Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Bruce Lesley

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. …Read more