Preschool funding

　　學前教育經費

　　Toddle to the top

　　走到了頭

　　Cash-strapped states cut funding for nurseries

　　資金短缺的州政府削減了對托兒所的經費

　　They cant take that away from me

　　他們不能把它給拿走

　　LILY, who is three-and-a-half, loves her nursery school in Queens. Her mother calls her thesponge because every day she comes home with new nuggets of knowledge. But not everychild is as lucky as Lily. A new report by the National Institute for Early Education Research shows that states preschool funding is declining, which means fewer children will haveaccess to early education, which most agree is essential especially for children living in low-income households. The study looked at the 40 states which fund programmes for three- orfour-year-olds. State cuts to preschool funding transformed the recession into a depressionfor many young children, says Steven Barnett, author of the NIEER report.

　　莉莉，一個三歲半的小女孩，愛她的位于紐約皇后區的托兒所。她媽媽 叫她海綿寶寶，因為每天她都帶著一些新的知識回家。但并不是每個小孩都像莉莉那么幸運。一份美國國家早期教育研究所的新報告顯示，各州的學前教育經費正在減少，這意味著更多的孩子將失去接受學前教育的機會。大多數人都同意說這極為重要，尤其是對生活在低收入家庭中的兒童。該研究對40個設立了對三到四歲兒童資金項目的州進行了調查。州政府削減學前教育經費，對許多兒童來說，就相當于把經濟衰退變成 濟大蕭條，史蒂芬?巴納特說道。他是NIEER的這份新報告的作者。

　　State preschool spending per child decreased by $114 to $4,028 last year. This is almost $700 less than in 2001-2002. Were it not for the additional funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it would be much less. Worryingly, the funding situation may get worse. The stimulus money helped keep many states afloat, a cushion that no longer exists. Only three states increased spending per child by more than 10%. Nine cut spending by at least 10%. Ohio, once a leader in early education, now has one of the lowest percentages of youngsters enrolled. It cut funding more than any other state.

　　去年，紐約州在每個兒童身上的開支減少了114美元，下降到4028美元，幾乎比2001到2002年少 700美元。要不是因為美國經濟復蘇和再投資法令提供的額外資金，學前教育的經費會更少。尤其讓人憂慮的是，這種資金狀況有可能會變得更糟糕。這筆刺激資金幫助了許多州的財政得以維持，這種補貼再也不會有了。只有三個州康涅狄格州、緬因州和佛蒙特州，增加了對兒童的支出。他們對每個兒童的支出超過了 10%。而九個州亞拉巴馬州、亞利桑那州、堪薩斯州、肯塔基州、路易斯安那州、馬薩諸塞州、內布拉斯加州、俄亥俄州和南卡羅來納州，減少了至少10%的開支。俄亥俄州，曾經在學前教育上處于領先地位，現在卻是青少年入學率最低的州之一。該州減少的資金比任何一個州都要多。

　　Arne Duncan, the education secretary, understands that states are watching every penny. Tightening budgets is the new normal, he admits, but there are smart ways to cut and they are dumb ways to cut. Cutting early education, he reckons, is one of the dumb ones. Mr Duncan is, in fact, making early education one of his priorities, by including it in the next round of funding for Race to the Top, the big federal programme for schools.

　　作為教育部長的阿恩?鄧肯，理解各州都掂量著每一分錢。他承認，壓縮預算是條新標準，但也有聰明的辦法來削減預算，他們用的都是愚蠢的方法。他認為，縮短學前教育是眾多愚蠢行為之一。事實上，鄧肯先生把學前教育作為他的首要工作之一，包括把它加入到下一輪的給 力爭上游撥款的范圍中。力爭上游是針對學校的聯邦大項目。

　　Ten states do not provide any funding at all for preschoolers, and some appear to fund it only haphazardly. In Florida preschool programmes are available to all 4-year olds. The problem there is not quantity, but quality. Some programmesand not just in Floridaare nothing more than glorified baby-sitting. The report encourages states to set and stick to standards so that children are prepared for kindergarten at five. But more financial woe could be on the way. Congress is considering a Republican proposal to cut Head Start, a federal preschool funding programme for poor families. Chester Finn of the Thomas Fordham Institute, an education think-tank, is no fan of universal preschool. He thinks it makes more sense to focus the limited resources available on intensive programmes for the neediest children.

　　有十個州根本就沒有給學齡前兒童提供任何資金;而有些州只是隨意地撥些款而已。佛羅里達州的學前教育計劃適用于所有的四歲兒童。但存在著一個不是數量上而是質量上的問題。不僅僅是佛羅里達州，其他一些州的計劃也只不過是看似體面的照看嬰兒的計劃而已。NIEER的報告鼓勵各州樹立并遵循一些標準，所以讓孩子在五歲要上幼兒園時是準備好了的。但也將會面臨更多的財政困難。國會正在考慮共和黨提出的方議案，這個議案主張減少頭腦啟動項目。頭腦啟動是為貧困家庭設立的聯邦幼兒園資金項目。切斯特?芬恩所在的托馬斯?福德姆研究所，是一個教育智囊團，它對普及性學前教育不感 興趣。切斯特?芬恩認為集中有限的資源運用到最需要的孩子們的強化方案上更為合理。

　　Mr Duncan insists education, especially early education, is vital for America to stay competitive. An OECD report found that although the United States spends more, per child, on education than any other OECD country, it lags behind in funding the early years. Geoffrey Canada, head of the Harlem Childrens Zone, says, we cant afford to invest, but we cant afford not to do it. Mr Canadas programme begins not in preschool, but in utero in a programme called Baby College.

　　鄧肯先生堅稱，教育，特別是早期教育，對美國保持競爭力到頭重要。一個經濟合作與發展組織發現，盡管美國比任何經濟合作與發展組織的國家在每個兒童的教育上花的錢都多，但是在學前教育資金上卻落后于其他國家。杰弗里?加拿大，哈林兒童組織的負責人，他說：我們對投資負擔不起;但我們更擔負不起不投資。加拿大先生的項目不是從幼兒園開始的，而是從胎教開始，這個項目叫寶貝大學。

　　Preschool funding

　　學前教育經費

　　Toddle to the top

　　走到了頭

　　Cash-strapped states cut funding for nurseries

　　資金短缺的州政府削減了對托兒所的經費

　　They cant take that away from me

　　他們不能把它給拿走

　　LILY, who is three-and-a-half, loves her nursery school in Queens. Her mother calls her thesponge because every day she comes home with new nuggets of knowledge. But not everychild is as lucky as Lily. A new report by the National Institute for Early Education Research shows that states preschool funding is declining, which means fewer children will haveaccess to early education, which most agree is essential especially for children living in low-income households. The study looked at the 40 states which fund programmes for three- orfour-year-olds. State cuts to preschool funding transformed the recession into a depressionfor many young children, says Steven Barnett, author of the NIEER report.

　　莉莉，一個三歲半的小女孩，愛她的位于紐約皇后區的托兒所。她媽媽 叫她海綿寶寶，因為每天她都帶著一些新的知識回家。但并不是每個小孩都像莉莉那么幸運。一份美國國家早期教育研究所的新報告顯示，各州的學前教育經費正在減少，這意味著更多的孩子將失去接受學前教育的機會。大多數人都同意說這極為重要，尤其是對生活在低收入家庭中的兒童。該研究對40個設立了對三到四歲兒童資金項目的州進行了調查。州政府削減學前教育經費，對許多兒童來說，就相當于把經濟衰退變成 濟大蕭條，史蒂芬?巴納特說道。他是NIEER的這份新報告的作者。

　　State preschool spending per child decreased by $114 to $4,028 last year. This is almost $700 less than in 2001-2002. Were it not for the additional funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it would be much less. Worryingly, the funding situation may get worse. The stimulus money helped keep many states afloat, a cushion that no longer exists. Only three states increased spending per child by more than 10%. Nine cut spending by at least 10%. Ohio, once a leader in early education, now has one of the lowest percentages of youngsters enrolled. It cut funding more than any other state.

　　去年，紐約州在每個兒童身上的開支減少了114美元，下降到4028美元，幾乎比2001到2002年少 700美元。要不是因為美國經濟復蘇和再投資法令提供的額外資金，學前教育的經費會更少。尤其讓人憂慮的是，這種資金狀況有可能會變得更糟糕。這筆刺激資金幫助了許多州的財政得以維持，這種補貼再也不會有了。只有三個州康涅狄格州、緬因州和佛蒙特州，增加了對兒童的支出。他們對每個兒童的支出超過了 10%。而九個州亞拉巴馬州、亞利桑那州、堪薩斯州、肯塔基州、路易斯安那州、馬薩諸塞州、內布拉斯加州、俄亥俄州和南卡羅來納州，減少了至少10%的開支。俄亥俄州，曾經在學前教育上處于領先地位，現在卻是青少年入學率最低的州之一。該州減少的資金比任何一個州都要多。

　　Arne Duncan, the education secretary, understands that states are watching every penny. Tightening budgets is the new normal, he admits, but there are smart ways to cut and they are dumb ways to cut. Cutting early education, he reckons, is one of the dumb ones. Mr Duncan is, in fact, making early education one of his priorities, by including it in the next round of funding for Race to the Top, the big federal programme for schools.

　　作為教育部長的阿恩?鄧肯，理解各州都掂量著每一分錢。他承認，壓縮預算是條新標準，但也有聰明的辦法來削減預算，他們用的都是愚蠢的方法。他認為，縮短學前教育是眾多愚蠢行為之一。事實上，鄧肯先生把學前教育作為他的首要工作之一，包括把它加入到下一輪的給 力爭上游撥款的范圍中。力爭上游是針對學校的聯邦大項目。

　　Ten states do not provide any funding at all for preschoolers, and some appear to fund it only haphazardly. In Florida preschool programmes are available to all 4-year olds. The problem there is not quantity, but quality. Some programmesand not just in Floridaare nothing more than glorified baby-sitting. The report encourages states to set and stick to standards so that children are prepared for kindergarten at five. But more financial woe could be on the way. Congress is considering a Republican proposal to cut Head Start, a federal preschool funding programme for poor families. Chester Finn of the Thomas Fordham Institute, an education think-tank, is no fan of universal preschool. He thinks it makes more sense to focus the limited resources available on intensive programmes for the neediest children.

　　有十個州根本就沒有給學齡前兒童提供任何資金;而有些州只是隨意地撥些款而已。佛羅里達州的學前教育計劃適用于所有的四歲兒童。但存在著一個不是數量上而是質量上的問題。不僅僅是佛羅里達州，其他一些州的計劃也只不過是看似體面的照看嬰兒的計劃而已。NIEER的報告鼓勵各州樹立并遵循一些標準，所以讓孩子在五歲要上幼兒園時是準備好了的。但也將會面臨更多的財政困難。國會正在考慮共和黨提出的方議案，這個議案主張減少頭腦啟動項目。頭腦啟動是為貧困家庭設立的聯邦幼兒園資金項目。切斯特?芬恩所在的托馬斯?福德姆研究所，是一個教育智囊團，它對普及性學前教育不感 興趣。切斯特?芬恩認為集中有限的資源運用到最需要的孩子們的強化方案上更為合理。

　　Mr Duncan insists education, especially early education, is vital for America to stay competitive. An OECD report found that although the United States spends more, per child, on education than any other OECD country, it lags behind in funding the early years. Geoffrey Canada, head of the Harlem Childrens Zone, says, we cant afford to invest, but we cant afford not to do it. Mr Canadas programme begins not in preschool, but in utero in a programme called Baby College.

　　鄧肯先生堅稱，教育，特別是早期教育，對美國保持競爭力到頭重要。一個經濟合作與發展組織發現，盡管美國比任何經濟合作與發展組織的國家在每個兒童的教育上花的錢都多，但是在學前教育資金上卻落后于其他國家。杰弗里?加拿大，哈林兒童組織的負責人，他說：我們對投資負擔不起;但我們更擔負不起不投資。加拿大先生的項目不是從幼兒園開始的，而是從胎教開始，這個項目叫寶貝大學。