President Obama Leads the Way on Early Education for All
Children In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, the
President called for making prekindergarten available to all
children through a federal-state partnership. He made a
compelling case for this investment in early education, noting
the benefits for children, parents, and our nation’s economy. He
explained how early education could help children succeed in
school and in life. He talked about the importance of helping
parents struggling with the high costs of preschool. And he
discussed his proposal as a key part of building the strong
workforce we need for our future economic prosperity. The
President demonstrated his commitment to early education not
only by mentioning it in his State of the Union address, but
also by inviting Susan Bumgarner, an early childhood educator
from Oklahoma—a state that makes prekindergarten available to
all four-year-olds—to be a guest of the First Lady during the
address. Susan Bumgarner is one of the many early e