Don't forget to register for Fordham's upcoming event, "The Cons and Pros of Universal Pre-K", coming up on Thursday, June 4 from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM. This event coincides with the release of Chester Finn's new book, Reroute the Preschool Juggernaut. Prekindergarten is one of the most hotly contested topics in American education today. Finn's book challenges the orthodoxy of "universal preschool" while explaining the key issues that drive and complicate this contentious debate: Which children really need preschool? How many aren't getting it? Who should provide it--and at whose expense? What's the right balance between socialization and systematic instruction between education and child care? Where does Head Start fit in? What are reliable markers of quality in preschool programs? Finn concludes by recommending a tightly targeted but intensive (and highly cognitive) approach to preschool for the neediest children. The discussants can be expected to take issue with that conclusion.
Finn will present.?? Responding will be Steven Barnett (Co-Director, National Institute for Early Education Research), Neal McCluskey (Associate Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute) and Sara Mead (Director, Early Education Initiative, New America Foundation).?? Richard Colvin (Director, Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, Teachers College, Columbia University) will moderate.?? We'll convene at the Fordham Institute conference center (1016 16th Street NW, 7th Floor).
The first 70 guests will receive a free copy of the book!?? To RSVP, please e-mail Christina Hentges at [email protected]. Video of this event will be online after June 5.