tacknosaddle t1_iu4epqn wrote on October 28, 2022 at 1:55 PM

Reply to comment by Whyisthissobroken in Police confiscate loaded gun from 7-year-old at Dorchester school by rabblebowser

Related to #4 but universal pre-K starting at 3 years old with free before and after school care that involves available tutoring.

There can be a huge discrepancy in learning for kids entering at 5 years old between those from a poor family and a middle-class one. Minimizing or erasing that difference is a huge step in improving the odds of the poor kids moving up the economic ladder. Kids who are well behind in 2nd grade have little chance of catching up and are less likely to graduate high school.

On the other side that can free up parents/caregivers to work more which can help the kids right now as well as padding their future.

AboyNamedBort t1_iu4gzbd wrote on October 28, 2022 at 2:12 PM

Boston has free pre k.

tacknosaddle t1_iu4kbt5 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 2:35 PM

Yes, but "free" and "universal" are two different things. There are not seats for every kid at 3 & 4 years old (by state law there must be one for all 5 year olds). It's luck of the draw whether your kid gets one or not. In fact, most seats for 3 year olds go to kids with identified learning disabilities and if you don't have an older sibling already in a school to get preference the odds get kind of long to get in. They've been expanding access, but it needs to be universal.

Washington, DC had much worse schools than Boston not too long ago but they are ahead of us on universal pre-K and it's demonstrating that the results are worth the investment.