South leads in early childhood education

A report says the region provides public preschool to the

highest percentage of youngsters in the nation.

Rarely do experts extol the virtues of public education in the South.

So it was notable when a report released last Thursday said the Southeast led the nation in state-funded early childhood education.

The Southern Education Foundation, a charity based in Atlanta, said the Southeast provided public prekindergarten to the largest percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds in the country: 19%, compared with 12% in the Northeast, 9% in the Midwest and 5.6% in the West.

This from the Los Angeles Times.