In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for making preschool available to every child in America. But questions abound: Is universal preschool politically and fiscally feasible—or even educationally necessary? Should we be expending federal resources on universal pre-K or targeting true Kindergarten-readiness programs for the neediest kids? How robust is the evidence of lasting impacts? And what exactly is the president proposing?
Join the Thomas B. Fordham Institute for a review of the research on preschool education and a lively debate on the prospects of the president’s preschool plan.
Speakers | |
 | Sara Mead, associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners and former director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation |
 | Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution and former director of the Institute for Education Sciences |
Moderator | |
 | Michael J. Petrilli, executive vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute |