Too Steep for Denver: The High Cost of High-Quality Early Ed

Ann Schimke and Marissa Page of Chalkbeat Colorado discuss the unexpected closure of Clayton Early Learning, a highly regarded Head Start program in the Denver area. Parents were left scrambling, and early education advocates across the country wondering what went wrong. Among the Chalkbeat team’s findings: After anticipated state funding fell through, Clayton struggled to make up the deficit between what its low-income families could afford to pay and the actual cost of the program. How effective were Clayton’s efforts to create diverse classrooms with students from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds? What does the research say about the long-term payoffs to communities of investing in early education? And what are some story ideas for reporters covering preschool in their own communities?