Bush Proposes $5 Billion Childhood Literacy Program
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush recently declared that childhood illiteracy was a "national emergency" and unveiled a proposal for a five-year, $5 billion program to ensure that all American children can read by the completion of the third grade. The program would start with training kindergarten and first grade teachers to diagnose reading problems.
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush recently declared that childhood illiteracy was a "national emergency" and unveiled a proposal for a five-year, $5 billion program to ensure that all American children can read by the completion of the third grade. The program would start with training kindergarten and first grade teachers to diagnose reading problems.
TC President Arthur Levine said, "Do we need a program like this? Absolutely. It's exciting to see the federal government weighing into an area as important as this ... (But) one would ask, 'Why not just make heavy investment in preschool?' Don't wait until the kids are broken ... This is a repair program. It makes more sense to prepare them."
The article, entitled "Bush Proposes $5 Billion Childhood Literacy Program" appeared in the March 29th edition of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Published Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2001