Libby Doggett Quotations

Middle-income children are being left behind. Children in poverty have access to Head Start. Upper-income parents buy whatever is best for their child -- usually a preschool of very high quality. It's the middle class that's getting squeezed.

Pre-K is gradually being integrated into the K-12 education system nationwide. In a state that has so many great universities like Purdue, Indiana and Notre Dame, it's a shame (Indiana) won't do more to ensure its own children are better prepared to enter those schools with high quality pre-K.

This isn't just an Illinois story, it's a national story. This week's announcement was wonderful for the children of Illinois but equally wonderful for the children across this country?Many many families will enjoy the benefits of this far-sighted and far-reaching vision.

It will be a fight. Children don't have a lobbyist, so it's difficult to see progress in this area. But Governor Blagojevich, without doubt, is the biggest children's champion we have.

Their reading is going to be more fluent. They're not going to be working to catch up.

If I were an elected official in Indiana, I would be extremely concerned about the economic future of my state.