Summer vacation is a perfect time to reflect on the achievements of the students who just graduated from high school and to imagine what they will accomplish. It's also a good time to think of the students who didn't make it to the ceremony because they fell behind and dropped out.

SANTA FE (AP) - Gov. Bill Richardson proposes to expand a state tax credit for child care expenses.

Parents can now search an online database of Wisconsin's 5,700 licensed child-care centers that lists how often each center has violated state laws or been fined in the prior two years.

On Tuesday the Georgia Lottery Corporation launched its 15th anniversary celebration with a ceremony at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Also on Tuesday a report from the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation said Georgia which was once a national leader in its pre-kindergarten program was no longer a leader. Other states, like Oklahoma and Kentucky, were doing better.

"Let the wild rumpus start," said 5-year-old Jane Petit as she and a preschool mate played with cloth characters to act out scenes from Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Starting July 1, employees of child-care facilities will be required to sign a statement saying they have not been convicted of a violent crime.

The classroom was noted as being "very dirty," along with the bathroom and hallway floors. Inspectors found a staff member who yelled and cursed at children. And some children were wearing soaked, saturated diapers.

Four-year-olds in a state pre-kindergarten program showed dramatic improvements in pre-reading, pre-writing and pre-math skills and outperformed their peers in a similar federal program, a new study shows.

Many of the teachers who educate San Joaquin County's youngest students are working to earn specialized degrees that policymakers hope will help improve the quality of publicly funded early-childhood education.