Opportunity News: Debating the Merits of Early Ed and Common Core
•Each week, Opportunity Nation will share key stories that explore opportunity-related issues in powerful, provocative ways. Many of these articles and op-eds include new data and research on key economic, educational, social and civic factors that affect upward mobility and community well-being.
As a bipartisan organization committed to working with diverse leaders, organizations and institutions, Opportunity Nation does not endorse all of the opinions or content shared here. But we strongly believe the exchange of ideas and civil dialogue are central to finding common ground and making significant, sustained progress as a society.
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Poverty
For a new perspective on restoring the promise of the American Dream, read U.S. Senator Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) speech to the Heritage Foundation on Nov. 13. While criticizing previous efforts, including President Johnson’s War on Poverty, Senator Lee is asking the Republican Party to embrace “a new, comprehensive anti-poverty agenda that not only corrects – but transcends – existing policies,” and that will empower poor families.
Early Childhood
According to the Five Years Fund, both Republican and Democratic voters support the expansion of high-quality preschool. Yet debate about the costs and merits of such expansion persist.
Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor at The Nation magazine, writes about how “red” state Oklahoma is “schooling the nation on early education.”
K-12 Education
The New York Times and the Hechinger Report both weighed in on the controversy brewing over the new Common Core academic standards that have been adopted by the majority of states.
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Opportunity Nation
Opportunity Nation is a bipartisan, national campaign comprised of more than 350 cross-sector organizations working together to expand economic mobility and close the opportunity gap in America. Opportunity Nation envisions the United States as a nation where everyone – regardless of where they were born – has equal access to opportunity, economic mobility, and success at all stages of life.
