in.) In large part, that’s where literacy—and achievement gaps—come from.

When we looked at that picture, we thought of a 7-year-old who is part of our own extended family. Her literacy seems to be rolling along at this point. In large part, this is why:

Three Thanksgivings ago, when she was 4, we spotted her on her family’s living room couch. She was pretending that she could read the New York Times.

She had been raised among a passel of graduate students, most of them in public health. Everyone she knew and loved was constantly reading something.

Two Christmases ago, when she was 5, she was caught in a love affair with the alphabet. She sat at the counter in her American grandparents’ kitchen and sketched every letter for us, along withcountry (except some places with large cities). California also systematically reduced funding for schools over a long period of time, starving education. First-Five was Rob Reiner's attempt to deal with urban poverty issues and was passed, but suffered along with many other initiatives during the long period beginning with the Enron-caused energy fiasco, Gray Davis's recall and the Republican tyranny over our state legislature, with the financial troubles of 2008 being only the latest disaster. We are now back on track but I expect it will take a while for the results to show. It in no way means that First Five is a bad idea or that it doesn't work if given a chance.

According to Somerby's disaggregated data, California children of many races and ethnic backgrounds, including