Early Ed Watch

Native American students have distinct early education needs that are too often overlooked. Many American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children live in economically depressed neighborhoods of the country. Recent census data shows that nearly one in four Native American children live in poverty, and only 72 percent of Native American parents have a high school degree.

Today Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for Vice President, gave her first major policy address, offering a set of policy proposals to improve the education of children with special needs. As Palin noted in her speech, quality early education programs are particularly important for children with special needs.

A few weeks ago we wrote about research from the National Center on Children in Poverty that documented the shockingly high numbers of elementary school students who are chronically absent from school.

This year it was Joe the Plumber. In 2000, the average-American stand-in in the presidential debates was Kailey, a student at Sarasota High School in Florida who had to stand in the back of her science classroom because the class was severely overcrowded and there wasn't enough space to give her a desk. Vice President Gore pointed to Kailey's experience repeatedly in the 2000 debates to illustrate the need for smaller class sizes and federal funding for school construction.