Recently, The New York Times published a column by Stanford University education and sociology researcher, Sean Reardon, about achievement disparities between rich children and poor children. Reardon has been conducting educational research for some time. He specifically probes the impact of racial/ethnic and socioeconomics in student achievement. His most recent research concludes what many educators already know: that children of the rich academically out-perform their middle-class or poor counterparts. … MORE

Let's talk about the kids we're losing due to the slow acceptance of early childhood education (see my previous post). While it is common to find school district mission statements that speak to developing “full potential” and success for “all students,” the reality is that some children don’t benefit as much as others. Those students who don’t succeed academically find it much more difficult to access continued education or entry level jobs that sustain a family. Meanw… MORE

The internationally-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that the United States ranked 33 of 38 countries for public funding for early childhood care and education in 2009.  I am reminded of a newspaper article I read many years ago in which the current head of the French childcare system was interviewed. He was asked why France’s much heralded commitment to early childhood was so much greater than in the United States.  He answered simply, “In France… MORE