Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki began 2006 with sweeping promises to improve New York's schools. If they truly mean what they have said, both will live up to their earlier promises to expand and strengthen the city's early education programs so that every family who needs it can find affordable, all-day preschool for

their young children.

Well-respected research has made a convincing case for the importance of high-quality preschool in children's lives, especially for children of non-English speaking families and those in low-income communities. When states and cities invest in strong early education programs, they win back their investment: children who take part are much less likely to need special education or remedial programs as they grow older, and are much better prepared to learn to read and write on-time.

In 1998, Governor Pataki pledged to establish universal pre-kindergarten for every four-year-old child whose parents wanted to enroll, at a cost of $500 million per year. But the Governor reneged, and the most the program has ever received in the state budget is just

$204 million. Today, state-funded pre-kindergarten programs reach fewer than one-third of eligible four year olds in New York City. They are mostly part-day programs, not very useful for most working parents.

Preschools that develop the skills, imaginations, social and emotional capacities of three and four-year-olds can transform children's lives, especially when the schools include social services and education programs for parents, such as classes on child development, literacy, or English as a second language.

Children who take part in strong early education programs are much less likely to be held back as they get older. They are far more likely than their peers to graduate high school, stay out of trouble with the criminal justice system, and ultimately have better economic futures. With rapid cognitive growth occurring in a child's first five years, it's the time to set the foundations for healthy and productive lives.

The results are especially powerful for children from families that don't speak English at home. In a study of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s universal pre-kindergarten program, Hispanic children showed especially impressive gains on language and other skills that led to stronger reading in primary school.

Many Spanish-speaking parents don't send their children to preschool, waiting until kindergarten to enroll. Sometimes this is because a parent is not working or a grandparent wants to care for the young children. But language and money are common hurdles. Many preschools have trouble accommodating Spanish-speaking parents. Most subsidized programs simply have no open slots.

This could be solved with a more substantial government investment in

accessible, quality, full-day programs to serve the full diversity of

New York's families.

Mayor Bloomberg offered a far-reaching early education agenda in a refreshing campaign speech last fall. He promised to greatly simplify the enrollment of young children in child care and preschool, and to double the number of kids taking part by 2009.

It's a bold proposal. But he should move even more quickly. With multi-billion-dollar surpluses in both the state and city budgets, now is the time to invest in early education programs that will pay for themselves in higher achievement and better lives for New York's families.

Andrew White is director of the Center for New York City Affairs at The

New School.