Education Next – Ashley LiBetti Mitchel and Sara Mead
“Over the past 20 years, both charter schools and pre-kindergarten education have taken on increasingly prominent roles in the schooling of America’s children. Charter schools in 43 states now serve more than 2.6 million students—roughly six percent of all students attending public schools. And more than two-thirds of four-year-olds attend some form of public or privately funded preschool, with 1.4 million of them enrolled in state-funded pre-K programs. This growth is far from accidental. Research shows that high-quality preschool education has a lasting impact on children’s school success, and in recent years, cities and states have moved to increase access to preschool programs.”(more)