Early learning is a hot topic across the nation.

First, it was impressive to have our President say this in his State of the Union address:
“Research shows that one of the best investments we can make in a child’s life is high-quality early education.  Last year, I asked this Congress to help states make high-quality Pre-K available to every four year-old.  As a parent as well as a President, I repeat that request tonight.”

While he specifically mentioned Pre-K in the speech, the policies he has been promoting include child care, Head Start and Early Head Start, infant/toddler care, and home visiting.

Then, interesting articles from the New York Times discuss the rise of consensus on the importance of early learning and the challenges to making significant progress: a Gail Collins opinion piece on how Pre-K became a hot issue, and an article by Nicholas Kristof reviewing the evidence of why Pre-K works.

Finally, an intriguing article from a reporter in the heartland (Omaha, Nebraska) discussed his review of the evidence about early education benefits in his article The Jury is In.

Dave Edie