UNDATED (Wisconsin Radio Network) – Wisconsin is lagging, in the numbers of kids in preschool programs. That’s according to Kids Count, an annual national measure of children’s well-being.
“Especially for low-income kids, getting access to high quality, early childhood education can really make a difference in getting ready for kindergarten, and also in helping to improve their ability to read by 4th grade,” said Laura Speer, vice president of public policy and advocacy for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which does the count. “This is 3 to 4-year old children who are not in pre-k.”
The national average is 53 percent — Wisconsin’s is 55 percent. “Given how well Wisconsin does in education on other measures, it’s a bit surprising,” Speer said. Overall on education, Wisconsin continues to do very well, ranking 7th among all states in the Kids Count measure
The Kids Count measures four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Wisconsin ranked 13th, 7th, 19th and 18th repspectively in those catagories.
