Wicked Local: Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, Co-Chairs Congress Pre-K Caucus

This article was published in Wicked Local on May 26, 2016. A link to the article can be found here.

Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, co-chaired the launch of Congress' first-ever Pre-K Caucus on April 14. Joined by caucus co-chairs, Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Richard Hanna (R-New York) and Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), the group aims to organize members of Congress around the issue of early childhood education and promote policies to expand high-quality pre-K access in the United States. The members were joined by the Public Broadcasting Service and Sesame Street characters Elmo and Cookie Monster.

Clark sits on the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where one of her top priorities is expanding access to affordable high quality, child care and early education opportunities. In Congress, Clark has successfully pushed for improved infant and toddler care programs, as well as major improvements to the early education programs in Congress' fix to No Child Left Behind.

Studies show that pre-K completion improves students' educational outcomes and professional success later in life. Despite the proven value of pre-K, the U.S. lags behind competitor nations when it comes to early education, with fewer than three out of 10 American 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K. The bipartisan group of 25 members in the Congressional Pre-K Caucus seek to grow their organizing group to advocate for better policies for America's youngest learners.