Greater Access to Preschool Means Greater Opportunities

Judi Brown Clarke, a former US Olympian, calls for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

Judi Brown Clarke, a 1984 US Olympian, is a current Champions member and the diversity director for the National Science Foundation’s Bio-Computational Evolution in Action Consortium at Michigan State University. In this op-ed for the Lansing State Journal, Brown Clarke emphasizes the need for high-quality early childhood education both nationwide and in Michigan.

The path to academic improvement can be likened to an athlete’s Olympic journey: None of us simply showed up expecting to medal. We began our training as children. The same principle holds true when it comes to early learning.

Judi Brown Clarke, former US Olympian

Judy calls for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the federal law that promotes educational opportunity for all children. She explains that a dedicated funding stream for quality early education through a renewed ESEA would provide Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program—the state-funded preschool program—with resources that would enable many more children to participate. This would mean would be a competitive step toward a stronger future workforce.