In case you missed it, NPR had a great piece on today's Morning Edition about universal preschool in France. Here's the audio link. As the Obama administration looks to promote preschool for every child in the U.S., it's instructive to hear how other countries in Europe have managed to do it.

One of our goals with "Little Citizens, Big Issues" is to showcase diverse voices and viewpoints from the community on issues affecting young children in the District. This post is by Jack McCarthy, managing director of AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation.

There's a lot of talk--and policy--these days directed at fostering "effective teaching" to boost student achievement. You would think there was a common definition of effective teaching, or an agreed upon way to determine which qualities and approaches make teachers effective, but so far it has proven elusive. Even how to measure effective teaching is a subject of great debate.

Fifty-six years after the District of Columbia moved to desegregate its schools, a new wave of integration will quietly sweep DCPS this fall with the incoming preschool class. 

This time it's not about race, but income. For the first time, in the District's Title I schools, three- and four-year-olds will be assigned to blended classrooms that include both low-income students enrolled in Head Start and non-Head Start students.