Preschool for all

Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Jan 24, 2008

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Universal preschool for children ages three and up would lower the high school dropout rate, reduce crime, boost the economy and improve school-readiness, say three scholars who won the 2008 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in education.

Drs. Walter Gilliam and Edward Zigler of Yale University, and Dr. Stephanie Jones of Fordham University, revealed in their book, A Vision for Universal Preschool Education, that although 40 states now fund pre-kindergarten programs, less than 10 percent of all preschool-age children attend.

The Grawemeyer Foundation of U of L awards $1 million annually ($200,000 to each recipient) for extraordinary works in education, psychology, music composition and ideas for improving the world and religion.