From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Is preschool education being oversold?

Hello again, I'm Roman Alney, and this is To the Poet from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

President Obama says universal preschool education will boost high school graduation,

reduce teen pregnancy, and cut violent crime.

He's using the red states of Georgia and Oklahoma to demonstrate that it's working.

Critics say benefits fade away quickly and don't work long enough.

Would the program really be universal

if it's aimed at the poor with means testing for upper and middle class children? States and

localities account for most education spending. Would a preschool program help Washington level

the playing field in an era of growing inequality? On reporter's notebook later, a multi-million

dollar diamond theft that sounds like a

Hollywood movie. First, here's the news.

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Program Fund. Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point.

President Obama wants a preschool education program for every single child in America.

Would that help break the poverty cycle?

Even if academic advantages might fade as kids grow older,

...