With her column published yesterday, Independence Institute senior fellow and Face The State columnist Krista Kafer drops a fly or two into the early childhood education debate soup:

In Colorado, taxpayers spend $29 million a year on state preschool programs. Denver voters passed a sales tax in 2006 to subsidize preschool. According to a Denver Post article by Jeremy P. Meyer, 3,650 students receive subsidies. James Mejia, director of the Denver Preschool Program, told Meyer that “Studies show that for every dollar you spend on early childhood education, you will get back $10 to $12 in services you would otherwise be spending on social services, incarceration, remediation.”

Sounds great, but upon closer examination, this just isn’t true. The cost-benefit analyses routinely bandied about by advocates come up short. The analysis is largely based on exaggerated claims from a tiny subset of studies misrepresented as the whole. When the vast majority of research is considered, it becomes clear that preschool does not reap the amazing benefits touted by advocates.

Four decades of legitimate research actually shows that the majority of low-income children experience only short-term positive impacts and there is little long-term impact from preschool participation. Research also shows that preschool participation has no positive impact on children from middle or high income families, another ill-supported claim by advocates. Worse, preschool can have negative effects. Researchers at the National Institutes for Health and various universities have found adverse effects on children’s behavior resulting from early childhood education programs.

With the way some people are diving head first onto the universal preschool bandwagon, you’d think this issue were far more clear cut than it really is. Before dedicating public resources to any early childhood education program, people need to step back and take an honest look at the costs and benefits - benefits for kids, not for adults. They may be buying a Matchbox car with a broken wheel.

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It was about six weeks ago that the very smart Dr. Jay Greene and a wise old Uncle Charley suggested that special-needs vouchers would make a hallmark for the McCain-Palin Presidential ticket.

A few weeks later I complained that Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s debate remarks left me unimpressed with her views on education reform. But then happily, Jay Greene points readers to these inspiring remarks Palin made today to a Pennsylvania audience:

In a McCain-Palin administration, we will put the educational choices for special needs children in the right hands their parents’. Under reforms that I will lead as vice president, the parents and caretakers of children with physical or mental disabilities will be able to send that boy or girl to the school of their choice — public or private.

Under our reforms, federal funding for every special needs child will follow that child. Some states have begun to apply this principle already, as in Florida’s McKay Scholarship program. That program allows for choices and a quality of education that should be available to parents in every state, for every child with special needs. This process should be uncomplicated, quick, and effective — because early education can make all the difference. No barriers of bureaucracy should stand in the way of serving children with special needs.

Besides Florida, other states that have led the way in pioneering special-education vouchers are Georgia, Arizona, and Utah. Kudos to Governor Palin for getting on board.

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The big election is less than a month away. A few of the races that get little attention - but many Coloradans will have to decide - are the contests for the State Board of Education. Few Colorado voters are aware that this elected body is about to become more important, as Rocky Mountain News reporter Berny Morson pointed out on Saturday:

The Colorado Board of Education labored in obscurity for years, setting rules that were mostly of interest to teachers, superintendents and other insiders.

That’s about to change. A law adopted last spring with the backing of Gov. Bill Ritter gave the board broad authority over school reform. The result could put the board’s mark on everything from statewide achievement tests to high school graduation requirements.

The article goes on to highlight the two candidates vying to represent the 3rd Congressional District (southern and western Colorado) on the State Board. These two candidates have some clearly different views. Democrat Jill Brake wants to spend more money on early childhood education, and supported the automatic education funding increase of Amendment 23 and Gov. Bill Ritter’s unconstitutional property tax hike.

On the other hand, Republican Marcia Neal - a retired Grand Junction High School teacher - believes in providing more career education opportunities for non-college-bound students, while also opposing the various education-related tax increases and spending mandates that have faced Colorado this year and in recent years past.

I know I can sound like a broken record at times, but wouldn’t it be good to know where Ms. Brake and Ms. Neal stand on school choice (e.g., charter schools, online schools, open enrollment)? What about expanding local innovation? The students and parents of Colorado - especially those trapped in failing schools - deserve to know.

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A lot of my Education Policy Center friends have been on the road this week at something called the State Policy Network conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Okay, so I don’t exactly get what it’s all about, they told me about a visit they had yesterday to a couple of excellent schools in the area. I’m only going to talk about the one today, because it seems this Millennium Worldwide Academy in south Phoenix has a pretty special approach to educating kids in my age group.

No, it’s not in Colorado, but maybe there are some school leaders or entrepreneurs looking to start a school who could learn a thing or two from Ms. Kelmer and her success with helping low-income kids from preschool to 4th grade.

My Education Policy Center friends said they were amazed to watch the knowledge put on display. They heard about the “Are You Smarter than a Kindergartener?” challenge. Not too many adults could name all 43 U.S. Presidents in order like the small group of 5-year-old children at Millennium Worldwide Academy did yesterday. The older kids knew the planets in our solar system and their distances from the Sun, as well as had a solid understanding of how the human digestive system worked. Wow!

Hey, I’m 5 … I better start learning all the Presidents’ names, too!

Thanks to Ms. Kelmer and her Millennium Worldwide Academy staff for their accommodations (apparently, they only moved into the new makeshift building less than a week ago), and to Liz Dreckman from the Alliance for School Choice for arranging the memorable outing. Next time I hope the Education Policy Center folks take me along.

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With everybody still focused on that big political party going on in Denver, and the news being generally slow, it seems like a good day to bring your attention to a potentially valuable service for parents of kids younger than I am. It’s called Colorado Bright Beginnings, a non-profit group that provides free services to families with their children up to age 3 to help in their long-term development.

From their website: “Our vision is every child in Colorado will be healthy, valued, and ready to learn.” Colorado Bright Beginnings helps thousands of families every year all across the state, with regional affiliates throughout Colorado.

Maybe you don’t have young children of your own, but you can tell a friend about the services they offer, or sign up to volunteer for Colorado Bright Beginnings yourself.

But if you do fit the description of having young children and you live in our state, consider looking up Bright Beginnings Colorado. And remember, it’s also not too early to start looking for the right school to meet your child’s needs.

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