Fund for Campus Democratic Activism

The American Prospect lauds Governor Blagojevich's Universal preschool plan:

Preschool has shown some truly remarkable benefits for the poorest children, greatly reducing grade repetition and diverting many of the developmentally delayed from the special ed track to the mainstream within just a couple years. That gets into a cost-benefit as well, since the special education curriculum is far more costly than the standard classes, and holding kids back requires a whole extra year of spending. Add in enhanced occupational freedom for mothers who don't have to watch their kids during the day and you've got a pretty solid progressive policy plank.

read about it here

Children born into extreme poverty have a much better chance of succeeding in school if they receive a structured, high-quality preschool education.

"This research shows we can reduce the numbers of kids falling behind and dropping out of school. These are real numbers that tell us what a difference we could make, right here in our state, if every child started school having had the benefit of preschool. "Simply put, preschool works."

(cross-posted at rocketrichards.blogspot.com)