European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday april 23, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17 the push for preschool by Lee Mitgang associated press t he Case for sending 4-year-Olds to school  from Ypsilanti mich., to new York City have shown preschool programs Foster academic achievement lower dropout rates reduce juvenile delinquency and save tax dollars in the Long run. While some parents and educators have wondered Why the Rush to push such Young children into classrooms teacher unions and Many school chiefs in new York Connecticut California Illinois and elsewhere have warmly endorsed it. And top business executives in a landmark school Reform report last year entitled investing in our children concluded that despite its costs preschool is one of the Best education investments a Reform minded Community can make. Why then have Public school systems around the United states been so slow to adopt it Money is the Quick answer. It s hard to convince taxpayers and lawmakers to fund a new educational program for 4 year Olds even one widely believed to save Money and help students at a time when dollars Are scarce for existing programs serving children of More traditional school age. Many school officials feel uncomfortable pressing for a new program for preschoolers while the Public believes existing programs Are in crying need of Reform. There Are also educators and parents who question the Wisdom of school for children so Young they might have trouble just getting to the bathroom safely. Yale University psychology professor Edward Zigler in a speech last year questioned whether pre schooling was Good for All children just because studies have shown it useful for disadvantaged youngsters. We Are driving children too hard he added. We must allow children to enjoy their own childhood their most precious  but preschool May be about to get an important new Opportunity to prove itself and perhaps spread. A mayoral commission in new York City has issued a report urging that the City provide Universal preschool for its 100,000 4-year-Olds. If approved the City would be the first to offer publicly funded preschool to anyone wanting it although cities like Philadelphia Washington and new York itself already offer it on a limited scale. In Philadelphia for example schools spokesman Bill Jones said the City has offered at least some Public preschool since the late 1960s, and 5,552 3 and 4 year Olds Are currently enrolled. New York mayor Edward i. Koch while praising the Universal preschool idea in principle has walked at the Cost and said he would favor a More limited expansion of preschool. Half Day Universal Public schooling for the City s 100,000 4-year Olds would carry an estimated $114 million Price tag. New York state requires school attendance at age 6. But the vast majority of 5-year-Olds voluntarily attend kindergarten and nearly half of new York City s 4-year-Olds already attend Public or private preschool programs. State education commissioner Gordon Ambach a longtime Booster of pre kindergarten schooling has introduced a Bill in the state legislature to provide publicly funded preschool for the state s 250,000 4-year-Olds. He estimates the Cost at $125 million. Supporters of Universal preschool most often cite two recent studies. New York University researchers reported last year on the Progress of 750 Harlem children who participated in federally financed head Start Early childhood programs Between 1961 to 1970. Their report found that those who were in such programs had employment rates double that of those not enrolled and were 50 percent More Likely to graduate High school. A year earlier another landmark study of approximately 100 Ypsilanti mich., schoolchildren came up with equally impressive results. The report also found that while preschool Cost nearly $5,000 per child Ypsilanti saved Over $3,000 youngster because each needed less remedial help and social services later in their school careers. Erma Bombeck have never known a woman who in the face of oncoming guests has not spent two hour cleaning the , despite the fact that the Light is off when you go in blinds you for the first 10 seconds you Are there and by the time you have done what you came to do the switch is flipped throwing the room into darkness again. I Don t know Why we do it but if i thought i was going to expire tomorrow i would take the scissors and Cut two More inches of mildew off the Bottom of the Shower curtain to make me look Good. Men Don t seem to have that kind of Pride about outsiders seeing the Way we really live. You never see them in a frenzy cleaning out their Toolbox or scrubbing grease stains off the garage floor minutes before the guests arrive. It Burns me up that my husband is not As phony As i am. Would it Hurt him to replace the Light bulb where the water Heater is stored just in Case someone wanders off and pets lost to ready a House for a couple of people who Are going to spend hours in our House for dinner makes the Coronation look like an impulse. I have to clean off the counter top in the Kitchen put grouting around the Bathtub Wash windows put a Pencil and pad by the phone clean out the fireplace Bathe the dog put fresh Flowers on the Back of the commode alphabetize the bottles in the Medicine Cabinet toss out every newspaper in the House line up my cosmetics with chessboard precision and hide every item that might give a clue that people actually live there. I want guests to go away thinking i always use soaps shaped like strawberries and that every Day i dress my toilet tissue in cute Little crocheted dresses. When the children were smaller i Felt compelled to dress every naked doll in the House and line them up like i was Selling them and to buy new night clothes in Case they woke up and came out to see the guests. In Many ways this kind of Pride can be a curse. It is also congenital. Our whole family is like that. A few years ago we visited my aunt and Uncle for two nights. Upon arrival we were greeted with the smells of fresh wallpaper paste and newly Laid carpet. Cartons in the garage were evidence of new furniture and appliances. The paint was wet on the porch and the plants in the Yard were still squared off from the Square pots they came in. A Grill had the Price tag still on it and the car was dripping water from the car Wash. Early in the evening i noticed both of them nodding in their chairs. They were exhausted. It s the Price you pay for Pride. C 1986, los Angeles times Syndicate