Education Groups ‘Ecstatic’ About $10-Billion Obama Pledge

Early-childhood-education advocates are expressing excitement over President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to commit $10-billion to their cause, according to The New York Times. The pledge would be the largest new federal push for young children’s education since Head Start began in 1965.

Mr. Obama’s pick of Arne Duncan, the Chicago schools superintendent who is a strong supporter of early-childhood education, as his intended Secretary of Education, has also raised hopes among advocates. “People are absolutely ecstatic,” said Cornelia Grumman, executive director of the First Five Years Fund, an advocacy group. “Some people seem to think the Great Society is upon us again.”

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