Brent Larkin ("Ohio can and should beef up funding for early childhood education," May 12) is right to support investments to make quality preschool affordable. But Ohio doesn't have to go it alone.
It's about fairness. Just 48 percent of low-income children enter kindergarten school-ready, compared to three-fourths of higher-income kids. Quality pre-K levels the playing field, especially for poor kids. And it cultivates "soft skills" prized by employers, like focus and critical thinking, giving today's kids a better chance to compete in tomorrow's economy.
Congress should build a federal-state partnership, like the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Federal funds would help Ohio and other states make pre-K affordable for every child. And funding would be limited to providers meeting evidence-informed quality standards.
CHIP's success shows that Republicans and Democrats can put kids ahead of politics. Let's urge Ohio's leaders in Congress to do it again. A child's potential, not a parent's income, should define the limits of academic success.
Bruce Lesley, Washington, D.C.
Lesley is president of First Focus, a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families the priority in federal policy and budget decisions.