After a long absence from policy discussions about education, Pre-K schooling is finally taking the limelight, largely thanks to President-Elect Obama's commitment to making early childhood education a central part of his platform. The renewed focus on early childhood education is welcome; Hope Street Group has long advocated Pre-K as a critical investment in a child's life that has economic repercussions later on.  And yet, daunting questions remain. As an article in today's New York Times points out, the current "system" of Pre-K is a patchwork of competing methodologies, privately and publicly funded programs, all of which are administered in a decidely ununiform way.

The two biggest questions likely to dog this policy discussion will have to do with access and quality. On the access side, how do states expand access to early childhood schooling for those who need it most? Should these programs be universal? Should they be targeted only to those who need it most? Should they be mandatory? And on the quality side, what defines a quality Pre-K program? Who sets the standards?  And what should be the role of parents?

Since Pre-K took center stage, there's been a lot of reflection in the media about different states' attempts to invest in early childhood education.  The blog GothamSchools, in a thoughtful analysis of NYC's efforts to expand early childhood education programs, points out that the number of children actually enrolled, while growing, is far fewer than initially anticipated. Meanwhile, states like Mississippi are launching interesting new private sector-led initiatives in an attempt to create quality universal Pre-K programs.

It's clearly an exciting time to be an advocate for Pre-K. Of course, the real work begins now.  With so much at stake, it's important to get our early childhood education policies right.