The Detroit News – Patrick Fenton
“As parents throughout Detroit and across Michigan register their children for preschool and kindergarten, I’m reminded of how much has changed in the way our society views early childhood education. Given how our region’s future success depends on its commitment to early childhood education, let’s hope these views continue to evolve. In the 1960s only 10 percent of three and four year olds here in the United States were enrolled in preschool classes. Today more than 50 and 75 percent, respectively, are enrolled in early childhood programs. When my wife Laura and I founded Rainbow Child Care Centers over 25 years ago, preschools were seen by many as a babysitting service, providing working parents with a place where young children would be cared for while the parents made their living. In 2015 early childhood education was the leading educational initiative featured in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union and Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State addresses.”(more)