Publicly funded preschools, especially for children in low-income families, is an idea whose time has come. Research tells us that well-run preschools can improve the odds children will succeed in school, with better grades and test scores and less need for special education. That's especially true for children who live in poverty.

Though we knew preschools help give kids a strong start, until now the feds offered just a minimal program for low-income students -- Head Start -- and Alaska has had no state-funded education for pre-kindergarten students.

That's changing for the better.

President Obama, in his first major policy speech on education last week, referred to "compelling evidence" of the importance of good preschools. He called on states to raise the quality of early-learning programs and said he'll call on Congress to approve grants to support them.

In Alaska, a statewide education summit in November called for the state to offer preschool classes to families of every 3-, 4- and 5-year old in the state.

Gov. Sarah Palin responded with a budget proposal for a state-funded pilot program, with preschool for 500 Alaska children. Then came the federal stimulus money. Superintendent Carol Comeau has said she wants to direct some of Anchorage's federal money to start preschools at schools with a high number of low-income students.

It's an opportunity to target improvements where they're most needed.

Superintendents around Alaska are asking Gov. Palin to use more of the federal stimulus money for pre-kindergarten programs as well, Comeau said.

As of last fall, Alaska was one of only 12 states with no state-funded pre-kindergarten system.

Why does the government need to take this on?

Current policies don't guarantee that most American children will attend "highly effective" preschool programs, according to an analysis by W. Steven Barnett at the National Institute for Early Education Research.

Effective preschool is not just child care. In fact, says Barnett, just increasing child care subsidies could have a negative effect on the preparation of children for school, "given the poor quality of much child care."

The best preschools have small class sizes and well-educated, well-paid teachers, says Barnett.

Preschools show promise to help push American schools to the next level.

It has become clear that the education effort known as "No Child Left Behind," which the Bush administration developed, fell short.

The No Child Left Behind law did force school districts to recognize that some groups of kids -- minorities, the children who are just learning English and those with disabilities -- were, in fact, getting left behind.

That has led to more emphasis on educating those groups in basic skills. But overall, high dropout rates and low graduation rates persist. It's time to try something new, and preschools look like a good bet.

BOTTOM LINE: The state should take advantage of opportunities to fund preschools -- proven to give kids a stronger start.

Old hope

She was the first Anvik student to graduate from high school right there in her home village. She was the first one in her family to earn that diploma. And at 18, still in the Yukon River village that was home, she was regarded as a bright young woman with a chance to take her place as an Alaska Native leader in the late 20th century.

That was in November 1981, more than 27 years ago. Her name then was Beverly Jerue.

In March 2009, she pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy. Her name now is Beverly Masek.

Same woman.

Twenty-seven years is a generation and change, and that's plenty of time to go from "one of the bright hopes" to "(the judge) set sentencing for May 28." Her plea deal leaves her facing up to two years in prison and a fine up to $40,000.

That would have been hard to imagine in 1981 in Anvik. Beverly Jerue was a young woman aware of expectations but not sure what to do about them when I interviewed her then. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go to college, but thought she had a future in the Native corporate world.

She made her mark even before she was elected to the Alaska Legislature as a Republican in 1994. She finished the Iditarod four times from 1990 to 1993, finishing as high as 21st and surviving a brutal storm in 1993, which led to a rescue and controversial lawsuit.

"During her mushing career, she's become a role model for children around Alaska ..."

That's what a Daily News editorial said after the 1993 rescue.

She became a reliable Republican vote in the state House, even crossing the majority of Alaska Natives in her opposition to a rural subsistence preference.

In the late '90s, when I saw her in Juneau, she was always gracious, but still reminded me of the young woman I had met in 1981 -- unsure of herself.

I wonder how that squares with a woman having the drive to run the Iditarod.

Marriage, divorce, struggles with alcohol. I don't know what all happened in Bev Masek's life.

She violated the public trust in a big way. She's responsible for that. She has paid and will continue to pay the price. That's justice.

But I wonder if there's still a little of the light that people saw in Anvik in 1981, or some of that light that made her an example to children when she drove dogs to Nome. If so, I hope she can keep it alive.