Duncan’s Smart Talk on Preschool Plan: ‘Partnering with States’

At an elementary school in Maryland last Friday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan talked about the President’s plan for expanding preschool. Today in a blog post for the Huffington Post, I report on some of the “working with states” language he used to make the case. It’s important to make clear that the president is not proposing a new untested, federally provided program, but is instead proposing to assist states, many of which are hungry to improve the quantity and quality of what they already offer.

“Our theory of action in expanding high-quality preschool is going to be the same as it was in our first term,” Duncan said. The federal role is to “support and partner with states to incentivize innovation and help identify what works to strengthen educational opportunities.” He said the federal government sets a high bar but that he wants to “leave it to states and local leaders on the best way for achieving that high bar.”

You can read the full Huffington Post piece here. For video of Duncan’s visit, which also featured U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius talking about child care and Head Start, here is a clip from C-SPAN’s coverage: