Lieberman: ESSA Allows States to Focus on Often Overlooked Pre-K Ed Players — School Principals
Article/Op-Ed in The 74 Million
July 11, 2017
Abbie Lieberman wrote for The 74 about how ESSA Title II funds can be used to train elementary school principals to be pre-K leaders.
While teachers and their students are beginning to soak up some much-earned summer vacation, officials in most state departments of education are busy finalizing their plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and deciding what to do with their newfound flexibility.
As my colleagues at New America have pointed out, ESSA presents many opportunities for states to better support early learning, but it gives them discretion to decide whether to prioritize these crucial years. Through Title II, which supports preparation and training of educators and leaders, states have an opportunity to significantly improve the quality of pre-K programs by focusing on an often overlooked group of professionals: elementary school principals.