President Announces Early Childhood Initiative

Emperor Bush's Website ^

[toenail]

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 2, 2002

President Announces Early Childhood Initiative
Presidential Action

President Bush today announced a new initiative to improve early childhood education for millions of America's youngest children. The President's initiative will:

• Strengthen Head Start to improve the quality of experiences for young children, including training the nearly 50,000 Head Start teachers in the latest and best techniques;
• Ensure that pre-school programs are more closely coordinated with state K-12 education goals; and
• Improve the information available to parents and caregivers about the best practices in early childhood development, including an unprecedented $45 million research effort to identify effective early literacy programs and practices.

  Background on Today's Early Childhood Announcement

  In his State of the Union Address, President Bush stressed the need to prepare children to read and succeed in school with improved Head Start and early childhood development programs. These themes built upon the First Lady's Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development, held in July, 2001.

  The early childhood initiative announced by President Bush seeks to improve the state of early childhood education, where too many children come to school unprepared to learn. Because a significant number of young children receive care from people other than their parents (62% of children age 5 or younger), Federal and state governments provide more than $18 billion annually (more than $14 billion in Federal support alone) to help families - particularly low-income families - provide for pre-K care.

  Despite these significant resources, not all children are receiving care that is high-quality care because: 1) many states do not fully align what children are doing before they enter school with what is expected of them once they are in school; 2) early childhood programs are seldom evaluated based on how well they prepare students to succeed in school; and 3) there is not enough information for early childhood teachers, parents, and other child care providers on the activities that prepare children to be successful in school.

  President Bush's early childhood initiative will help states and local communities to overcome these obstacles and strengthen early learning for young children by:

• Strengthening Head Start: The President has directed the Department of Health and Human Services to implement a new accountability system to ensure that every Head Start center assesses standards of learning in early literacy, language and numeracy skills. HHS will implement a national training project with the goal of training all of the nearly 50,000 Head Start teachers this year in the best pre-reading and language teaching techniques for young children.

• Partnering with States to Improve Early Childhood Education: To ensure that pre-school activities are aligned with state education goals, the President's plan asks States to develop quality criteria for early childhood education, including optional guidelines on pre-reading and language skills activities for pre-school age children ages that align with State K-12 standards. To help states meet these criteria, the President's plan gives states more flexibility with their federal child care funds.

• Providing Information to Teachers, Caregivers and Parents: In order to close the gap between the best research and current practices in early childhood education, the Department of Education will implement a broad public awareness campaign targeted toward parents, early childhood educators, childcare providers, and other interested parties. Additionally, the President announced an unprecedented $45 million collaborative research initiative between the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Department of Education to identify effective early literacy programs and teaching strategies.

  For more information on the President's initiatives please visit www.whitehouse.gov.

[toenail]

Bigger, intrusive, centralized monitoring and manipulation of children from "conservative" Bush. The assault on the Constitution, children, and families continues....

[ppaul]

Throwing hard-earned taxpayer dollars into a rathole that grows bigger everyday.
Haven't we had enough of 'legacy building' yet?

[toenail]

If by "rathole" you mean worthless, then you only need to figure out who's defining the worth. Some very influential groups want Americans monitored from start to finish, and that's all this is. When Bush says anything about "assessment" near "children," sirens should go off in your head.

[rbmillerjr]

I have a different perspective on this one my conservative friends.

Who educates the vast majority of people in the country? Public education.

If we are to have a US Dept. of Education (and btw Head Start is run by HHS)...Should we not try to 1)modernize and reform the failed liberal policies while we have a chance and 2) implement our priorities vs the 12 years of liberal feel good and self esteem crap without any accountability

Seems to me that if we want to have students that can read, we need to jump in and get in the game - or let the libs have their way with education.

[conserve-it]

I read a study somewhere that 35% of the children receiving this program are not qualified to be getting it, as the family income is too high. That is of course why Bush is throwing more money at it. He wants the non qualified rate to exceed 50% !!!!!!

[toenail]

"Seems to me that if we want to have students that can read, we need to jump in and get in the game - or let the libs have their way with education."

The "libs" don't control schooling; very rich and influential corporations do.

Click on the picture.

[Fred Mertz]

Groan!! This guy is so predictable these day. If he had a pair, he'd end this Head Start nannyism.

If clinton announced this, this thread would already be 100 replies long.

[rbmillerjr]

Corporations control schools???

How so, the bulk of the budget come from the local county school district and or state.

[FastCoyote]

Let's see, the differences between Gore and Bush are what again?

[oldvike]

If clinton announced this, this thread would already be 100 replies long.

You are correct. Pretty disheartening, ain't it?

[rbmillerjr]

Let's see, the differences between Gore and Bush are what again?

I havent been in the mood to defend Bush lately as Ive been one of the more vocal critics of CFR on the board...and the personal attacks are on here to prove it.

I'm commenting on this specific policy

[toenail]

"Corporations control schools???"

You're going to have to play 100 years of catch-up, but yes. Pay particular attention to the Carnegie Corporation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.

[not-alone]

You are a realist and that refreshing.

[Arthur McGowan]

Not that anyone in this unprincipled, totalitarian White House will care, but where in the Constitution does it say that Americans' children are the property of the Federal Government?

[AppyPappy]

Spend, spend, spend. Of course, the Bushies will tell us that the Democrats will now flock to Bush.

[toenail]

"Groan!! This guy is so predictable these day. If he had a pair, he'd end this Head Start nannyism. If clinton announced this, this thread would already be 100 replies long."

He just does what the Manhattan Institute tells him to do.

[hsmomx3]

You sound like my husband!!! Again, it's the village mentality coming from D.C. Whatever happened to parents taking charge of their kids? Never mind.

[rbmillerjr]

The vast majority of American parents send their kids to public schools. That is the fact of the situation. I havent seen any Constitutional challenges to close the schools down. If you're making it a Constitutional issue, I think you're on shakey ground and Founders talked about the importance of having everyone educated for the public good.

Should we just let the liberals have their way in schools and at the Dept of Ed or should we join the fray with out ideas.

[Howlin]

Whatever happened to parents taking charge of their kids?

It's not US this is aimed at; this is aimed at the horrible parents of children who don't parent like we do; and if WE don't teach them our values and standards, then the liberals will, you can bet that.

Two things you can count on; one is that there is no way to stop that money from being spent, so it might as well be spent the best way WE think it should be; and two, if we don't teach this kids to take care of themselves in the real world and to WANT to better themselves, then your children and my children and my grandchildren are going to have to pay MORE for them and their spawn in the future.

And remember one other thing: THEY are reproducing WAY FASTER than we responsible people are. Best to at least TRY to point them in the right direction, IMO.

[toenail]

ping