Headed Right in the Wrong Direction

It’s Thursday and it’s Juneteenth.

I’m a big country and western fan, and Vern Gosdin is one of my favorites. Gosdin recorded a song titled “Right in the Wrong Direction” back in 1990. It’s a song about a common country and western theme – cheating. But it could also be the title of Donald Trump’s administration, especially when it comes to decisions about public education – in this case early childhood.

The 74 reported last week that,

“Chris Eichler has worked nearly four decades as a family child care provider – so long, she even cared for a boy whose father attended her program as a preschooler.”

“Even with her expertise, she still appreciates the support she gets through a University of Arkansas-run network. With funding from a federal grant, 250 participants from across the state work on increasing children’s vocabulary and screening them for delays in speech, motor or social skills.”

“’We try to catch those things early,’ said Eichler. The network helped her become nationally accredited and now she’s one of the top-ranked providers in Arkansas. ‘The better we get, the better our kids get. It’s a win-win for our state.’”

“But President Donald Trump now wants to eliminate the funding that paid for that network and similar projects nationwide. Launched in 2014 during the Obama administration, Preschool Development Grants were intended to expand pre-K for 4-year-olds from low-income families. During his first term, Trump significantly redesigned the grants into what Katharine Stevens, an early-childhood policy expert, described as a ‘conservative-friendly’ effort to promote parent choice and put decisions about improving learning in the hands of the states.”

“The funds benefit kids from birth to age 5, not just pre-K students. That’s why it’s hard for her to understand Trump’s reason for eliminating them.”

“’I sympathize with people who are feeling like the federal government has just grown way out of control,’ said Stevens, founder and president of the Center on Child and Family Policy, a right-leaning early childhood think tank. But the grants, she said, have delivered ‘a lot of bang for the buck’ by making it easier for parents to find high-quality programs. ‘Just doesn’t make sense to end it.’”

“Despite his first-term goal of allowing states to take the lead, Trump wants to cut the program because it doesn’t increase the supply of preschool slots. The proposal would save $539 million. Rachel Greszler, a senior research fellow at the right-wing Heritage Foundation, whose Project 2025 has guided much of the president’s second term, said the funding falls short because child care and early education programs don’t meet the demand.”

“’These taxpayer dollars have primarily gone towards the planning and administrative side of preschool – things like ‘identifying needs’ and ‘engaging stakeholders,’’ she said. ‘What’s needed most is more child care providers and more slots for children.’”

“The grant program might result in one-time bonuses or incentive payments for providers, but doesn’t necessarily bring new teachers into the field, she said.”

“In an earlier budget preview, the Trump administration pinned its objections on former President Joe Biden’s use of the ‘unproductive funds’ to ‘push [diversity, equity, and inclusion] on to toddlers.’ As an example, a brief paragraph points to Minnesota, which listed DEI buzzwords like ‘racial equity’ and ‘intersectionality’ as ‘guiding principles’ for the grant in 2021.”

“But many of the grants have gone to red states like Alabama, Florida and Idaho that have used the money to keep parents in the workforce and improve the quality of early care and education programs, including Head Start.”

…

“With a highly rated pre-K program for 4-year-olds already in place, Alabama used its roughly $48 million in federal grants to coach child care providers, help teachers get bachelor’s degrees and improve transitions for kids into kindergarten.”

“The University of Arkansas spent the $6 million it received in 2023 to improve quality in rural areas, like Eichler’s town of Romance, about 45 miles north of Little Rock.”

“’Large center just aren’t viable in some of our communities,’ said Kathy Pillow-Price, director of Early Care and Education Projects at the university. ‘Family child care providers really support us and our workforce.’”

…

“…As in Arkansas, Idaho used its funds to support the growth of licensed home-based programs in child care deserts,’ like rural areas. Leaders also offered providers training in business practices.”

“Christian and other religious early-childhood programs have been among those benefiting from the federal money. According to a report to Congress, ‘faith-based entities’ were among the new partners in 2019 participating in state and local efforts to improve services.”

“Stevens, with the Center on Child and Family Policy, remembers how the goals of the program shifted from primarily expanding pre-K during the Obama years to encouraging states to identify their own priorities under Trump.”

“’We need state-level innovation,’ she said. ‘That is the entire purpose of these grants.’”

If there was someone in the U.S. Department of Education that understood the importance of developing talent in early childhood centers (which it appears most of this money did across America) and at the same time focused on creating additional early childhood centers and space in those centers, then that would be a good thing.

It’s not an either/or proposition. We need to fund both.

Whether its tariffs, immigration, foreign policy, or in this case, early childhood education, it seems that the Trump administration is challenged with making decisions based on the right data and then sticking to these decisions – even when it benefits his beloved red states and his loyal constituents.