New York City mayor pushes his education agenda during presidential campaign stop in Las Vegas

[TexasTowelie]

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who recently joined the growing list of Democrats vying for the Oval Office, touted his plan to make universal pre-kindergarten a nationwide reality when he met with educators Sunday in Las Vegas.

De Blasio, 58, announced his bid for the presidency earlier this month and, since then, has been visiting key early-nominating states. His swing through Las Vegas this weekend marks his first campaign stop in Nevada, which hosts the first caucus in the West.

Like other presidential hopefuls, de Blasio has made public education a centerpiece of his campaign strategy. He wants to expand the pre-K-for-all approach that he implemented in New York City, which has more than tripled the number of students receiving that kind of early childhood education. Now, the city’s pre-K program enrolls about 70,000 students.

“Research has shown now conclusively that the time of greatest, most fundamental intellectual development is zero to five (years old),” he said. “We now know that kids from zero to 5 are going through that incredible growth and development, but the American education system starts full day at 6 in a lot of parts of this country. So we literally bypass the time when we could have the biggest impact.”

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/new-york-city-mayor-pushes-his-education-agenda-during-presidential-campaign-stop-in-las-vegas