Reply to New York Times on the miracles of Universal Pre-K in DC

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Reply to "New York Times on the miracles of Universal Pre-K in DC"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am PP and I NEVER said anything about ending the free public PK3 program- my only argument is that if the city finds it acceptable to subsidize daycare for its residents- then it would also be fitting that they in some way subsidize a parent staying home with that same toddler by providing a tax break for a parent to work less and stay home longer with their child. [/quote]

I hear you.  I was part of the group that got free pre-K for 3 year olds at under-enrolled DCPS schools and people said it was impossible and absurd to even mention.  But a bunch of us banded together and lobbied to make it happen and it has come to fruition.  We proved them wrong!

If you want your idea to succeed, you should look into doing the same.  But your rhetoric of tearing down public preschool and implying that parents that use it are "institutionalizing" their kids is just not going to win you friends in this town.  You may really believe that-- but the overwhelming weight of evidence indicates that children love attending these schools.

A more politically palatable tack may be to say "Yes, I agree with universal preschool.  In fact, I believe it needs to be MORE universal.  Rather than limit public support of preschool to elementary schools, I think it should also include public support of those parents that are able to provide preschool support at home.  One way to do this is to provide a DC income tax break to such parents."  IF you can provide evidence that indicates that societies that support any choice a family makes regarding preschool are better than those that provide a more limited spectrum of support, all the better.  I doubt there is any place that supports families with preschoolers more than DC, but I certainly would love to hear otherwise!

Good luck!

[/quote]

Confused. So if a single mom wanted to stay home until her kid was 5, she would get a stipend to do so? I don't think this makes sense. Sending all kids to high quality preschool and enabling their mothers to participate in the workforce makes much more sense.[/quote]

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