Dr. Steven Barnett on where NC stands when it comes to preschool enrollment, funding, and quality

There’s a very good argument to be made that the United States should guarantee free and universal early childhood education from birth to all American families. Nations that invest in the care of young children when their minds and bodies are still developing see vastly improved outcomes later on. Sadly, the U.S. is not yet one of those nations. Instead, it consigns millions of pre-Kindergartners each year to a patchwork of private providers of widely varying quality – most of which operate on a financial shoestring.

Those looking to understand this system, its flaws, and the ways in which it should be improved would do well to follow the work of Dr. Steven Barnett at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. Recently, the Institute released its annual State of Preschool report and Barnett shared with NC Newsline how North Carolina fares when it comes to preschool enrollment, funding, and quality.

Read the latest report for North Carolina here.