. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Early Childhood Education, Schools/Child Welfare, pre-K, universal preschool