Volume 24, Number 6
November/December 2008
“A Huge Opportunity” for Middle-Income Children
An Interview with Libby Doggett
By DAVID MCKAY WILSON
“A Huge Opportunity” for Middle-Income Children, continued
“A Huge Opportunity” for Middle-Income Children: An Interview with Libby Doggett
“A Huge Opportunity” for Middle-Income Children
Libby Doggett, a long-time leader in early childhood education, wants public funding for quality prekindergarten for every three- and four-year-old in America.
Doggett, executive director of Pre-K Now, an advocacy group formed by the Pew Charitable Trust in 2002, says middle-income children, as well as low-income children, deserve and can benefit from publicly funded preK programs. Up to age five is a crucial time for brain development, says Doggett. “That’s when they learn to talk, [to] control their emotions and actions,” says Doggett. “PreK can make a huge difference. And it’s not just low-income children whose brains are developing.”
Doggett cites a wide range of studies to demonstrate the impact of preK: increased graduation rates, better scores on standardized tests, reduced grade repetition, and fewer special education placements. Other studies, she says, show that students who had attended preK were less likely to be arrested for a violent crime, more likely to be employed, and more likely to report that they get along well with their families.
This is an excerpt from the Harvard Education Letter.
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Libby Doggett, a long-time leader in early childhood education, wants public funding for quality prekindergarten for every three- and four-year-old in America.
Doggett, executive director of Pre-K Now, an advocacy group formed by the Pew Charitable Trust in 2002, says middle-income children, as well as low-income children, deserve and can benefit from publicly funded preK programs. Up to age five is a crucial time for brain development, says Doggett. “That’s when they learn to talk, [to] control their emotions and actions,” says Doggett. “PreK can make a huge difference. And it’s not just low-income children whose brains are developing.”
Doggett cites a wide range of studies to demonstrate the impact of preK: increased graduation rates, better scores on standardized tests, reduced grade repetition, and fewer special education placements. Other studies, she says, show that students who had attended preK were less likely to be arrested for a violent crime, more likely to be employed, and more likely to report that they get along well with their families.
