Holly Barnes Higgins
Office 202.862.9863
Mobile 202.834.6846
hhiggins@preknow.org

(Washington, DC) – Pre-K Now, a national early education advocacy group, proudly announced today that the organization’s State Policy Fellow, Shadrack (Shad) White, has been named a Rhodes Scholar. White, also a Truman Scholar and University of Mississippi Phi Beta Kappa graduate, is now making plans to study comparative social policy with a focus on early education at Oxford University.

“It’s difficult to think of a better or more qualified young leader deserving of this honor,” said Libby Doggett, Ph.D., executive director of Pre-K Now. “We’re proud to know him and so fortunate to have benefited from his incredible intellect and interest in early education.”

Prior to his year-long fellowship at Pre-K Now, White worked as a policy analyst for the Department of Education and as an employee at the William Winter Institute for Racial Conciliation. He also served as the Head Campaign Coordinator for Stacey Pickering in his race for Mississippi State Auditor. White is currently authoring two working papers for Pre-K Now on early education assessment and school finance formulas.

“I first became interested in education policy when I was at Ole Miss,” said Shad. “But what solidified my commitment to working on these issues was seeing the disparity among public school students in their preparedness for college. I believe that early learning opportunities can make a world of difference in that long-term readiness, so reform has to start there.”

White traveled to Kansas City, Missouri last weekend to participate as a finalist in the last round of interviews; he was ultimately one of two candidates selected. The comparative study program, which begins in October 2009, will allow him to examine early education policy and implementation practices in the United Kingdom.

###

Pre-K Now collaborates with state advocates and policymakers to lead a movement for voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds. The following funders contribute to making this important work possible: The Pew Charitable Trusts, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the McCormick Foundation, the Foundation for Child Development, RGK Foundation, CityBridge Foundation, PNC Financial Services Group, and the Schumann Fund for New Jersey.