Starting School Ready to Learn
"Early intervention is critical
to ensuring our children's success in school and in life." –Gov.
Howard Dean
Staring
school “ready to learn” was a central goal of the first Bush’s America 2000 initiative. Yet that administration’s economic policies,
which led to the first Bush recession, revealed the unfortunate truth
that the president had no intention of creating conditions under which
children in middle- and low-income families could prosper. Like his
father, this President Bush made education a “priority” for his administration
and established a set of lofty—and, at points, laudable—goals for
America’s schools. The economic policies that
led to Bush Recession II, however, create conditions under which only
the wealthiest among us can prosper. Consider that this Bush administration
has sat back as three million Americans have become jobless and half
a million rural Americans alone have fallen below the poverty line.
What does this have to do with school readiness? The most consistent
predictor of low academic achievement is low socioeconomic status,
and Bush seems committed to increasing the rolls of children in this
category. Bush chooses to give us, instead of a jobs and a stable
economy, a palpable irony: One hand wags a finger at America’s schools for their failings while the
other hand signs tax cuts, reduces funding for social programs, and
worsens the lot of working families in order to ensure such failings.
The
contrast to Gov. Dean could not be starker. Recognizing that a balanced
budget (not trickle down) is key
to a healthy economy, Gov. Dean consistently balanced Vermont’s budget—while also providing the funding
to make Vermont the only state to provide health care for virtually all
children under 18. His commitment to school readiness is evidenced
by such early intervention programs as Success by Six and his affordable
child-care initiative. The end result: Thousands of low-income Vermont children live healthier, more secure
lives—and healthy, secure children can begin school ready to learn.
- A description of the Success
by Six early intervention program and Gov. Dean’s affordable
child-care initiative, excerpted from an address to New York State United Teachers, 31st Representative Assembly, April 4, 2003
- A description
of Vermont’s Dr. Dynasaur health care program from the official website
of the state of Vermont.
- “Dean Criticizes Bill that Would Dismantle
Head Start Program,” a July
25, 2003,
press release from the Dean campaign
Educators for Dean home
