Obama on Early Childhood Education

Investing in early childhood education is crucial to America’s future.

Four years ago, President Obama said, “If we invest in early childhood education, we can make sure that every child in America has the opportunity to learn, and the opportunity to go to college, and the opportunity to succeed.”

During his recent State of the Union, he urged every state to require students to stay in high school until they graduate, or turn 18. Shortly after, he reiterated the importance of early childhood education and his commitment to it.

Despite Obama’s commitment to childhood early education, the achievement gap between affluent and low-income kids on standardized reading tests has grown by 40 percent since 1940. Since poverty is at an all time high, we need to start investing in education, particularly in the early childhood years.

So, how is Obama going to help improve early childhood education? In addition to increasing investments, some states were excused from the No Child Left Behind Act, which required schools to reach 100 percent achievement in reader for all students by 2014. While ambitious, this goal was unrealistic and would have caused schools to shut down. These decisions and investments in early childhood education will hopefully improve the achievement gap and decrease poverty in America.

In your mind, what’s the one thing that stands out that can be done to help close the achievement gap in America? Share your thoughts by commenting on our Facebook or twitter pages.